On May 29, 1453, after 49 days of consecutive cannon fire, the proud city walls of Constantinople were breached (Nardo 43; Corrick 98). Led by Mehmed II, the Ottoman Turks of the Ottoman Empire poured into the city and claimed it as their own (Corrick 98). The siege of Constantinople not only dramatically affected the city itself, but also the group that conquered it. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 led to political, religious, social and economic changes within the city that would greatly benefit the Ottoman Empire. The fall of Constantinople, although seen as the fall of an entire empire, would begin the rise to power of a new group, the Ottomans. Constantinople was once the capital of the Byzantine Empire (Corrick 8-9). At first the Byzantine Empire did not consider itself Byzantine, but considered itself Roman of the Roman Empire (Nardo 7). During the decline of Rome in 476 AD, the power and wealth of the Roman capital shifted from the western half of the Roman Empire to the eastern half, the city of Constantinople (Beck 175). Constantinople of the Byzantine Empire was now the capital and center of the entire Eastern Roman Empire (Corrick 8-9). However, when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453, they not only took control of a city, but ended an empire. By conquering Constantinople, the Ottomans had conquered the last fragments of the Byzantine Empire, so when Constantinople fell, it marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and also the Eastern Roman Empire (The Fall of Constantinople). With the newly conquered city, the Ottoman Empire established its new capital, Constantinople (Sizgorich). Since the city was the center of the Ottoman Empire, it allowed for easy trade and communication... middle of paper... .IO, 2014. Web. 4 March 2014. Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies. 2nd ed. Np: Cambridge University, 2002. Print.Nardo, Don. The Byzantine Empire. Detroit: Blackbirch, 2005. Print.Nothiger, Andreas. “History from 1000 to 1500”. Hyperhistory online. History of the World Online and Web. March 3, 2014. Sheskin, Ira M. “Istanbul”. Grolier multimedia encyclopedia. Grolier online, 2014. Web. 3 March 2014. Sizgorich, Tom. “Mehmet II.” World history: ancient and medieval times. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 11 March 2014. Sizgorich, Tom. “Ottoman Empire”. World history: ancient and medieval times. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. March 3, 2014. Stockdale, Nancy. “Hagia Sophia”. World history: ancient and medieval times. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 4 March 2014. Walsh, John R. “Istanbul.” American Encyclopedia. Grolier online, 2014. Web. 3 March. 2014.