World Affairs Board - View Single Post

maximusslade · 05-06-2008, 10:37 AM

Be that as it may, the historical contention is that the Theodosian walls were not breached until the Ottomans blew them apart with cannon.

Edit: I have read up a little more on the walls and this is what Wiki has to say, "In the northwestern corner of the city, the suburb of Blachernae with its important church of Panagia Vlacherniotissa was left out of the Theodosian walls. To defend it, in the face of the great Avar siege, a single wall was built, around 627, in the reign of Heraclius. In 814, Leo V the Armenian built a new wall in front of the Heraclean one to safeguard against Bulgarian raids. In the 12th century, when Blachernae had become the favoured imperial residence, Manuel I Komnenos built a wall, starting from the end of the Theodosian Walls, to protect the imperial palaces, which was connected by a later wall (possibly under Isaac II Angelos) to the Heraclean wall.[17] Despite all this, the defences of the Blachernae section remained weaker than at the Theodosian Walls, and it was here the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade managed to penetrate them and first enter the city." The Blachernae wall was not part of the Theodosian wall but rather a smaller extenstion outside to protect imperial palaces and churches outside the actual walls.

05-06-2008, 10:37 AM	#1656 (permalink)
maximusslade Patron Join Date: 04-16-08 Posts: 195	Be that as it may, the historical contention is that the Theodosian walls were not breached until the Ottomans blew them apart with cannon. Edit: I have read up a little more on the walls and this is what Wiki has to say, "In the northwestern corner of the city, the suburb of Blachernae with its important church of Panagia Vlacherniotissa was left out of the Theodosian walls. To defend it, in the face of the great Avar siege, a single wall was built, around 627, in the reign of Heraclius. In 814, Leo V the Armenian built a new wall in front of the Heraclean one to safeguard against Bulgarian raids. In the 12th century, when Blachernae had become the favoured imperial residence, Manuel I Komnenos built a wall, starting from the end of the Theodosian Walls, to protect the imperial palaces, which was connected by a later wall (possibly under Isaac II Angelos) to the Heraclean wall.[17] Despite all this, the defences of the Blachernae section remained weaker than at the Theodosian Walls, and it was here the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade managed to penetrate them and first enter the city." The Blachernae wall was not part of the Theodosian wall but rather a smaller extenstion outside to protect imperial palaces and churches outside the actual walls. __________________ Hit Hard, Hit Fast, Hit Often... Last edited by maximusslade : 05-06-2008 at 10:50 AM.