English Project II

7/30/2019 English Project II

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The Fall of Byzantium

John Lund-Molfese

English II 13 December 2012

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Table of Contents

Title Page Byzantium 1

Table of Contents 2

Intro Letter 3

Emails 4-5

Dictionary Entries 6-7

Recipe A ruined Empire 8-9

Neighborhood Flier Ottoman Turks inyour country? 10-11

End Notes 9

Works Cited 10

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Emails:

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________________________________________________________________________

To: [email protected]: [email protected]

Pope Nicholas V,Our situation grows ever more dire. It is clear that the

Ottoman Empire will move upon Constantinople, and it isonly a matter of time before the city falls with our current,inadequate forces. We only have ten ships in our fleet, whilethe Ottomans have at least ninety ships, and probably more,which they have not yet displayed to us. The OttomanEmpire also has a massive army, rumored to number in thehundreds of thousands. They will no doubt force their vassal,

Serbia, to fight for them as well. Our Christian brothers willdie in battle against us. I send you this email because wedesperately need your aid. You alone are able to convincethe rest of Europe to side with us. We need more countriesto fight for our cause.

With great sincerity,Constantine Palaiologos

_____________________________________________________________To: [email protected]: [email protected] Constantine how u doin dawg plz end the schism ok thenwe send you helpz gotta go talk to mah homiez now aight


You know, of course, that, if there is anything that Icannot do, it is to destroy Orthodoxy. Our religion is the lastthing that we have, and my people will never agree to thoseterms. Most of our lands have been lost to the infidels longago, while the rest of Europe stood by. Please, ask of usanything else, and we will gladly comply.

To: [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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From: [email protected] rly buzy rite now throwing an party ttyl constanine aightcyz laterz bro


They are at our walls. The Ottomans have come. We areunder siege. Genoese crossbowmen and one of theirgreatest engineers have come to our aid, but it is simply notenough. We will be crushed unless the rest of Europe sendshelp. Most likely, we will only last a month. Even Venice,traditionally one of our enemies, has been able to realizethat if Constantinople falls, the Ottoman Empire will be free

to attack the rest of Europe, including Italy. All ofChristendom could be thrown under the yoke of Islam. Wewill even agree to rejoin Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Please,help us. This is our darkest hour. They have 300,000 troops,and we are besieged on all sides, preventing re-supply of thecity. Serbia has indeed joined the Ottomans, and ourbrothers are clashing against us even now.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected] dats good ill send 10 ships now to fight da kebabwarriors of turgey ok

Citations

Sherrard, Phillip.Byzantium.New York: Time Incorporated, 1966. Print.

Mango, Cyril. The Oxford History of Byzantium. New York: Oxford University Press,

2002. Print.

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Dictionary Entries

1. Byzantium a modern term referring to theByzantine Empire. Orthodox Christianity originated init, and its leader was the head of the OrthodoxChurch, held equal in status to the Pope of Rome.Also known as the East Roman Empire, it survived fora thousand years after the fall of the West RomanEmpire. At its peak, it occupied the modern nationsof Southern Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Sicily, Sardinia,

and Corsica. It also held Northern African, theWestern Middle East, and the Balearic Islands.

2. Ottoman Empire The nation that eventuallyconquered Byzantium, it is today the Republic of

Turkey. At its fullest extent, it possessed NorthernAfrica, from Egypt to Algeria, and Western SaudiArabia and Pakistan. It also controlled South-EastEurope, from Greece to Hungary and SouthernUkraine, as well as parts of Georgia. The empirebegan its decline after the discovery of the NewWorld, for obvious reasons, and ceased existing inthe early twentieth century.

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3. Galley A ship propelled by rowers, they wereused for many purposes, primarily trading andwarfare. The Italian Merchant Republics in particularused them until the seventeenth century.

4. Pope The head of the Roman Catholic church, hehad considerable influence over West Europeancountries, which were Catholic.

5. Greek Fire A complete system which inventedthe flamethrower, the substance itself was in theform of a liquid, which, alone, was useless. It was

deployed via siphons, primarily on ships, but therewas also a hand-held version. It was able to burn onwater, saving the city of Constantinople on severaloccasions, but the exact components are not known.

6. The Most Serene Republic of Venice Although it participated in the 1204 sack ofConstantinople by the Latin Crusaders, Venice chose

to aid Byzantium on many occasions. The tenVenetian ships which chose to aid the ByzantineEmpire during the final siege of 1453, however, didso of their own volition, against orders from theirsuperiors.

7. Rumelihisari A fortress built oppositeConstantinople, its purpose was to blockade the city

of aid from the Black Sea.

8. Fall of Constantinople In 1453, the City of theWorlds Desire fell to the Ottoman Turks. TheByzantine defenders and their allies had seventhousand soldiers and twenty-six ships, and the

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Ottoman Empire had an uncertain number ofsoldiers, likely around two hundred thousand, as wellas ninety ships.

Citations


2002. Print.

Moss, Vladimir. Why did Constantinople Fall? Orthodox Christian Books. n.p., 2011.

Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Sherrard, Phillip.Byzantium. New York: Time Incorporated, 1966. Print.

The Ottoman Empire: 1299 to 1923.Middle East Conflict. 2012:19-39. Gale Opposing

Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Recipe forA Ruined Empire

Ingredients needed:

Rumelihisar, a fortress to hurt Byzantine trade One Hungarian cannon designer Seven ships operated by Italian traitors, carrying700 soldiers. Twenty Ottoman ships to transport horses Thirty-one Ottoman galleys

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Seventy-five large Ottoman rowing boats 1,500 Serbian cavalry 10,000 Janissaries 200,000 Ottoman foot soldiers

And: The most well-defended city in the world One Genoese wall-defender 700 self-financed Genoese crossbowmen 1,300 other foreign soldiers 5,000 Byzantine soldiers

Build the fortress first, and then hire the cannon

designer. Now, use the galleys and rowing boats toblockade Constantinople. Move the horses andcavalry on the transports, and move the foot soldiersand Janissaries to attack the city. Bake at 450degrees, and let cool for fifteen minutes. Now, addthe city into the mix, blending slowly. The city willcontain six thousand troops, so, it may take sometime for it to be destroyed. After perhaps a month,

you should have conquered the city. Pillage it forthree days, enslave its people, and then let it sit.Serve chilled, with a light dressing.

Citations



2002. Print.

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Neighbourhood Flier

Ottoman Turks in your country?

IfConstantinople falls, there can be nodoubt as to what the Ottoman infidels will

do next. Made unstoppable by the conquestof the city, they will attack Europe. First,aided by their traitorous vassals of Serbiaand Bosnia, they will take Wallachia andHungary. After gaining a foothold there,they will besiege Italy, along with Sardiniaand Sicily. Venetians, the trade on whichyou wholly depend will be impossible if the

Ottoman Empire advances there! Citizens ofthe nations composing the Holy RomanEmpire, do you think that you will withstandan enemy which even the Golden Horderightly fears? Poles and Lithuanians, it haslong been rumoured that the Golden Hordehas made a pact with the Ottomans. Whatwill you do when you are confronted in theEast as well as the South? The heathens willnot show mercy to France, Castile, Aragonor Portugal, either! If the city falls, it will notbe long before you are subject to the whimsof the Sultan. As for you, Scandinavians andAnglo-Saxons, you will be conquered slowly,

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but, rather, you will be forced to watch asthe rest of Europe is pillaged and burnt bythe enemy. Your isolation will not protectyou for long, however, and you will

eventually have a man with a Turban as aleader. Now, I ask all of you, do you want tofight bravely to protect the freedom andhonour of your country, or would you preferto labour under the Ottoman yoke?

Or would you prefer to awaken to the same scene

which the citizens of Constantinople did?

Citations


2002. Print.

Ierodiakonov, Katerina. Byzantine Philosophy.Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006:

786-790. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

The Ottoman Empire: 1299 to 1923Middle East Conflict. 2012: 19-39. Gale Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Map of Byzantine Europe in theYear 555

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This map shows that which Byzantium possessed in the year 555 A.D. The Empire hadfurther possessions in Africa, but they are not shown, as they were not considered as importantby the Empire and its citizens.

Citations

Original Image by Jose, San.Europe Countries Map en. 2006. Wikimedia Commons.Web. 7 Dec 2012.

End NotesDictionary Entries:

I knew that this genre would be straightforward and most likely easy tounderstand, which is why I chose it. I decided to read and cite Byzantium, bySherrard Phillip, as well as The Oxford History of Byzantium, by Cyril Mango. Both ofthese sources were proven to be reliable and accurate, so, I did not have to worry

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about them. Obviously, being a series of dictionary entries, I tried to make themconcise, and formatted them thusly.

Neighborhood Flier:Fliers have been used for millennia, and were used during the Siege of

Constantinople. The flier presented great challenge to me, as historical accuracy was

of paramount importance. If I could change anything for the genre, I would add apainting or drawing, to impress upon the citys residents the severity of the siege.

Recipe:The recipe was one of my favorite genres to type, because it allowed for a

certain amount of variation from what would be expected. I also had no difficulty inwriting it, aside from the time needed to format and write it, which was minimal.

Emails:I thought that it would be interesting to blend formal writing styles, and

abbreviated, error-filled writing. I liked this genre the most, because it was the mostinteresting to write.

Map of Byzantium over Time:I found this genre the most difficult, as I needed to draw accurate borders for

the nation. I was never very good at coloring in between the lines. However, thisgenre was essential to show the scale of the Byzantine Empire in Europe.

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Works Cited


2002. Print.

Moss, Vladimir. Why did Constantinople Fall? Orthodox Christian Books. n.p., 2011.

Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Ierodiakonov, Katerina. Byzantine Philosophy.Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006:

786.790. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.


The Ottoman Empire: 1299 to 1923.Middle East Conflict. 2012:19-39. Gale Opposing

Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

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