The great city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) spans two continents, Europe and Asia, and has portions on both sides of the Bosporus Strait. This made the city a prime trade route, with one of the natural harbors in the city being the Golden Horn. This harbor was one of the busiest trade hubs in the city, which made it a prime target for invaders. In order to defend the Golden Horn and the city from naval assault the Byzantines created a great iron chain that stretched across the harbor from one part of the European coast to the Galata Tower along the north side of the harbor. This chain would prevent enemy ships from entering the harbor.
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| The Golden Horn as it is today |
Unfortunately for the Byzantines, multiple invaders found ways around the chain and were able to enter the harbor. The two most notable occasions took place in 1204 and 1453. In 1204 Venetian ships destroyed the chain and were able to sack the city during the 4th Crusade. In 1453 Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire took his ships out of the Bosporus and used greased logs to transport them across Galata after failing to break the chain, which would weaken the city's defenses.
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| A segment of the chain that stretched across the Golden Horn during the siege of Constantinople, located in the Istanbul Naval Museum in The Conquest of Istanbul and Sultan Mehmet, the Conqueror Hall exhibit |
While it may not have always been effective, the great chain that once spanned the Golden Horn was an impressive defensive piece and helped secure Byzantine trade and the city of Constantinople for centuries, and is a part of the city's rich (and bloody) history.
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| The new Galata Tower, which was rebuilt by the Genoese after the original tower had been destroyed by looting crusaders in the 4th crusades |
Goodwin, Jason. "4. The Siege." In Lords of the Horizons: A Aistory of the Ottoman Empire, 37. 1st ed. New York, New York: H. Holt, 1999.
Honestly, I find it shocking that the chain was effective against any ships at all. This was a really fascinating read. It definitely added on to my knowledge of defense toward enemy ships.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this! Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, I didn't know that they used chains to keep ships away from the city. I wonder who's idea that was.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought to use a chain to protect against enemy ships. On another note I didn't realize the city actually spanned two continents that's really cool.
ReplyDeleteDakota, I really liked your reference to the Genoese tradesmen--I had forgotten that. Remember we had discussed the Genoese in reference to Kaffa (Black Sea) and the plague? This post has special meaning for me because we lived in an apartment nearby and our bedroom overlooked the Galata tower. The way that medieval Europe intersects with many parts of the world is interesting. Nolan, when you fly to Istanbul you generally land in Asia, and taxi to Europe. Our kids were pretty little, and they thought was cool to say they and been in two continents in a day.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrea when looking at the chains effectiveness. I never would have believed that this simple solution could have worked even a little bit.
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