Youth Classes - 22/10/10 - Conquest of Constantinople

On Friday night, we watched a cartoon about The Conquest of Constantinople by Fatih Sultan Muhammad (also known as Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih).

Back in those times, Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) was the capital of a weakened Byzantine Empire, ruled by Constantine XI. He was a ruler who oppressed his people with cruelty & injustice. He heavily taxed them to his own personal benefit. The streets of Constantinople were crowded with beggars everyday.

In 1422, Sultan Murad II, the then Khalifah/Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, laid siege to Constantinople in a failed effort to liberate the people from the injustice of Constantine XI. The Ottoman Empire cared a lot about Constantinople and its people.

The Ottomans wanted themselves to be the ones to conquer Constantinople, as promised by the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when he said:

"Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!" (Narrated by Ahmad, al-Hakim, at-Tabarani, al-Bukhari, Ibn `Abd al-Barr, as-Suyuti)

In 1444, Sultan Murad II stepped down and chose his 12-year-old-son, Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih, to replace him. However, in 1446, Sultan Murad II returned to the throne because some people didn't like his son's rule. In 1451, Sultan Muhammad ascended the throne again after his father's death.

Sultan Muhammad decided to start preparing for the Conquest of Constantinople. He ordered the construction of a fortress. He also freed a man by the name of Urban, who was imprisoned in a small jail cell. They dug underground and reached his small cell with great accuracy. He then devised a giant cannon, as well as some smaller cannons.

The Byzantine Empire prepared by constructing a chain that blocked any ships from entering the city. He also sealed the city walls.

Before the battle, Sultan Muhammad offered Constantine XI to surrender the city, however, he refused.

In 1453, the city was sieged. the Muslim Army consisted of 80,000-200,000 troops, with 320 ships. the Byzantine Army only had 7,000 troops. The chain had successfully blocked the river leading into the city, so the Muslims cleverly transported all their ships over the land and into the rivers northern gulf. They reached the harbour and burnt all the enemies' ships. Then, the battle started.

57 days later, the City of Constantinople fell to the Muslims, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, who said:

"Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!" (Narrated by Ahmad, al-Hakim, at-Tabarani, al-Bukhari, Ibn `Abd al-Barr, as-Suyuti)

Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih marched in to the city & was greeted by all its inhabitants. He made Constantinople the capital of the Ottoman Empire and renamed it Islambul (The home of Islam), which was widely called Istanbul. The name of the city was officially changed from Islambul to Istanbul in 1930. (Ibnu Âdam)