1453 (The Ottoman Conquest): Tekfur Sarayi Is Captured

Painting of the Battle Over Constinople

Virtual Representation of Conquest of Istanbul

Marking the end of the Byzantine Empire and the meteoric rise of the Ottoman Empire, the 1453 siege of Constantinople is widely regarded as one of the most important historic events of the common era and the Tekfur Sarayi was right in the heart of it. Many historians claim that this event should be considered the end of The Middle Ages and that it marks a cultural shift across all three major continents of the time (1). For the Tekfur Sarayi, this era is noted mainly for its dilapidation of the palace's facade. In fact, the Tekfur Sarayi's new owners never fixed the building's facade and seemingly ignored the palace since it stood as such a symbol of their enemy. Thus, the building changed its symbolic purpose becoming a new type of Lieu De Memoire for the Ottoman's. 

After the successful siege of Istanbul by the Ottomans, the Tekfur Sarayi became as a symbol of Ottoman strength and Byzantine decline. When the Sultan was  upset by the destruction that the conquest had caused, he was so pleased that the Tekfur Sarayi had mostly survived that he made it his personal posession. Throughout the years, various Ottoman Sultans put the former palace to use for grandiose expressions of wealth (2). They often did this in profane ways to portray their lack of respect towards the former Byzantine culture. Throughout the Ottoman period the effect and meaning of the Lieu De Memoire may have fluctuated but the Ottoman government always intended to have the Tekfur Sarayi portray cultural dominance (2).

"What a city we have given over to plunder and destruction." - Ottoman Sultan After the Conquest

1)  Harris, J. "The Siege and Fall of Constantinople in 1453: Historiography, Topography and Military Studies, by Marios Philippides and Walter K. Hanak." The English Historical Review 128.532 (2013): n. pag. Web.

2) Featherstone, Michael, J.-M Spieser, Gülru Tanman, and Ulrike Wulf-Rheidt. The Emperor's House: Palaces from Augustus to the Age of Absolutism. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015. Print.