Quote Originally Posted by Gaius Septimus Severus View Post
It's fall could'nt be stopped. It's the will of God !!! nobody can stop the will of god!!!!!!!!!
God must be fickle then, as the Ottomans failed to take the city in 1394 and 1422. Ascribing it to something as ephemeral as the "will of God" also does a disservice to the Ottomans. Their gradual ascent to power and slow crumbling of the Byzantine Empire was the result of stupendous efforts in governmental and military organization. Considering that they began as a nomadic, tribal culture, this is worthy of note. The Ottomans were simply able to field much larger armies than their opponents on a very regular basis, and were able to sustain them in the field for extremely long sieges. They learned well from their defeats and compensated for weaknesses by investing heavily in fortifications, gunpowder siege engines, and eventually a navy. The won their Empire by skill, determination, and superb managerial skills, and they deserve to be recognized for these achievements.