Fall Of Constantinople

Submission 18,774

About

Fall Of Constantinople, also known as 1453, refers to a series of memes that revolve around the capture of the Byzantine Empire’s capital by the Ottoman Empire in 1453, marking the end of the Byzantines and the remnants of the Roman Empire. Typically, memes referencing this historical event are seen in the form of reaction images that evoke feelings of sadness or anger due to the city and empire’s fall. The theme was primarily seen on Reddit and spread to other social media platforms throughout 2019 and 2020, especially on the anniversary of the conquest.

Origin

On May 29th, 1453, the 53-day siege of Constantinople ended with the Ottoman Empire conquering the city under Sultan Mehmed II’s leadership. The event marked an important moment in history and was a key event of the Late Middle Ages, often synonymous with the end of the Medieval period. The Fall of Constantinople also marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Empire itself. Due to the historical importance of this event, it is commonly well-known by many around the world, which may be attributed to the rise of such memes discussing the Fall of Constantinople. On February 4th, 2018, YouTuber^[1] Kings and Generals uploaded a video discussing the event (seen below), which was viewed over 2 million times, liked 37,000 times and commented on 10,000 times.

Spread

On September 24th, 2007, Urban Dictionary^[2] user Nial of the Ranseur added the definition for Constantinople (shown below), receiving 452 likes and 213 dislikes.

In memes, numerous examples revolved around the Fall of Constantinople can be seen across a wide array of websites and social platforms. One such example was posted by Instagram^[3] user shitheadsteve on January 21st, 2019, and received over 142,000 likes. On February 10th, 2019, Facebook^[4] page History Memes posted a meme referencing the event (seen below), receiving over 2,000 likes, 387 comments and 296 shares.

On October 30th, 2019, Redditor^[5] Thetankerboss1 posted a version to the r/HistoryMemes subreddit under the title, “Fall is so nice.” The meme (shown below) was upvoted over 9,200 times and commented on 130 times.

The Instagram^[6] account lettuce.scream posted another example on November 27th, 2019, receiving over 48,000 likes (seen below). Redditor^[7] herdcollege posted a variant to the r/HistoryMemes sub on December 23rd, 2019, and received over 21,100 upvotes and 113 comments.

On April 7th, 2020, Redditor^[8] Just_ABoredDude uploaded another version to the r/HistoryMemes sub under the title, “One simple number can shed manly tears,” receiving over 11,700 upvotes and 238 comments (shown below).

FunnyJunk^[9] user yogb then posted an example using the Baby I Miss You So Much meme to the DankHistory channel on May 25th, 2020, receiving 329 likes. Facebook^[10] page Orthodox Meme Squad uploaded a version on May 29th, 2020 (seen below), receiving 445 likes and 59 shares.