Page:Destruction of the Greek Empire.djvu/400

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

358 DESTRUCTION OF THE GREEK EMPIRE CHAPTEK XVII ATTACKS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY : BY ZAGAN AND CARAJA J BY FLEET ; THE BROTHERS BOCCHIARDI HOLD THEIR OWN; PANIC WHEN ENTRY OF TURKS BECAME KNOWN; INCIDENT OF SAINT THEODOSIA'S CHURCH ; MASSACRE AND SUBSEQUENT PILLAGE ; CROWD IN SAINT SOPHIA CAPTURED ; HORRORS OF SACK ; NUMBERS KILLED OR CAPTURED ; ENDEAVOURS TO ESCAPE FROM CITY ; PANIC IN GALATA ; MAHOMET'S ENTRY ; SAINT SOPHIA BECOMES A MOSQUE ; FATE OF LEADING PRISONERS: ATTEMPTS TO REPEOPLE CAPITAL. Entry of The author of the Turkish Taj-ut-Tavarikh or 1 Crown of Turkish . . army. History,' written by Khodja Sad-ud-din, states that after the sultan's troops had forced a way into the city — not, as he is careful to explain, through any of the gates, but across the broken wall between Top Capou and the Adrianople Gate — they went round and opened the neighbouring gates from the inside, and that the first so opened was the Adrianople Gate. Then the army entered through these gates in regular order, division by division. 1 While the principal assault was that made under the sultan's own eyes in the Lycus valley, the city had been else- where simultaneously attacked. Though all other attacks sink into insignificance beside this, yet they are deserving of notice. The most important were those made by Zagan Pasha 1 My authority for this statement is on p. 228 of a remarkable book in Turkish, published only in September 1902, describing the ' Conquest of Con- stantinople and the establishment of the Turks in Europe.' Its author is Achmed Muktar Pasha. It is especially valuable as containing many quota- tions from Turkish authors who are inaccessible to Europeans.