The fall of Constantinople

I just finished reading 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West by Roger Crowley. "Crowley tells of the decline of the Byzantine empire and the rise of the Ottoman empire leading to the final siege and conquest of Constantinople. The long section of the book dealing with the actual battle for the city is as interesting as a novel, and is pieced together from sparse and sometime conflicting accounts.

I had associated the fall of Constantinople with the end of the eastern trade or Venice and Genoa, which this book implies is a gross simplification. The Genoese city of Galata across the Golden Horn from Constantinople/Istanbul was left in tact, and Latin populations continued to be allowed to live in Istanbul after the conquest. Apparently trade trailed off and became more expensive, encouraging Europeans to seek alternative trade routes.

Similarly, I had read that the conquest had led to the flow of Byzantine scholars into Italy, but that flow and the Renaissance had started long before the fall of Constantinople; it does seem reasonable that there might have been an increment to the flow with the fall of the capitol.

Crowley is not a professional academic historian, but he does provide an interesting historical narrative which seems authoritative. I recommend it.