Constantinople · 21–22 April 1453

Ships Over the Hills

The night an Ottoman fleet crossed dry land into the Golden Horn

The chain across the harbour mouth could not be forced. So some seventy galleys were dragged out of the Bosphorus, over a ridge about 75 metres high, and launched inside the harbour. Watch those hours unfold on the real terrain, told through the people who were there, and marked wherever they disagree.

Music and ambience start with the simulation. You can mute them at any time.

A reconstruction. What is attested, disputed or assumed is listed under Sources & method.