This book is not a classic historical novel. The author, drawing narrative material from the three best-known chronicles that recount in a dramatic way the fall of Constantinople by the Turks, attempts to reconstruct the last days of the city's life in fragments. The heroes are well known: Paleologos and his soldiers, Patriarch Anastasios, Mohammed the Conqueror and his men. The ending also known: But through the taste - bitter or sweet - of our History, a new hope is always born.

Myths about the building of Constantinople
1452: Muhammad's preparations
1453: The Turkish army marches against Constantinople
April 12: The construction of the great cannon
April 18: The first attack
April 20: How Muhammad passes his ships in the Horn
May 24: Bad omens over the City
May 25: The Turks propose capitulation. The emperor's reply
May 26: The preparation of the Turks
May 27: Battle of the Walls
May 28: Failure to set fire to Turkish ships in Keratio
May 29: The final attack
Wednesday, May 30 of the year 1453
June 1: Muhammad visits Constantinople
Byzantium after Byzantium
ANNEX
The fortification of Constantinople
The military organization of Byzantium
The fleet
The Turks in History
Istanbul map
Bibliography