A city with the strongest walls in the world — and the day those walls fell.
Want more detail? Read this lesson at B2/C1 level →
These are the new words for this story. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (an empire) · 2 = F (a wall) · 3 = A (an army) · 4 = B (a cannon)
5 = C (a soldier) · 6 = G (a ship) · 7 = H (to attack) · 8 = E (to defend)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
Long ago there was a great city called Constantinople. Today we call it Istanbul, in Turkey. It sat between Europe and Asia, next to the sea. For more than a thousand years it was the capital of a big empire. People called this the Byzantine Empire.
The city had enormous walls. There was a deep ditch, then one wall, and then a very tall wall with many towers. These walls were more than a thousand years old. Many armies came to take the city, but the walls stopped them every time. People thought the walls could never fall.
But by the year 1453, the empire was very small and weak. It was really only the city and a little land around it. The emperor was called Constantine XI. He had only a few thousand soldiers. Near the city was a young and strong new power: the Ottoman Empire. Its ruler was a young sultan called Mehmed II. He was only twenty-one years old, but he wanted one thing very much — to take the great city.
1. What is the name of Constantinople today, and where is it?
2. Why did people think the walls could never fall?
1. Today it is called Istanbul, in Turkey. It sat between Europe and Asia, next to the sea.
2. The walls were enormous and very old. For more than a thousand years they stopped every army that came, so people thought they could never fall.
Mehmed had something new and very powerful: a giant cannon. A man named Orban built it. It was so big that many animals had to pull it. When it fired, it threw a huge stone ball at the walls. No cannon like this had come to the city before.
In April 1453, the siege began. Every day the cannon hit the walls again and again. The walls started to break. But every night the defenders worked hard and fixed the holes with earth and wood. In the morning, the cannon started again.
There was a harbour by the city, and a great iron chain across the water kept the enemy ships out. However, Mehmed had a clever idea. He pulled his ships out of the sea and moved them over a hill on wooden rollers. Then he put them into the water behind the chain! Now there were enemy ships in the safe water too. The tired defenders had to protect even more of the city.
1. What powerful new thing did Mehmed have, and what did it do?
2. How did Mehmed get his ships past the great chain?
1. A giant cannon, built by a man named Orban. It fired huge stone balls and started to break the walls.
2. He pulled the ships over a hill on wooden rollers and put them into the water behind the chain.
By late May, the cannon had made a big hole in the walls. Everyone knew the big attack was coming. On the night before, many people went to the great church, Hagia Sophia, to pray together. The emperor talked to his soldiers one last time.
Early in the morning on 29 May 1453, Mehmed attacked with all his men. The first attacks failed, but more and more soldiers came. Then someone found a small gate open, and the defence began to break. The emperor, Constantine XI, went to fight with his soldiers. People say he died with them. No one knows for sure where his body went.
So the city fell. Mehmed came into the city. He was only twenty-one years old. He made Constantinople his new capital, and he changed the great church of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. An empire more than a thousand years old was finished. Many people in Europe said it was the end of one age and the start of a new one. We still remember the year 1453 today.
1. What happened on the morning of 29 May 1453?
2. What did Mehmed do with the city after he took it?
1. Mehmed attacked with all his men. The first attacks failed, but then a small gate was found open, the defence broke, and the city fell. The emperor died fighting with his soldiers.
2. He made it his new capital and changed the great church of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
This story happened long ago, so we tell it in the past simple. The story is also full of surprises — one thing was true, but then something different happened. We use but and however to show this.
Write the past simple of the verb in brackets.
1. Mehmed (want) to take the city. (regular)
2. The great cannon (break) the walls. (irregular)
3. The emperor (have) only a few thousand soldiers. (irregular)
4. In 1453, the city (fall). (irregular)
1. wanted
2. broke
3. had
4. fell
Choose but or however. Look at the punctuation to help you.
1. The walls were very old, they were still strong.
2. The defenders were tired. , they did not give up.
3. Many armies came, the city did not fall for a thousand years.
1. but (one sentence, after a comma)
2. However (new sentence, capital H, comma after)
3. but (one sentence, after a comma)
Fill each gap. Use the past simple, and choose but or however. Then read it out loud.
The Ottoman army (attack) the city many times. (but/however), the first attacks failed. Then the soldiers (find) a small gate open, (but/however) the defence began to break.
attacked · However, (new sentence) · found · and here but fits best (one sentence)
Remember: past simple for finished actions; but joins ideas in one sentence; However, starts a new sentence with a comma.
There is a real podcast about the fall of Constantinople. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. To find it, search "Short History Of The Fall of Constantinople" on Spotify and press play.
Open the show on Spotify →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of the fall of Constantinople in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a great old city with enormous walls → a small, weak empire in 1453 → the young sultan Mehmed and his giant cannon → the ships moved over the hill → the last attack, and the end of the empire.
Try to use the past simple ("the walls fell", "Mehmed took the city") and join ideas with but and however. Use some key words (empire, wall, army, cannon, soldier, ship, attack, defend).
The city had the strongest walls in the world, but they still fell. Do you think walls can keep a place safe today? Talk about a wall, a fence or a strong door you know. Does it really keep people safe? Why, or why not?
Mehmed's cannon and his ships on the hill were a big surprise. Tell a short story about a time something surprising changed a plan. Use the past simple, and but or however for the surprise.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: