The Turning Point
Constantinople in Ottoman Era (1572)
Even though the city of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire collapsed, its culture did not. Years after the Fall, the culture of the Byzantine Empire, involving literature, the arts, and theology, flourished once again. The Byzantine culture influenced on the Western intellectual tradition by bringing them invaluable knowledge and rare manuscripts and also impact on countries that practiced its Orthodox religion like Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and much others. The Fall of Constantinople also contributed European trade links with Asia which lead many to seek routes east by sea and ignite the Age of Exploration. As for the Ottoman Turks, they started to spread Islam, which caused Pope Nicholas V to call for an immediate Crusade to retrieve the Holy Land from the Muslims. Mehmed was titled "The Conquerer" for capturing the city which provided him with a key foundation to spread Islam into Europe. Other than the expansion of Muslim faith, the Fall of Constantinople is marked as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance Era.