The Ottoman Siege and Assault of Constantinople in 1422 AD: Its Military and Political Aspect

This paper addresses the military and political aspect of the Turkish siege of Constantinople in 1422 AD, when the Ottomans gained valuable experience to use it later, in the final battle of 1453. The research is based on the analysis of fifteenth-century Byzantine historical and rhetorical works. The author of this paper has reconstructed the course of the siege and the main stages of preparation to the decisive assault, has analysed the enemy’s military plans, the alignment of forces and tactical ploys of siege warfare, the specificities of Ottoman weaponry, and the sides’ actions during the assault. Attention has been paid to the Byzantines’ behaviour in the period of military conflict and the emperors’ political actions for the conflict resolution. The history of the siege and assault of the Byzantine capital in 1422 has been placed into the political context of the period in question, and has been uncovered as a stage in the development of the Byzantine-Ottoman relations in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century. The paper concludes that the Ottomans’ rout resulted from a series of circumstances: the perfection of the fortification system of Constantinople, total mobilization of the metropolitan population, the lack of maritime blockade, and the rebel in the rear of the Ottomans starting not without a help from the Byzantines, all of this allowed the city to withstand. The siege was relieved; however, the situation in foreign policy was still difficult for Byzantium, thus making the emperor to search for peace with the sultan