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, Ottoman Turks from the Ottoman Empire flocked to the city and claimed it as their own (Corrick 98). The siege of Constantinople not only drastically affected the city itself, but also the group that captured 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 considered the fall of an entire empire, would initiate the rise 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 see themselves as Byzantines, but rather as Romans 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 its 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 captured Constantinople in 1453, not only did they capture a city, they ended an empire. By conquering Constantinople, the Ottomans had conquered the last parts of the Byzantine Empire. So when Constantinople fell, it was the end of the Byzantine Empire and also the Eastern Roman Empire (the fall of Constantinople). With their 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. March 4, 2014.Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies. 2nd ed. Np: University of Cambridge, 2002. Print.Nardo, Don. The Byzantine Empire. Detroit: Blackbirch, 2005. Print.Nothiger, Andreas. "1000 - 1500 History." HyperHistory online. World History Online, nd Web. March 3, 2014. Sheskin, Ira M. “Istanbul.” Grolier multimedia encyclopedia. Grolier online, 2014. Web. March 3, 2014. Sizgorich, Tom. “Mehmet II.” History of the world: ancient and medieval periods. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. March 11, 2014. Sizgorich, Tom. “Ottoman Empire”. History of the world: ancient and medieval periods. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. March 3, 2014. Stockdale, Nancy. “Hagia Sophia”. History of the world: ancient and medieval periods. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. March 4, 2014.Walsh, John R. “Istanbul.” American Encyclopedia. Grolier online, 2014. Web. March 3. 2014.