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1453 in poetry |
Year 1453 ( MCDLIII ) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1453rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 453rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 53rd year of the 15th century, and the 4th year of the 1450s decade.
In April, the forces of the Ottoman Empire began besieging the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. The city's fall and the destruction of the empire in May sparked fear and religious fervor against the Ottomans across Europe. Pope Nicholas V issued a crusading bull and attempted to negotiate a peace in the ongoing war in northern Italy, which saw Venice and Naples fight with the forces of Florence, Milan, and their French allies. In July, France routed the forces of England at the Battle of Castillon, and subdued the last English holdouts over the following months, ending the Hundred Years' War and English territorial control in France. The Ming dynasty of China was troubled by the growing power of the newly-proclaimed Khagan Esen Taishi in Mongolia. A diplomatic incident occurred when an embassy mission from the Japanese Ashikaga shogunate rioted and attacked Chinese civilians. Violent succession disputes broke out in several countries, including the Ryukyu Kingdom in Okinawa and the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
A "mystery eruption" occurred at an unknown location in the northern hemisphere in late 1452 or early 1453, beginning a 15-year period of colder weather across the hemisphere. A major drought continued in Aztec Empire, leading to famine and many deaths. China was devastated by catastrophic flooding along the Yellow River and an exceptionally cold winter.
A major volcanic eruption of unknown source likely occurred somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere in late 1452 or early 1453. The Kuwae caldera in Vanuatu was previously seen as a candidate for this eruption, but ice core analysis has instead linked it to another mystery eruption in 1458. Attested through dendrochronology (analysis of tree rings) across the northern hemisphere, temperatures decreased by 0.4–6.9°C (0.7–12.4°F), beginning a 15-year cold period. [14] [15]
Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq, sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt since 1438, died on February 13. His son Al-Mansur Uthman, only 18 years old, ascended to the throne; desperate to avoid being overthrown for his youth, Uthman attempted to purchase the loyalty of various high-ranking mamluks using heavily debased coinage. Supreme Commander Sayf al-Din Inal led a coup d'état alongside his Zahiri emir allies against the young sultan, seizing the Cairo Citadel. Inal was accepted as sultan by Abbasid Caliph Al-Qa'im in April. [3]
Hostile relationships continued between the Ming Dynasty and the growing Oirat confederation of Esen Taishi. Esen had captured the Yingzong Emperor in battle four years prior, and killed Northern Yuan leader Taisun Khan early in the previous year. Early in the year, the Minister of War Yu Qian considered a plan for an offensive campaign against the Oirat and Mongols, but ultimately focused on maintaining the northern border, unwilling to disrupt the newly reformed command structure of the Ming military. Having dominated the Mongol tribes after his defeat of Taisun, Esen declared himself Khagan of the Northern Yuan, becoming the first non-Borjigin to do so. The alarmed Ming government heightened border security, and debated whether to recognize Esen as Khagan. [16] However, Esen's declaration led to significant internal conflict against his rule. [17]
A recent series of annual floods worsened in central China, with the Yellow River devastating Henan. Urgent repairs to dikes along the Grand Canal were initially unsuccessful, leading to the appointment of the engineer Xu Youzhen to supervise efforts to maintain the canal and vital grain shipments to Beijing. [18] [19] [20] An exceptionally cold winter caused heavy snow across northern and central China at the end of the year, with many deaths reported in the icebound Huai River valley. Following years of unrest among the Yao and Miao peoples, a regional uprising against Ming rule broke out in Guizhou and Huguang. [13] The somewhat unstable political legitimacy of the Jingtai Emperor in the wake of Yingzong's capture was heightened after the death of Zhu Jianji , his son and heir apparent, on December 18. [21]
After a twenty-year halt, a large Japanese tribute mission was dispatched by the Ashikaga Shogunate to the Ming court. The envoys were angered by court officials' refusal to pay high prices for the wares, and rioted along their return journey, looting civilian houses in Lingqing, Shandong, and attacking officials sent to investigate. The Jingtai Emperor decided not to capture the riotous diplomats, hesitant to upset diplomatic relations with Japan. [22]
On the island of Okinawa, a succession dispute between the princes Shiro and Furi of the Ryukyu Kingdom resulted in the burning of Shuri Castle. Shō Taikyū, possibly a third party to the conflict, would be enthroned as king the following year. [23]
In 1452–1453, the twelve-year-old Ladislaus the Posthumous assumed power in Hungary without a coronation. The previous de facto ruler, regent János Hunyadi, maintained a position in government. On October 28, Ladislaus was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague, ending an interregnum that had lasted since the death of Albert II in 1439. [24] [25]
Vasily II, the Grand Prince of Moscow, solidified his power in the waning years of the Muscovite War of Succession. Rival throne claimant Dmitry Shemyaka had been forced to flee to the Novgorod Republic several years prior after a military defeat in Galich. He continued his efforts to take control of Moscow, with his strongholds in the rural northern areas along the Northern Dvina and Vychegda. In 1453, he returned to Veliky Novgorod, where he was fatally poisoned, possibly on Vasily's orders. [26] [27]
Mehmed II, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, began preparations to conquer the city of Constantinople, the capital of the declining Byzantine Empire, soon after his ascension to the throne in 1451. He had fortified the European coast north of the city, giving him full control over the Bosporus Strait. [5] Mehmed mobilized the Ottoman army in early January, and arranged for large bombards to be brought to the staging areas. Some Ottoman forces attacked the Byzantine strongholds of Mesambria and Selybria later in January; Mesambria quickly surrendered, while Selybria held out until March. [28] [29] Mercenary forces led by the Genoese captain Giovanni Giustiniani arrived in the city on January 26, joining Venetian forces stationed in the city. [30]
Ottoman forces began besieging Constantinople itself on April 6, with Mehmed hoping to starve the city into surrender. Although the city's population had declined greatly since its peak, food shortages set in quickly; an emergency order was given to distribute bread to the family of soldiers, as many had abandoned their posts to care for their starving families. [31] With the entrance to the city's harbor, the Golden Horn, blocked by the Byzantines, Ottoman forces transported their ships from the Bosporous into the Golden Horn by hauling them over the hills of Pera. After three smaller assaults over the prior weeks, the Ottomans launch a mass assault on the morning of May 29. The third wave of the assault takes the city's walls and subdues the defenders, with the Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos dying in unclear circumstances. Ottoman forces sack the city for three days. [32]
Some rump states of the Byzantine Empire still remained — the Despotate of the Morea and the separatist Empire of Trebizond. The Palaiologos scions Demetrios and Thomas shared the title of Despot of the Morea, and fought among themselves. Later in 1453, a rebel leader named Manuel Kantakouzenos led a group of Albanians in the Morea into a rebellion against the despots. Mehmed dispatched the Ottoman general Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey to put down the revolt, although he would not see immediate success. [33]
The fall of Constantinople caused great fear, anxiety, and anger among Christian leaders throughout Europe. Anti-Turkish sentiment spread widely. As the news spread across Europe, songs and poems were composed lamenting the fall of the city and condemning the Ottoman Empire. Prominent examples from 1453 include Balthasar Mandelreiß's poem Türkenschrei , commissioned by the Holy Roman imperial court, and Michael Beheim's song-poem Von den Türken und dem adel sagt dis. [34] Pope Nicholas V called for a crusade against the Ottoman Empire, issuing a crusading bull on September 30. [12]
In Rome, a plot by the humanist nobleman Stefano Porcari to overthrow Pope Nicholas V was discovered and put down by Papal forces in early January. Porcari escaped capture multiple times, but was eventually discovered hiding in a chest, and was executed on January 9. [35]
A series of regional military conflicts across Northern Italy centered on Lombardy continued in 1453. [36] Francesco Sforza, who had risen to power in Milan, allied with the Republic of Florence against their mutual enemies, Venice and the Kingdom of Naples under Alfonso V of Aragon. In 1452, the Milan and Florence entered into an alliance with Charles VII of France, whose was opposed to the potential expansion of Alfonso's control in Italy. Held up by its campaign against the English, France was initially unable to offer any direct aid, but was able to prevent the Duchy of Savoy, a Venetian ally, from invading Lombardy. [37] [38]
On June 14, Ludovico Gonzaga of Mantua defended Mantua against Venetian forces led by his brother, Carlo Gonzaga. [8] René of Anjou, a French nobleman who had previously ruled Naples, allied with Florence and invaded Italy in August 1453 with a force of 2,000 soldiers, which soon grew to 3,000. Initially attempting to negotiate with the Venetians, Rene declared war on the republic on 10 October. Together with Milan and Florence, his forces managed to capture the region around Cremona, Bergamo, and Brescia by late November, although the onset of winter put a halt to the campaign. [11] Concerned by the fall of Constantinople, Pope Nicholas V attempted to negotiate peace in the region in order to unite Christian Europe against the Ottoman Empire. Peace talks sponsored by Nicholas began in November. His efforts would materialize in April of the following year as the Treaty of Lodi. [11] [39]
The Parliament of England met at Reading on March 6. The members of the parliament were highly receptive to King Henry VI's rule due to the crushing of Jack Cade's Rebellion in 1450 and the reconquest of Gascony by John Talbot in 1452. The parliament approved a grant giving Henry the ability to raise an army of 20,000 archers for a period of six months, likely intend for a future reconquest of Gascony or Normandy. [40]
A reinforcement of over 2,000 men led by a number of prominent noblemen was sent to Gascony in March, increasing Talbot's forces to upwards of 7,300. However, the French navy was able to cut off English access to Bordeaux via the Gironde estuary, preventing further reinforcement. On July 17, the French routed the English army at the Battle of Castillon, killing Talbot. Charles VII's forces moved further into Gascony, laying siege to Bordeaux in August. The city, alongside the holdout of Rions, surrendered on October 20, ending the English presence in the region and bringing a close to the last phase of the Hundred Years' War. [41] [2]
The town of Ghent was embroiled in a rebellion against the Burgundian State under Duke Philip the Good. Originating from a political dispute between Philip and Ghent, Philip declared war on the town in 1452. In February–March 1453, a Ghenter raiding party attacked several towns in the surrounding region, including Kortrijk. [42] Philip's rival, Charles VII of France, supported the Ghent rebels, although was unable to offer direct military support due to his ongoing war against the English. [43] With peace negotiations over the spring stalled, Philip attacked the castles around Ghent in June and July, and decisively defeated the rebels at the Battle of Gavere on July 23. The town was forced to pay reparations to pay for Philip's campaign, although it was not occupied or plundered. [10]
The Giant Bible of Mainz was finished on July 9, 1453. It possibly served as an inspiration for the Gutenberg Bible, [9] the first large-scale book produced using a printing press and moveable type. Johannes Gutenberg was overseeing preparations for his bible in 1453 after beginning work on it in 1450. Early copies would be bound and distributed by 1456. [44] [45]
A major drought which began in 1450 continued to effect the Aztec Empire. Although famine conditions had already began to set in, they worsened in 1453, and people resorted to famine foods such as the roots of wild plants, corn silk, and agave. Some sold themselves into slavery in exchange for maize. Many died from starvation, especially due to early frosts in the autumn of 1453. The drought and famine would only intensify in the following year. [46] [47]
The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 to 31 December 1500 (MD).
The 1450s decade ran from January 1, 1450, to December 31, 1459.
Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or DragašPalaeologus was the last Byzantine emperor, reigning from 1449 until his death in battle at the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Constantine's death marked the definitive end of the Eastern Roman Empire, which traced its origin to Constantine the Great's foundation of Constantinople as the Roman Empire's new capital in 330.
The fall of Constantinople, also known as the conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-day siege which had begun on 6 April.
The Ottoman Interregnum or Ottoman Civil War was a civil war in the Ottoman Empire between the sons of Sultan Bayezid I following their father's defeat and capture by Timur in the Battle of Ankara on 20 July 1402. Although Timur confirmed Mehmed Çelebi as sultan, Mehmed's brothers İsa Çelebi, Musa Çelebi, Süleyman Çelebi, and later, Mustafa Çelebi, refused to recognize his authority, each claiming the throne for himself. This resulted in civil war. The Interregnum would last a little under 11 years, culminating in the Battle of Çamurlu on 5 July 1413, when Mehmed Çelebi emerged as victor, crowned himself Sultan Mehmed I, and restored the empire.
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built.
Giovanni Giustiniani Longo was a Genoese nobleman, mercenary captain, and defender of Constantinople during its siege in 1453. He was instrumental in its defense and commanded 700 men, as well as leading the land forces protecting the city.
Esen (1407–1454), was a powerful Oirat taishi and the de facto ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty between 12 September 1453 and 1454. He is best known for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1449 in the Battle of Tumu Fortress and briefly reuniting the Mongol tribes. The Four Oirat reached the peak of their power under his rule.
Zaganos or Zagan Pasha was an Albanian Ottoman military commander, with the titles and ranks of kapudan pasha and the highest military rank, grand vizier, during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror". Originally a Christian, who was conscripted and converted through the devşirme system, he became a Muslim and rose through the ranks of the janissaries. He became one of the prominent military commanders of Mehmed II and a lala – the sultan's advisor, mentor, tutor, councillor, protector, all at once. He removed his rival, the previous Grand Vizier Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger, amid the fall of Constantinople. He later served as the governor of Thessaly of Macedonia.
George Sphrantzes, also Phrantzes or Phrantza, was a late Byzantine Greek historian and Imperial courtier. He was an attendant to Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, protovestiarites under John VIII Palaiologos, and a close confidant to Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Byzantine emperor. He was an eyewitness of the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, made a slave by the victorious Ottomans, but ransomed shortly afterwards. Sphrantzes served the surviving members of the Palaiologian family for the next several years until taking monastic vows in 1472. It was while a monk he wrote his history, which ends with the notice of Sultan Mehmed II's attempt to capture Naupaktos, which he dates to the summer of 1477; Sphrantzes is assumed to have died not long after that event.
Loukas Notaras was a Byzantine Greek statesman who served as the last megas doux or grand Duke and the last mesazon of the Byzantine Empire, under emperors John VIII Palaiologos and Constantine XI Palaiologos.
Raphael I of Constantinople was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1475 to 1476.
Leonard of Chios, also called Leonardo Giustiniani, was a Greek scholar of the Dominican Order and Latin Archbishop of Mytilene, best known for his eye-witness account of the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, which is one of the main sources for the event.
Orban, also known as Urban, was an iron founder and engineer from Brassó, Transylvania, in the Kingdom of Hungary, who cast large-calibre artillery for the siege of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453.
The Tale on the Taking of Tsargrad is a late 15th-century Russian tale on the fall of Constantinople attributed to one Nestor Iskander.
Andrea Cambini or Andreas Cambinus (1445/1460—1527) was an Italian historian, humanist and writer.
Jacob Notaras, also erroneously called Isaac, was a Byzantine aristocrat who survived the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Having got attention of the Ottoman ruler Mehmed the Conqueror as an adolescent, he was confined to the seraglio until he escaped in 1460. He later became one of the leaders of the Byzantine diaspora in Italy.
Marios Philippides was an American historian who was Emeritus Professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
The Defense of Jingshi, also known as the Defense of Beijing, was a battle that took place between the Northern Yuan dynasty and the Ming dynasty in 1449.
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the sultans of the Ottoman Empire laid claim to represent the legitimate Roman emperors. This claim was based on the right of conquest and mainly rested on possession of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire for over a millennium. The sultans could also claim to be rulers of the Romans since they ruled over the former Byzantine populace, which continued to identify as such. Various titles were used by the sultans to stress their claim, including kayser-i Rûm and basileus.