Original Title 原标题 May 29, 1453: The Day Constantinople Fell
1453年5月29日，君士坦丁堡沦陷
The fall of Constantinople, which occurred on May 29, 1453 was the final phase of the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars (1265-1453) and the darkest era in Greek history and in the Orthodox Church.
1453年5月29日，君士坦丁堡沦陷。
君士坦丁堡的沦陷是拜占庭-奥斯曼战争（1265-1453）的最终章，也是希腊历史和东方正教历史的最黑暗时候。
Having been the seat of the Byzantine Empire for a millennium, Constantinople was the main target of the Ottomans. Ascending to the Ottoman throne in 1451, Mehmed II began making plans to conquer the Byzantine capital. The Byzantine empire had been declining in power and influence ever since the city’s capture and sacking by the Crusaders in 1204.
作为拜占庭帝国的千年都城，君士坦丁堡是奥斯曼帝国进攻的主要目标。1451年，穆罕默德二世登上奥斯曼的皇位，马上开始制定征服拜占庭首都的计划。自从1204年君士坦丁堡被十字军占领和洗劫后，拜占庭帝国的实力和影响力一直在下降。
全盛时期的拜占庭帝国
In 1451, the empire of Constantine XI—with its capital city being named after his ancestor—had been reduced to the area around Constantinople, as well as a large part of the Peloponnesian Peninsula in Greece.
1451年，皇帝君士坦丁十一世（和都城一样都以他的祖先的名字为名）的帝国范围已经缩减到君士坦丁堡周边地区和大半个希腊伯罗奔尼撒半岛。
Already possessing a fortress on the Asian side of the Bosporus, Mehmed began construction of one on the European shore, as well. It was known as Rumeli Hisari.
穆罕默德二世占领了博斯普鲁斯海峡的亚洲一侧的堡垒后，就开始在欧洲一侧进行建设军事堡垒——鲁梅利·希萨里堡垒。
Taking control of the strait, Mehmed’s ships cut off Constantinople from the Black Sea and any potential aid which might have come from Genoese colonies in the region.
在黑海周边有热那亚的殖民地，可能会给君士坦丁堡带来援助。控制了博斯普鲁斯海峡后，穆罕默德二世的军舰就切断了君士坦丁堡与黑海的联系。
Constantine was forced to appeal to Pope Nicholas V for aid. Despite centuries of animosity between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, Nicholas tried to help but his efforts were fruitless, as many of the Western nations were engaged in their own conflicts and could not spare men or money to aid Constantinople.
皇帝君士坦丁十一世不得不向教皇尼古拉五世求救。尽管东方正教会和天主教会之间有着数个世纪的仇恨，尼古拉五世还是试图帮助拜占庭帝国，但是他的努力毫无结果，许多西方国家陷入相互间的冲突，没能派出人员和拨出金钱来援助君士坦丁堡。
君士坦丁堡围城战动态图
Constantinople’s Theodosian Walls
君士坦丁堡的狄奥多西城墙
Minor help came from groups of independent soldiers. Among these were 700 professional troops under the command of Giovanni Giustiniani. Constantine reinforced the massive Theodosian Walls and the walls in the northern Blachernae district. To prevent an attack from the sea against the Golden Horn walls, he ordered that a large chain be stretched across the mouth of the harbor to block Ottoman ships from entering.
一些独立兵团带来少许的帮助，其中就有乔瓦尼•朱斯蒂尼亚（Giovanni Giustiniani）将军带领的700名专业士兵。君士坦丁十一世加强了位于北面巴拉切纳耶区（Blachernae district）的狄奥多西城墙。为阻止奥斯曼军队从海上攻击金角湾城墙，君士坦丁十一世命令把一条巨大的铁链封锁住金角湾的入口，以阻止奥斯曼军舰的进入。
Short on men, Constantine decided to put most of his soldiers to defending the Theodosian Walls. Mehmed’s massive army numbered somewhere between 80,000 and 120,000 men by the time they approached the city.
由于人手不足，君士坦丁十一世决定把大部分士兵部署在狄奥多西城墙进行防御。穆罕默德二世的军队在到达君士坦丁堡时，数量在8万到12万人之间。
狄奥多西城墙曾经守卫帝国上千年
At the same time, the Ottoman fleet was in the Sea of Marmara, ready to attack. In addition, Mehmed had a large cannon along with several smaller guns. The Ottoman army arrived outside Constantinople on April 1, 1453, and began to set camp the next day. On April 5, Mehmed arrived with the last of his men and began preparations for besieging the city.
与此同时，奥斯曼的舰队驻扎在马尔马拉海，随时准备进攻。此外，穆罕默德二世还有一门巨炮和一些小型火炮。奥斯曼军队在1453年4月1日到达君士坦丁堡，第二天就开始扎营。4月5日，穆罕默德二世带着最后一批队伍到达，并准备围城。
While Mehmed had the bulk of his army surrounding Constantinople, he sent troops to clear the region of minor Byzantine outposts. The large cannon began to batter the impenetrable Theodosian Walls but with little effect. The gun required three hours to reload, allowing the Byzantines enough time to repair the damage caused between shots.
在军队包围君士坦丁堡的同时，穆罕默德二世还派兵清除拜占庭的前沿小哨点区域。奥斯曼的大炮开始轰击坚固的狄奥多西城墙，但是没有任何效果。大炮从重新装填到再发射需要三个小时，拜占庭人有足够的时间修复受损的城墙。
On the water, the Ottoman fleet was unable to penetrate the chain boom across the waters of the Golden Horn. Mehmed then ordered that several ships be rolled across Galata on greased logs.
在水上，奥斯曼的舰队无法穿过横锁在金角湾的铁链。穆罕默德二世发出命令，用涂了油脂的巨木作轮，以滚动的方式把军舰从陆路加拉塔（Galata）搬进金角湾。
穆罕默德二世让军舰从陆地进入金角湾
The Ottomans managed to get the ships around the Genoese colony of Pera, and then refloat them in the waters around the Golden Horn behind the chain. Constantine replied by sending fire ships to attack the enemy fleet.
奥斯曼人成功地绕过热那亚的殖民地佩拉（Pera），让他们的军舰航行在铁链后面的金角湾水面上。君士坦丁十一世以火船作回应，攻击敌方的舰队。
The Ottomans, however, were forewarned and defeated the attempt. Constantine was then compelled to shift men to the Golden Horn walls, which weakened the land defense of the city.
然而，奥斯曼人得到了预警，并挫败了拜占庭人的企图。随后，君士坦丁十一世不得不调兵到金角湾城墙，从而减弱了君士坦丁堡陆路的防御。
君士坦丁堡围城战模拟
No help from Venice
没有来自威尼斯的帮助
Failing to penetrate the Theodosian Walls, Mehmed ordered his men to dig tunnels to mine beneath the Byzantine defenses. The Byzantines were prepared, and replied with digging countermines. They intercepted the Ottomans underground, managing to complete the destruction of all mines on May 25th.
由于没能攻破狄奥多西城墙，穆罕默德二世命令军队挖地道，到拜占庭防御城墙之下埋雷轰炸。拜占庭人早就做好准备，也挖掘地道反击作为回应。他们干扰了奥斯曼人的地下挖掘工作，在5月25日成功地破坏了所有的地雷。
Although, until this point, the defense of Constantinople had mostly been successful, the Byzantines lost morale when they heard that there would be no help from Venice.
尽管到此时，君士坦丁堡的防御一直都是成功的，但当拜占庭人听到不会有威尼斯援助的消息时，他们失去了士气。
奥斯曼人从水路攻城
In addition, a series of omens including a thick, unexpected fog which blanketed the city on May 26th, were taken as a sign that Constantinople was about to fall. The Byzantines believed that the fog masked the departure of the Holy Spirit from the great cathedral of Hagia Sophia.
另外，一系列预兆的出现，被认为是君士坦丁堡要沦陷的迹象，其中一个预兆是5月26日的突如其来的浓雾，笼罩着整个城市。拜占庭人认为浓雾遮住了圣索菲亚大教堂圣灵的出发（前来救援）。
Mehmed was also disillusioned by the lack of success in taking the city. On May 26th, he called his commanders to him, and after talks, they decided on a massive assault on the night of May 28th, after a period of rest and prayer.
穆罕默德二世也对没能成功拿下君士坦丁堡感到失望。5月26日，他召见了他的军官们，会谈后，他们决定经过一段时间的休息和祈祷，在5月28日夜晚发起一次大规模进攻。
Shortly before midnight on May 28th, Mehmed sent his auxiliary troops forward. They were intended to wear out the defenders and kill as many as possible to weaken their resistance.
5月28日午夜稍早的时候，穆罕默德二世派他的辅助部队前进。他们的目标是让防御者们疲惫，并尽量多地杀伤对方以削弱防御方的抵抗。
The troops from Anatolia then attacked the weakened Blachernae walls.
这支来自安纳托利亚的部队攻击弱化了的巴拉切纳耶城墙（Blachernae walls）。
Constantinople’s defense collapses
君士坦丁堡防御的崩溃
Some damage was caused before Mehmed’s troops were driven back. Then, it was the turn of Mehmed’s elite Janissary forces to attack, but they were held back by Byzantine forces under Giustiniani. The defenders in Blachernae held until Giustiniani was badly wounded. As their commander was taken to the rear, their defense began to collapse.
穆罕默德二世的辅助部队撤退前，城墙已经出现一些破坏了。随后，穆罕默德二世把精锐部队耶尼切里军团投入进攻，但是被朱斯蒂尼亚领导下的拜占庭军队击退。在巴拉切纳耶城墙的防御者们一直坚守着，直到朱斯蒂尼亚严重受伤，但在他们的将军被带到后方时，他们的防御开始崩溃了。
末代皇帝君士坦丁十一世的画像
To the south, Constantine was fighting fiercely, defending the walls in the Lycus Valley. However, his position began to collapse when the Ottomans found that the “Kerkoporta,” the gate to the north, had been left open. With the enemy surging through the gate and unable to hold the walls, Constantine was forced to fall back.
在南边，君士坦丁十一世正在奋勇战斗，防御着卢卡斯谷（Lycus Valley)的城墙。然而，当奥斯曼人发现北门科克波塔（Kerkoporta）一直打开着，君士坦丁十一世的阵地开始崩溃。随着敌人从北门蜂拥而入，城墙已经无法守住，君士坦丁十一世被迫撤退。
The Ottomans poured into the city through several gates. It is believed that Constantine was killed while fighting the invading enemy. Mehmed ordered his men to protect important buildings of the city but allowed them to plunder and pillage Constantinople for three entire days.
奥斯曼人从多个城门冲了进来。人们普遍认为君士坦丁十一世在与入侵的敌人的战斗中殉国了。穆罕默德二世命令他的军队保护君士坦丁堡的重要建筑，但允许军队进行三天的劫掠。
穆罕默德二世以征服者之势进入君士坦丁堡
The fall of Constantinople was not only the end of the Byzantine Empire; it was also adevastating blow to Christendom. Pope Nicholas V called for a crusade to recover the city, but no Western monarch volunteered. The fall of Constantinople also meant that the Christian Orthodox faith lost its stronghold, with the Catholic Church becoming the dominant religious power in Europe.
君士坦丁堡的沦陷不仅是拜占庭帝国的终结，还是对基督教世界的一个毁灭性打击。教皇尼古拉五世号召组织一支十字军光复君士坦丁堡，但是没有一个西方君主愿意参加。君士坦丁堡的沦陷还意味着基督教的东方正教信仰失去了它的大本营，使得天主教会成为了欧洲的主导宗教势力。
This disastrous development was also a turning point in Western history, as the fall of Constantinople is viewed as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance.
君士坦丁堡沦陷的悲剧也是西方历史的转折点，被认为是中世纪的结束和文艺复兴的开始。
Greek scholars fled the city and moved to the West, bringing with them priceless knowledge and rare manuscripts.
希腊学者们带着无价的知识和罕见的手稿逃离君士坦丁堡，来到西方。
The loss of Constantinople also severed European trade links with Asia, leading many to begin seeking routes to the East by sea, thereby sparking the great Age of Exploration.
君士坦丁堡的沦陷还切断了欧洲与亚洲的贸易连接，导致许多欧洲人开始寻找到达东方的海上通道，从而开启了大航海时代。
君士坦丁堡沦陷后，大航海时代即将启幕
欧洲人在大航海时代闯出一片新天地