text:
Talk:Stevens Point, Wisconsin

Early History
Moved from subject page: "As far as this author knows, it was founded as a stopping-point along the Wisconsin River between lumber camps in northern Wisconsin and southern Wisconsin, hence the name "Stevens Point" (the apostrophe got lost at some point, apparently)."

"This author" is not identified, and in any case it would be nice to know who Steven was. Vicki Rosenzweig

 * Mr. "Stevens" is actually George Stevens, who was somehow involved with the logging industry in Wisconsin in early 19th century. From from what I've heard, Stevens built a small shed on the bank of the Wisconsin River (somewhere near where Pffifner Park currently is), as a stop between the logging towns of Big Bull Falls (Wausau) and Portage. Several sawmills then sprung up along the river. Josh Johnson

Redirect?
Shouldn't this and Stevens Point be combined, with that page redirecting to this one?Jason

Self-Servings Links
An external link to a composer's website was deleted on the grounds that it serves no purpose in the context of the city of Stevens Point itself. No mention of this musician or their impact on the city was mentioned in the article itself, and although I do not consider the target site to be commercial in nature, the composer no doubt benefits from the link, which, again, has nothing to do with the city itself, other than that she is from there. I welcome the user who added the links to create a new article dedicated to the musicians of Stevens Point, and a link to that article, from the original Point page, would be welcome.Craig

I also moved a reference to a country music artist from Stevens Point to the Civic Features section from the article lead; I don't think it belongs there either, though. Perhaps (for internal links) there should be a Famous Residents section?Hobbes

Prior text
Prior to being changed to a redirect, the following were the contents of the article Stevens Point:

(article lead)
Stevens Point is a city of approximately 25,000, centrally located in Portage County, Wisconsin. It was named after its founder, George Stevens, who ran several saloons on what is today known as "The Square". Loggers on the Wisconsin River found this a convenient stopping point, as the river bends slightly and one could tell from far upstream whether Stevens' point was open for business.

(A local legend also claims that Stevens Point is a bastardization of "Stevens Pint", a reference to Stevens' alleged practice of serving whiskey by the pint.)

Physical Features
Currently, Stevens Point occupies a land area of 16.5 square miles at an elevation of 1093 feet above sea level. It is surrounded by several smaller villages and towns, including Plover, Whiting, Custer, and the Town of Hull. On average, the temperature ranges from 80° to 20° Fahrenheit. All four seasons can be distinctly observed, with snow falling most heavily in December and January and temperatures rising to their summer levels of about 70° in July and August.

Demographics
Stevens Point boasts a significantly low median resident age of approximately 26 years old. According to the 2000 census, residents are 90% Caucasian, 3.5% Asian, and 1.6% Hispanic, with a significantly lower-than-average African-American population. The city has a reputation for being largely Democratic in political leaning, though it recorded one of the highest Green Party turnouts in the state in the 2000 Presidential election.

Civic Features
Major businesses in the area include Stora Enso North America paper mill, Sentry Insurance, and the Stevens Point Brewery; educational institutions include the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point and Mid-state Technical College.

The area has 20 developed parks, a 20-mile bicycle trail, an 18-hole golf course, public and private elementary/high school systems, a community theatre group (cwACT), many small businesses (including the locally famous Belts' Soft Serve), churches of various denominations, and city-wide events ranging from the Fourth of July Riverfront Rendezvous to the Portage County Cultural Festival.

External links and resources
Help Wikipedia by expanding this article!

Information from Stevens Point's city site, the Stevens Point Journal, and Stevens Point's city profile.

''Legends and hearsay from former and current residents of the city. Written 16 Mar 2005 by Hobbes.''

history on pj jacobs
when was the construction started for the school and how much money did it take to buid it?

Nudists
I can not see how this is relevant to the article. It is a fairly minor current event (I've never heard of it, and I've lived in the Point area now for 3 years). It is written up very biasedly, and is unencyclopedic in almost every way. I can almost see up in a scandle section under Andrew Halverson's page (if he had one). I am going to once again remove it, but if someone can give reason why it should stay, I would be happy to hear it. - IanCheesman (talk) 05:23, 29 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree with you, IanCheesman. Sounds like classic wp:soapbox.--BaronLarf 05:38, 29 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I third, this content doesn't belong.  Royal broil  12:43, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

Still being added by anon.--BaronLarf 10:14, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
 * If this keeps up much more, I think it would be fine to semi-protect the article for a while to keep out this content.  Royal broil  13:08, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Removal of Harassment by Mayor Andrew Halverson and Police Chief of Camp NCN Swingers Group
Well it appears that two people from Stevens Point and Wisconsin, IanCheeseman and BaronLeaf, keep removing, censoring my posts about the how Mayor Andrew Halverson and Police Chief Ruder of Stevens Point threatened the Royal Inn when they were going to host a swingers party.

"Harassment by Mayor Andrew Halverson and Police Chief of Camp NCN Swingers Group"

On February 12th and 13th, 2010 the swing club, Camp NCN = No Clothing Required, of Black River Falls, was scheduled to hold a total hotel takeover party at a motel in Stevens Point.

On January 25th, 2010 Stevens Point Mayor Andrew Halverson, who was elected in 2007 as a Progressive Democrat , and Police Chief Kevin Rudder announced that they would do everything to stop this party.

Chief Ruder threatened the owners and management of the hotel where the party was to take place with massive fines and the lose of their liquor license it the party went forward. Under pressure from Sheriff Ruder, the motel canceled NCN's reservation. .

However the owner of Club NCN has hired leading Madison civil rights attorney, Jeff Scott Olson, who has said that the City of Stevens Point is misapplying the law and has threatened legal action. The owner of Club NCN has said the party will proceed.

I thoroughly documented my posts with at least 5 or 6 sources from news organizations around Stevens Point. Now BaronLeaf has threatened that my editing privileges in Wikipedia will be revoked if I keep posting "non-neutral points of view", i.e. material he doesn't like. I thought Wikipedia was supposed to be an open forum, but apparently, if you post true and honest material that editors like IanCheeseman and BaronLeaf don't like they threaten you. I wonder if they will try and remove this too.Daniel D. Dobson 18:57, 28 February 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dann Dobson (talk • contribs)

 * Daniel - First of all, I apologize if my actions seemed like censorship, that was never my intention. Of the 6 notations you included above (note however, the "ref" tag doesn't work well on talk pages), 2 of them were links to the group.  Good for background, but not a source of information for the page, especially as I could find nothing on the page in 20 minutes of searching about anything dealing with this issue other than the event you spoke of, that says it was to be held in Madison (I could find no information about other locations, cancellation, or even whether it happened).
 * You next make three links to individuals and their election platform. Again, while potential background, linking to the administative roster of the city is not actually a helpful link in this situation.  Likewise, at the end you mention that a lawyer was involved, but only link to the lawyer's webpage, which again says nothing about the situation.
 * There are two links to local news broadcasts about the subject. The second one was interesting to watch (the first is no longer available), as I had not seen them before.  Local news is not very often unbiased, what we strive towards on Wikipedia, and thus not often used.  Print media is more stringently researched, and thus is the preferred source.
 * That being said, the news brief (which lasted only 35 seconds) mentioned that the reason the hotel was being threatened with loosing their license was because they would be breaking the law if they hosted the event. You mention nothing like this, nor do you present anything from the hotel, the city, or anything from NCN directly.
 * Do you understand why it appears to be a fringe attack, when no real sources are presented, the sources that are presented are insufficient, and the topic has no place in the article? If you still feel this courtcase (has it been taken to court?  Has any lawsuits been filed?) needs documentation, than it should be its own wikipedia page.  I could present the best information on how  pork costs have increased at Copps in the last 20 years at Stevens Point, but it still doesn't mean it should be on the Stevens Point wiki page.  The information you have presented thus far is not encyclopedic, not well sourced, and does not belong on that page.
 * Again, I hope you do not take this as censorship, meanness, or anything else. I made some massively poor edits when I first started hanging around on wikipedia, but others passed on their knowledge to me, as I am trying to do with you. - IanCheesman (talk) 23:49, 28 February 2010 (UTC

 * I agree with the concerns that IanCheesman has raised. First there is a problem with Verifiability. The allegations are for the most part not backed up. Secondly there is a problem with Notability. Even if something verifiable happened here, has it received "significant coverage"? Seems to just have been (allegedly) mentioned on the TV news twice. Third, there is a problem with a Neutral Point of View. The edits presented a biased pro-sex party point of view ("harrassment"?). Fourth, there is a problem with Undue Weight. Even if everything in those edits were true, do they really justify that much coverage? Four paragraphs, 2000 characters? I think not. After reverting the edits, IanCheeseman presented his reasons, and Royalbroil and I concurred. Consensus and Wikipedia guidelines suggest the material should not be included. Cheers--BaronLarf 00:22, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree with BaronLarf's assessment - my biggest problem with the content is his point #4 - undue weight. My opinion wouldn't be changed even if it were verified by a very reliable source like the New York Times - it's very far off-topic. This is an article about a city, so who cares about this incident? Will it be discussed in 100 years from now? Certainly no is the answer to that question. Consensus is clearly against including this minority opinion.  Royal broil  04:31, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

 * Sorry but I think both IanCheeseman and BaronLarf are wrong and you both are engaging in censorship. You are both from the area and I believe want to preserve StevensPoint's reputation as the "Best City of live in America". This is a dispute that does not reflect well in Steven's Point and not about the price of pork, but is about a Mayor and a police chief distorting the law.

 * Royalbroil's comments, "Will it be discussed in 100 years from now? Certainly no is the answer to that question." is pretty weak. By his standard 99.9% of the material on Wikipedia would be irrelevant and should not be posted.

 * I also was very disturbed by BaronLarf's threats that he would seek to have me banned from editiing if I persisted in making edits. He did not post that on my talk page, so I cannot find it. Apparently he does this a lot by reviewing his talk page.

 * What I posted was well sourced and well documented. Instead of correcting what I wrote, Ian and Baron simply kept deleting it. I would like to take this to a neutral source for an independent review. Intially I considered filing complaints against both of you, for abuse of your editing priviledges, but at this point I will be satisified taking our dispute to a neutral third party for review.

 * Please let's discuss where to take this.Daniel D. Dobson 17:12, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

 * If you really feel that asking for dispute resolution is what is needed, I guess that is your right, and I will not attempt to stop you. Again, I make the suggestion that your sources are not as high quality as you think they are, and the addition does not belong on this particular page.  I welcome you to write up a page on the court case (if there was/is/will be one, still seen no evidence of this) as have many others been written up.  If it is well written, I would support linking to that page from this page.  As for trying to "preserve Stevens Point's reputation", I actually couldn't care less about that.  I've only lived here for 3 years, I have no real connection to the place.  I have developed a connection to the ideas of Wikipedia, however, and am attempting to "preserve" Wikipedia's standards.  May I ask what is your connection to the other group, or to the police chief?  You seem very interested in blasting him and protecting this poor defenseless group, so might the bias lie on the other side of the issue?  Not accusing, just asking.  Connection does not equal bias, but it does increase the likelihood. - IanCheesman (talk) 18:24, 5 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Please read WP:INDISCRIMINATE point #4 to understand my point about 100 years. I was being a third neutral party when I gave my comments. I have no connection to the community with the exception of having visited the community as a resident of the state. I have reviewed the actions of all three of you and agree with BaronLarf and IanChesman. Your editing, Daniel, has been deleted because it causes problems with Biographies of living persons which is a strong policy to protect living people from advocacy against them. We need to not have this content in the article because we have a strong ethical and legal responsibility to do it right. To quote the policy: "We must get the article right.[1] Be very firm about the use of high quality references. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced—whether the material is negative, positive, neutral, or just questionable—should be removed immediately and without waiting for discussion." There has been plenty of discussion and consensus has been reached that this content does not belong.  Royal broil  05:07, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Notable people associated with Stevens Point
This list seems too long. What does "associated with" mean, anyhow? Born here, grew up here, lived here all their lives, passed through once on a trip to Madison? HuskyHuskie (talk) 12:25, 29 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Anyone who has been a resident - born or lived here. They're a lucky city to have so many notable people.  Royal broil  01:49, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Copyedit
Per request, edited this. Feedback encouraged! I'm happy to remedy any errors I created. Comments: Cheers! Lfstevens (talk) 18:50, 28 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Needs more footnotes, especially in earlier sections
 * Climate?
 * Ice fishing? Hockey?

Sister cities
I've removed the unreferenced sister cities from this article. It looks like references for two sister cities were deleated, with no rationale given for the edit. -- Mikeblas (talk) 03:08, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Notable people
A list has been repeatedly added to this article enumerating "notable people". This list was most recently added again with the claim that WP:USCITIES says such a list is acceptable. Quite the opposite: WP:USCITIES says that a bulleted list is not acceptable, and that such an enumeration should be in prose form; WP:USEPROSE echoes this standard. The list, as offered, has no clear bar of inclusion: the only standard offered is "notable people". We don't know if people in this list are current residents, the tenure of their residency, or the seasonality of their residency. We further don't know if they were born in this town (or nearby?), and no references are given to establish any verifiability (the fundamental requirement of WP:V).

Because the material isn't verifiable and is unencyclopedic as presented, I've removed it from the article again. -- Mikeblas (talk) 03:13, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Popular culture
Obviously the Liv and Maddie mention is notable and does not violate IPC at all. That policy states that detailing a topic's impact upon popular culture can be a worthwhile contribution to an article, provided that the content is properly sourced and consistent with policies and guidelines. It's neutral, it's well-sourced, and it's not, well, irrelevant or overly lengthy.(Plus, this was the only mention I could find for that section.) Epic Genius (talk) 21:42, 20 September 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Depot Park
According to our article on the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, Depot Park in Stevens Point contains a preserved "Soo Line" steam locomotive and caboose. Can anyone tell us about Depot Park? J S Ayer (talk) 00:53, 30 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Resolved: by Google Maps, confirmed by a telephone call, it's actually Veterans Memorial Park. J S Ayer (talk) 19:05, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

The caboose, by its number, was one of fifty built in 1908 for the Wisconsin Central Railway (1897-1954), which the next year came under the control of the Soo Line. J S Ayer (talk) 01:31, 30 June 2016 (UTC)

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Daily Journal
Stevens Point Daily Journal has been used as a source elsewhere, but is not noted here. One sentence in Culture might be enough. Also, archives at the Journal may support an article upgrade. — Rgdboer (talk) 21:20, 24 July 2017 (UTC)

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Hmong community?
We have a very visible and integrated Hmong population here. They're an inseparable part of our community, so it seems weird that it isn't mentioned at all. If you read the article as an outsider you'd just see the census data and think we're as homogenous as Maine and that's not an accurate picture. Desktopview (talk) 16:05, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Stevens Point, Wisconsin


text:
Fall of Constantinople

The fall of Constantinople, also known as the conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun on 6 April.

The attacking Ottoman Army, which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the Byzantine army was led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing Adrianople.

The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed of the Late Middle Ages, marking the effective end of the Roman Empire, a state which began in roughly 27 BC and had lasted nearly 1500 years. For many modern historians, the fall of Constantinople marks the end of the medieval period and the beginning of the early modern period. The city's fall also stood as a turning point in military history. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon ramparts and walls to repel invaders. The Walls of Constantinople, especially the Theodosian Walls, were some of the most advanced defensive systems in the world at the time. For 800 years, the Theodosian Walls, regarded by historians as the strongest and most fortified walls in the ancient and medieval era, protected Constantinople from attack. However, these fortifications were overcome with the use of gunpowder, specifically from Ottoman cannons and bombards, heralding a change in siege warfare. The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing 500 kg over 1.5 km which created gaps in the Theodosian Walls for the Ottoman siege.

The Byzantine Empire
Constantinople had been an imperial capital since its consecration in 330 under Roman emperor Constantine the Great. In the following eleven centuries, the city had been besieged many times but was captured only once before: the Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The crusaders established an unstable Latin state in and around Constantinople while the remainder of the Byzantine Empire splintered into a number of successor states, notably Nicaea, Epirus and Trebizond. They fought as allies against the Latin establishments, but also fought among themselves for the Byzantine throne.

The Nicaeans eventually reconquered Constantinople from the Latins in 1261, reestablishing the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty. Thereafter, there was little peace for the much-weakened empire as it fended off successive attacks by the Latins, Serbs, Bulgarians and Ottoman Turks.

Between 1346 and 1349, the Black Death killed almost half of the inhabitants of Constantinople. The city was further depopulated by the general economic and territorial decline of the empire, and by 1453, it consisted of a series of walled villages separated by vast fields encircled by the fifth-century Theodosian Walls.

By 1450, the empire was exhausted and had shrunk to a few square kilometers outside the city of Constantinople itself, the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara and the Peloponnese with its cultural center at Mystras. The Empire of Trebizond, an independent successor state that formed in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, was also present at the time on the coast of the Black Sea.

Preparations
When Mehmed II succeeded his father in 1451, he was 19 years old. Many European courts assumed that the young Ottoman ruler would not seriously challenge Christian hegemony in the Balkans and the Aegean. In fact, Europe celebrated Mehmed coming to the throne and hoped his inexperience would lead the Ottomans astray. This calculation was boosted by Mehmed's friendly overtures to the European envoys at his new court. But Mehmed's mild words were not matched by his actions. By early 1452, work began on the construction of a second fortress (Rumeli hisarı) on the European side of the Bosphorus, several miles north of Constantinople. The new fortress sat directly across the strait from the Anadolu Hisarı fortress, built by Mehmed's great-grandfather Bayezid I. This pair of fortresses ensured complete control of sea traffic on the Bosphorus and defended against attack by the Genoese colonies on the Black Sea coast to the north. In fact, the new fortress was called Boğazkesen, which means "strait-blocker" or "throat-cutter". The wordplay emphasizes its strategic position: in Turkish boğaz means both "strait" and "throat". In October 1452, Mehmed ordered Turakhan Beg to station a large garrison force in the Peloponnese to block Thomas and Demetrios (despotes in Southern Greece) from providing aid to their brother Constantine XI Palaiologos during the impending siege of Constantinople. Karaca Pasha, the beylerbeyi of Rumelia, sent men to prepare the roads from Adrianople to Constantinople so that bridges could cope with the massive cannons. Fifty carpenters and 200 artisans also strengthened the roads where necessary. The Greek historian Michael Critobulus quotes Mehmed II's speech to his soldiers before the siege:

"My friends and men of my empire! You all know very well that our forefathers secured this kingdom that we now hold at the cost of many struggles and very great dangers and that, having passed it along in succession from their fathers, from father to son, they handed it down to me. For some of the oldest of you were sharers in many of the exploits carried through by them—those at least of you who are of maturer years—and the younger of you have heard of these deeds from your fathers. They are not such very ancient events nor of such a sort as to be forgotten through the lapse of time. Still, the eyewitness of those who have seen testifies better than does the hearing of deeds that happened but yesterday or the day before."

European support
Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI swiftly understood Mehmed's true intentions and turned to Western Europe for help; but now the price of centuries of war and enmity between the eastern and western churches had to be paid. Since the mutual excommunications of 1054, the Pope in Rome was committed to establishing unity with the eastern church. The union was agreed by the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon, and indeed, some Palaiologoi emperors had since been received into the Latin Church. Emperor John VIII Palaiologos had also recently negotiated union with Pope Eugene IV, with the Council of Florence of 1439 proclaiming a Bull of Union. The imperial efforts to impose union were met with strong resistance in Constantinople. A propaganda initiative was stimulated by anti-unionist Orthodox partisans in Constantinople; the population, as well as the laity and leadership of the Byzantine Church, became bitterly divided. Latent ethnic hatred between Greeks and Italians, stemming from the events of the Massacre of the Latins in 1182 by the Greeks and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the Latins, played a significant role. Ultimately, the attempted union between east and west failed, greatly annoying Pope Nicholas V and the hierarchy of the Roman church.

In the summer of 1452, when Rumeli Hisarı was completed and the threat of the Ottomans had become imminent, Constantine wrote to the Pope, promising to implement the union, which was declared valid by a half-hearted imperial court on 12 December 1452. Although he was eager for an advantage, Pope Nicholas V did not have the influence the Byzantines thought he had over the Western kings and princes, some of whom were wary of increasing papal control. Furthermore, these Western rulers did not have the wherewithal to contribute to the effort, especially in light of the weakened state of France and England from the Hundred Years' War, Spain's involvement in the Reconquista, the internecine fighting in the Holy Roman Empire, and Hungary and Poland's defeat at the Battle of Varna of 1444. Although some troops did arrive from the mercantile city-states in northern Italy, the Western contribution was not adequate to counterbalance Ottoman strength. Some Western individuals, however, came to help defend the city on their own account. Cardinal Isidore, funded by the Pope, arrived in 1452 with 200 archers. An accomplished soldier from Genoa, Giovanni Giustiniani, arrived in January 1453 with 400 men from Genoa and 300 men from Genoese Chios. As a specialist in defending walled cities, Giustiniani was immediately given the overall command of the defence of the land walls by the Emperor. The Byzantines knew him by the Latin spelling of his name, "John Justinian", named after the famous 6th century Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great. Around the same time, the captains of the Venetian ships that happened to be present in the Golden Horn offered their services to the Emperor, barring contrary orders from Venice, and Pope Nicholas undertook to send three ships laden with provisions, which set sail near the end of March. From the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily arrived in Constantinople the condottiero Gabriele Orsini del Balzo, duke of Venosa and count of Ugento, together with 200 Neapolitan archers, who died fighting for the defense of the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Meanwhile, in Venice, deliberations were taking place concerning the kind of assistance the Republic would lend to Constantinople. The Senate decided upon sending a fleet in February 1453, but the fleet's departure was delayed until April, when it was already too late for ships to assist in battle. Further undermining Byzantine morale, seven Italian ships with around 700 men, despite having sworn to defend Constantinople, slipped out of the capital the moment Giustiniani arrived. At the same time, Constantine's attempts to appease the Sultan with gifts ended with the execution of the Emperor's ambassadors.

The Great Chain of the Golden Horn
Fearing a possible naval attack along the shores of the Golden Horn, Emperor Constantine XI ordered that a defensive chain be placed at the mouth of the harbour. This chain, which floated on logs, was strong enough to prevent any Turkish ship from entering the harbour. This device was one of two that gave the Byzantines some hope of extending the siege until the possible arrival of foreign help. This strategy was used because in 1204, the armies of the Fourth Crusade successfully circumvented Constantinople's land defences by breaching the Golden Horn Wall, which faces the Horn. Another strategy employed by the Byzantines was the repair and fortification of the Land Wall (Theodosian Walls). Emperor Constantine deemed it necessary to ensure that the Blachernae district's wall was the most fortified because that section of the wall protruded northwards. The land fortifications consisted of a 60 ft wide moat fronting inner and outer crenellated walls studded with towers every 45–55 metres.

Strength

The army defending Constantinople was relatively small, totalling about 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreigners. The population decline also had a huge impact upon the Constantinople's defense capabilities. At the end of March 1453, emperor Constantine XI ordered a census of districts to record how many able-bodied men were in the city and whatever weapons each possessed for defense. George Sphrantzes, the faithful chancellor of the last emperor, recorded that "in spite of the great size of our city, our defenders amounted to 4,773 Greeks, as well as just 200 foreigners". In addition there were volunteers from outside, the "Genoese, Venetians and those who came secretly from Galata to help the defense", who numbered "hardly as many as three thousand", amounting to something under 8,000 men in total to defend a perimeter wall of twelve miles. At the onset of the siege, probably fewer than 50,000 people were living within the walls, including the refugees from the surrounding area. Turkish commander Dorgano, who was in Constantinople working for the Emperor, was also guarding one of the quarters of the city on the seaward side with the Turks in his pay. These Turks kept loyal to the Emperor and perished in the ensuing battle. The defending army's Genoese corps were well trained and equipped, while the rest of the army consisted of small numbers of well-trained soldiers, armed civilians, sailors and volunteer forces from foreign communities, and finally monks. The garrison used a few small-calibre artillery pieces, which in the end proved ineffective. The rest of the citizens repaired walls, stood guard on observation posts, collected and distributed food provisions, and collected gold and silver objects from churches to melt down into coins to pay the foreign soldiers.

The Ottomans had a much larger force. Recent studies and Ottoman archival data state that there were some 50,000–80,000 Ottoman soldiers, including between 5,000 and 10,000 Janissaries, 70 cannons,  and an elite infantry corps, and thousands of Christian troops, notably 1,500 Serbian cavalry that Đurađ Branković was forced to supply as part of his obligation to the Ottoman sultan — just a few months before, Branković had supplied the money for the reconstruction of the walls of Constantinople. Contemporaneous Western witnesses of the siege, who tend to exaggerate the military power of the Sultan, provide disparate and higher numbers ranging from 160,000 to 300,000 (Niccolò Barbaro: 160,000; the Florentine merchant Jacopo Tedaldi and the Great Logothete George Sphrantzes:  200,000; the Cardinal Isidore of Kiev and the Archbishop of Mytilene Leonardo di Chio: 300,000).

Ottoman dispositions and strategies

Mehmed built a fleet (crewed partially by Spanish sailors from Gallipoli) to besiege the city from the sea. Contemporary estimates of the strength of the Ottoman fleet span from 110 ships to 430 (Tedaldi: 110; Barbaro: 145; Ubertino Pusculo: 160, Isidore of Kiev and Leonardo di Chio: 200–250; (Sphrantzes): 430). A more realistic modern estimate predicts a fleet strength of 110 ships comprising 70 large galleys, 5 ordinary galleys, 10 smaller galleys, 25 large rowing boats, and 75 horse-transports.

Before the siege of Constantinople, it was known that the Ottomans had the ability to cast medium-sized cannons, but the range of some pieces they were able to field far surpassed the defenders' expectations. The Ottomans deployed a number of cannons, anywhere from 12 to 62 cannons. They were built at foundries that employed Turkish cannon founders and technicians, most notably Saruca, in addition to at least one foreign cannon founder, Orban (also called Urban). Most of the cannons at the siege were built by Turkish engineers, including a large bombard by Saruca, while one cannon was built by Orban, who also contributed a large bombard.

Orban, a Hungarian (though some suggest he was German), was a somewhat mysterious figure. His 27 ft cannon was named "Basilica" and was able to hurl a 600 lb stone ball over a mile (1.6 km). Orban initially tried to sell his services to the Byzantines, but they were unable to secure the funds needed to hire him. Orban then left Constantinople and approached Mehmed II, claiming that his weapon could blast "the walls of Babylon itself". Given abundant funds and materials, the Hungarian engineer built the gun within three months at Edirne. However, this was the only cannon that Orban built for the Ottoman forces at Constantinople, and it had several drawbacks: it took three hours to reload; cannonballs were in very short supply; and the cannon is said to have collapsed under its own recoil after six weeks. The account of the cannon's collapse is disputed, given that it was only reported in the letter of Archbishop Leonardo di Chio and in the later, and often unreliable, Russian chronicle of Nestor Iskander.

Having previously established a large foundry about 150 mi away, Mehmed now had to undertake the painstaking process of transporting his massive artillery pieces. In preparation for the final assault, Mehmed had an artillery train of 70 large pieces dragged from his headquarters at Edirne, in addition to the bombards cast on the spot. This train included Orban's enormous cannon, which was said to have been dragged from Edirne by a crew of 60 oxen and over 400 men. There was another large bombard, independently built by Turkish engineer Saruca, that was also used in the battle.

Mehmed planned to attack the Theodosian Walls, the intricate series of walls and ditches protecting Constantinople from an attack from the West and the only part of the city not surrounded by water. His army encamped outside the city on 2 April 1453, the Monday after Easter.

The bulk of the Ottoman army was encamped south of the Golden Horn. The regular European troops, stretched out along the entire length of the walls, were commanded by Karadja Pasha. The regular troops from Anatolia under Ishak Pasha were stationed south of the Lycus down to the Sea of Marmara. Mehmed himself erected his red-and-gold tent near the Mesoteichion, where the guns and the elite Janissary regiments were positioned. The Bashi-bazouks were spread out behind the front lines. Other troops under Zagan Pasha were employed north of the Golden Horn. Communication was maintained by a road that had been destroyed over the marshy head of the Horn.

The Ottomans were experts in laying siege to cities. They knew that in order to prevent diseases they had to burn corpses, sanitarily dispose of excrement, and carefully scrutinize their sources of water.

Byzantine dispositions and tactics

The city had about 20 km of walls (land walls: 5.5 km; sea walls along the Golden Horn: 7 km; sea walls along the Sea of Marmara: 7.5 km), one of the strongest sets of fortified walls in existence. The walls had recently been repaired (under John VIII) and were in fairly good shape, giving the defenders sufficient reason to believe that they could hold out until help from the West arrived. In addition, the defenders were relatively well-equipped with a fleet of 26 ships: 5 from Genoa, 5 from Venice, 3 from Venetian Crete, 1 from Ancona, 1 from Aragon, 1 from France, and about 10 from the empire itself.

On 5 April, the Sultan himself arrived with his last troops, and the defenders took up their positions. As Byzantine numbers were insufficient to occupy the walls in their entirety, it had been decided that only the outer walls would be guarded. Constantine and his Greek troops guarded the Mesoteichion, the middle section of the land walls, where they were crossed by the river Lycus. This section was considered the weakest spot in the walls and an attack was feared here most. Giustiniani was stationed to the north of the emperor, at the Charisian Gate (Myriandrion); later during the siege, he was shifted to the Mesoteichion to join Constantine, leaving the Myriandrion to the charge of the Bocchiardi brothers. Girolamo Minotto and his Venetians were stationed in the Blachernae Palace, together with Teodoro Caristo, the Langasco brothers, and Archbishop Leonardo of Chios.

To the left of the emperor, further south, were the commanders Cataneo, who led Genoese troops, and Theophilus Palaeologus, who guarded the Pegae Gate with Greek soldiers. The section of the land walls from the Pegae Gate to the Golden Gate (itself guarded by a Genoese called Manuel) was defended by the Venetian Filippo Contarini, while Demetrius Cantacuzenus had taken position on the southernmost part of the Theodosian wall. The sea walls were guarded more sparsely, with Jacobo Contarini at Stoudion, a makeshift defence force of Greek monks to his left hand, and Prince Orhan at the Harbour of Eleutherios. Genoese and Catalan troops were stationed at the Great Palace; Cardinal Isidore of Kiev guarded the tip of the peninsula near the boom. Finally, the sea walls at the southern shore of the Golden Horn were defended by Venetian and Genoese sailors under Gabriele Trevisano.

Two tactical reserves were kept behind in the city: one in the Petra district just behind the land walls and one near the Church of the Holy Apostles, under the command of Loukas Notaras and Nicephorus Palaeologus, respectively. The Venetian Alviso Diedo commanded the ships in the harbour. Although the Byzantines also had cannons, the weapons were much smaller than those of the Ottomans, and the recoil tended to damage their own walls. According to David Nicolle, despite many odds, the idea that Constantinople was inevitably doomed is incorrect and the situation was not as one-sided as a simple glance at a map might suggest. It has also been claimed that Constantinople was "the best-defended city in Europe" at that time.

Siege

At the beginning of the siege, Mehmed sent out some of his best troops to reduce the remaining Byzantine strongholds outside the city of Constantinople. The fortress of Therapia on the Bosphorus and a smaller castle at the village of Studius near the Sea of Marmara were taken within a few days. The Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara were taken by Admiral Baltoghlu's fleet. Mehmed's massive cannons fired on the walls for weeks but due to their imprecision and extremely slow rate of fire, the Byzantines were able to repair most of the damage after each shot, mitigating the effect of the Ottoman artillery.

Despite some probing attacks, the Ottoman fleet under Baltoghlu could not enter the Golden Horn due to the chain across the entrance. Although one of the fleet's main tasks was to prevent any foreign ships from entering the Golden Horn, on 20 April, a small flotilla of four Christian ships managed to get in after some heavy fighting, an event which strengthened the morale of the defenders and caused embarrassment to the Sultan. Baltoghlu was most likely injured in the eye during the skirmish. Mehmed stripped Baltoghlu of his wealth and property and gave it to the janissaries and ordered him to be whipped 100 times.

Mehmed ordered the construction of a road of greased logs across Galata on the north side of the Golden Horn and dragged his ships over the hill, directly into the Golden Horn on 22 April, bypassing the chain barrier. This action seriously threatened the flow of supplies from Genoese ships from the nominally neutral colony of Pera and it demoralized the Byzantine defenders. On the night of 28 April, an attempt was made to destroy the Ottoman ships already in the Golden Horn using fire ships but the Ottomans forced the Christians to retreat with many casualties. Forty Italians escaped their sinking ships and swam to the northern shore. On orders of Mehmed, they were impaled on stakes, in sight of the city's defenders on the sea walls across the Golden Horn. In retaliation, the defenders brought their Ottoman prisoners, 260 in all, to the walls, where they were executed, one by one, before the eyes of the Ottomans. With the failure of their attack on the Ottoman vessels, the defenders were forced to disperse part of their forces to defend the sea walls along the Golden Horn.

The Ottoman army had made several frontal assaults on the land wall of Constantinople, but they were costly failures. Venetian surgeon Niccolò Barbaro, describing in his diary one such land attack by the Janissaries, wrote

"They found the Turks coming right up under the walls and seeking battle, particularly the Janissaries ... and when one or two of them were killed, at once more Turks came and took away the dead ones ... without caring how near they came to the city walls. Our men shot at them with guns and crossbows, aiming at the Turk who was carrying away his dead countryman, and both of them would fall to the ground dead, and then there came other Turks and took them away, none fearing death, but being willing to let ten of themselves be killed rather than suffer the shame of leaving a single Turkish corpse by the walls."

After these inconclusive attacks, the Ottomans sought to break through the walls by constructing tunnels to mine them from mid-May to 25 May. Many of the sappers were miners of Serbian origin sent from Novo Brdo under the command of Zagan Pasha. An engineer named Johannes Grant, a German who came with the Genoese contingent, had counter-mines dug, allowing Byzantine troops to enter the mines and kill the miners. The Byzantines intercepted the first tunnel on the night of 16 May. Subsequent tunnels were interrupted on 21, 23 and 25 May, and destroyed with Greek fire and vigorous combat. On 23 May, the Byzantines captured and tortured two Turkish officers, who revealed the location of all the Turkish tunnels, which were destroyed.

On 21 May, Mehmed sent an ambassador to Constantinople and offered to lift the siege if they gave him the city. He promised he would allow the Emperor and any other inhabitants to leave with their possessions. He would recognize the Emperor as governor of the Peloponnese. Lastly, he guaranteed the safety of the population that might choose to remain in the city. Constantine XI only agreed to pay higher tributes to the sultan and recognized the status of all the conquered castles and lands in the hands of the Turks as Ottoman possessions. The Emperor was not willing to leave the city without a fight:

"As to surrendering the city to you, it is not for me to decide or for anyone else of its citizens; for all of us have reached the mutual decision to die of our own free will, without any regard for our lives."

Around this time, Mehmed had a final council with his senior officers. Here he encountered some resistance; one of his Viziers, the veteran Halil Pasha, who had always disapproved of Mehmed's plans to conquer the city, now admonished him to abandon the siege in the face of recent adversity. Zagan Pasha argued against Halil Pasha and insisted on an immediate attack. Believing that the Byzantine defence was already weakened sufficiently, Mehmed planned to overpower the walls by sheer force and started preparations for a final all-out offensive.

Final assault

Preparations for the final assault began in the evening of 26 May and continued to the next day. For 36 hours after the war council decided to attack, the Ottomans extensively mobilized their manpower for the general offensive. Prayer and resting was then granted to the soldiers on 28 May before the final assault would be launched. On the Byzantine side, a small Venetian fleet of 12 ships, after having searched the Aegean, reached the Capital on 27 May and reported to the Emperor that no large Venetian relief fleet was on its way. On 28 May, as the Ottoman army prepared for the final assault, mass religious processions were held in the city. In the evening, a solemn last ceremony of Vespers was held in the Hagia Sophia, in which the Emperor with representatives and nobility of both the Latin and Greek churches partook. Up until this point, the Ottomans had fired 5,000 shots from their cannons using 55,000 pounds of gunpowder. Criers roamed the camp to the sound of the blasting horns, rousing the Ghazis.

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday 29 May, the offensive began. The Christian troops of the Ottoman Empire attacked first, followed by successive waves of the irregular azaps, who were poorly trained and equipped and Anatolian Turkmen beylik forces who focused on a section of the damaged Blachernae walls in the north-west part of the city. This section of the walls had been built earlier, in the 11th century, and was much weaker. The Turkmen mercenaries managed to breach this section of walls and entered the city but they were just as quickly pushed back by the defenders. Finally, the last wave consisting of elite Janissaries, attacked the city walls. The Genoese general in charge of the defenders on land, Giovanni Giustiniani, was grievously wounded during the attack, and his evacuation from the ramparts caused a panic in the ranks of the defenders.

With Giustiniani's Genoese troops retreating into the city and towards the harbour, Constantine and his men, now left to their own devices, continued to hold their ground against the Janissaries. Constantine's men eventually could not prevent the Ottomans from entering the city and the defenders were overwhelmed at several points along the wall. Janissaries, led by Ulubatlı Hasan, pressed forward. Many Greek soldiers ran back home to protect their families, the Venetians retreated to their ships and a few of the Genoese escaped to Galata. The rest surrendered or committed suicide by jumping off the city walls. The Greek houses nearest to the walls were the first to suffer from the Ottomans. It is said that Constantine, throwing aside his purple imperial regalia, led the final charge against the incoming Ottomans, perishing in the ensuing battle in the streets alongside his soldiers. The Venetian Nicolò Barbaro claimed in his diary that Constantine hanged himself at the moment when the Turks broke in at the San Romano gate. Ultimately, his fate remains unknown.

After the initial assault, the Ottoman army fanned out along the main thoroughfare of the city, the Mese, past the great forums and the Church of the Holy Apostles, which Mehmed II wanted to provide as a seat for his newly appointed patriarch to better control his Christian subjects. Mehmed II had sent an advance guard to protect these key buildings. The Catalans that maintained their position on the section of the wall that the emperor had assigned them, had the honor of being the last troops to fall. The sultan had Pere Julià, his sons and the consul Joan de la Via, amongst others, beheaded.

A few civilians managed to escape. When the Venetians retreated over to their ships, the Ottomans had already taken the walls of the Golden Horn. Luckily for the occupants of the city, the Ottomans were not interested in killing potentially valuable slaves but rather in the loot they could get from raiding the city's houses, so they decided to attack the city instead. The Venetian captain ordered his men to break open the gate of the Golden Horn. Having done so, the Venetians left in ships filled with soldiers and refugees. Shortly after the Venetians left, a few Genoese ships and even the Emperor's ships followed them out of the Golden Horn. This fleet narrowly escaped prior to the Ottoman navy assuming control over the Golden Horn, which was accomplished by midday.

The army converged upon the Augusteum, the vast square that fronted the great church of Hagia Sophia whose bronze gates were barred by a huge throng of civilians inside the building, hoping for divine protection. After the doors were breached, the troops separated the congregation according to what price they might bring in the slave markets. Ottoman casualties are unknown but they are believed by most historians to be severe due to several unsuccessful Ottoman attacks made during the siege and final assault. The Venetian Barbaro observed that blood flowed in the city "like rainwater in the gutters after a sudden storm" and that bodies of Turks and Christians floated in the sea "like melons along a canal".

Atrocities
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Mehmed II "permitted an initial period of looting that saw the destruction of many Orthodox churches", but tried to prevent a complete sack of the city. The looting was extremely thorough in certain parts of the city. On 2 June, the Sultan found the city largely deserted and half in ruins; churches had been desecrated and stripped, houses were no longer habitable, and stores and shops were emptied. He is famously reported to have been moved to tears by this, saying, "What a city we have given over to plunder and destruction."

Looting was carried out on a massive scale by sailors and marines who entered the city via other walls before they had been suppressed by regular troops, who were beyond the main gate. According to David Nicolle, the ordinary people were treated better by their Ottoman conquerors than their ancestors had been by Crusaders back in 1204, stating that only about 4,000 Greeks died in the siege, while according to a Venetian Senate report, 50 Venetian noblemen and over 500 other Venetian civilians died during the siege. Many of the riches of the city were already looted in 1204, leaving only limited loot to the Ottomans.

Other sources claim far more brutal and successful pillaging by the Ottoman invaders. Leonard of Chios made accounts of the atrocities that followed the fall of Constantinople stated the Ottoman invaders pillaged the city, murdered or enslaved tens of thousands of people, and raped nuns, women and children:

"All the valuables and other booty were taken to their camp, and as many as sixty thousand Christians who had been captured. The crosses which had been placed on the roofs or the walls of churches were torn down and trampled. Women were raped, virgins deflowered and youths forced to take part in shameful obscenities. The nuns left behind, even those who were obviously such, were disgraced with foul debaucheries."

During three days of pillaging, the Ottoman invaders captured children and took them away to their tents, and became rich by plundering the imperial palace and the houses of Constantinople. The Ottoman official Tursun Beg wrote:

"After having completely overcome the enemy, the soldiers began to plunder the city. They enslaved boys and girls and took silver and gold vessels, precious stones and all sorts of valuable goods and fabrics from the imperial palace and the houses of the rich... Every tent was filled with handsome boys and beautiful girls."

If any citizens of Constantinople tried to resist, they were slaughtered. According to Niccolò Barbaro, "all through the day the Turks made a great slaughter of Christians through the city". According to Makarios Melissenos:

"As soon as the Turks were inside the City, they began to seize and enslave every person who came their way; all those who tried to offer resistance were put to the sword. In many places the ground could not be seen, as it was covered by heaps of corpses."

The women of Constantinople suffered from rape at the hands of Ottoman forces. According to historian Philip Mansel, widespread persecution of the city's civilian inhabitants took place, resulting in thousands of murders and rapes. The vast majority of the citizens of Constantinople (30,000–50,000) were forced to become slaves.

"They made the people of the city slaves and killed their emperor, and the gazis embraced their pretty girls", confirm Ottoman Chroniclers.

According to Nicolas de Nicolay, slaves were displayed naked at the city's slave market, and young girls could be purchased. The elder refugees in the Hagia Sophia were slaughtered and the women raped. George Sphrantzes says that people of both genders were raped inside Hagia Sophia. According to Steven Runciman most of the elderly and the infirm/wounded and sick who were refugees inside the churches were killed, and the remainder were chained up and sold into slavery.

"Everywhere there was misfortune, everyone was touched by pain" when Mehmed entered the city. "There were lamentations and weeping in every house, screaming in the crossroads, and sorrow in all churches; the groaning of grown men and the shrieking of women accompanied looting, enslavement, separation, and rape." Mehmed entered the Hagia Sophia, "marveling at the sight" of the grand basilica. Witnessing a Ghazi wildly hammering at the marble floor, he asked what he was doing. "It is for the Faith!" the Ghazi said. Mehmed cut him down with his Kilij: "Be satisfied with the booty and the captives; the buildings of the city belong to me."

During the festivities, "and as he had promised his viziers and his other officers," Mehmed had the "wretched citizens of Constantinople" dragged before them and "ordered many of them to be hacked to pieces, for the sake of entertainment."

Byzantine historian Doukas claims that, while drunk during his victory banquet, the Sultan ordered the Grand Duke Loukas Notaras to give his youngest son to him for his pleasure. He replied that "it would be far better for me to die than hand over my own child to be despoiled by him." Mehmed was enraged after hearing this and ordered Loukas to be executed. Before his death, Notaras supposedly said that "Him who was crucified for us, died and arose"' and urged his horrified sons to reject the advances of Mehmed and not fear the outcome. Their father's words encouraged them, and they also "were ready to die". They are also said to have been executed. However, American researcher and professor Walter G. Andrew doubts the authenticity of this story, citing the similarities with the earlier story of Saint Pelagius, he states that, "it is likely that Doukas's tale owes more to Saint Pelagius and a long history of attempts to portray Muslims as morally inferior than to anything that actually happened during the conquest of Constantinople/Istanbul."

Aftermath
Mehmed II granted his soldiers three days to plunder the city, as he had promised them and in accordance with the custom of the time. By noon, the city streets were filled with blood. The Turks looted houses, raped and impaled women and children, destroyed churches, tore icons from their frames and books from their bindings. All that remained of the imperial palace in Blachernae were the walls; Byzantium's most sacred icon, the Hodegetria, was cut into four pieces and destroyed. The most monstrous events took place in the Church of Hagia Sophia. There, the morning service was already underway when the parishioners heard the maddened conquerors approaching. The huge bronze doors immediately slammed shut, but soon the Turks smashed them and entered the temple. The poorer and less attractive looking parishioners were killed on the spot, the rest were taken to a Turkish camp, where they remained to await the decision of their fate. Soldiers fought over the possession of some of the spoils of war. On the third day of the conquest, Mehmed II ordered all looting to stop and issued a proclamation that all Christians who had avoided capture or who had been ransomed could return to their homes without further molestation, although many had no homes to return to, and many more had been taken captive and not ransomed. Byzantine historian George Sphrantzes, an eyewitness to the fall of Constantinople, described the Sultan's actions:

"On the third day after the fall of our city, the Sultan celebrated his victory with a great, joyful triumph. He issued a proclamation: the citizens of all ages who had managed to escape detection were to leave their hiding places throughout the city and come out into the open, as they were to remain free and no question would be asked. He further declared the restoration of houses and property to those who had abandoned our city before the siege. If they returned home, they would be treated according to their rank and religion, as if nothing had changed."

Mehmed himself knocked over and trampled on the altar of the Hagia Sophia. He then ordered a muezzin to ascend the pulpit and sound a prayer. The Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque, but the Greek Orthodox Church was allowed to remain intact and Gennadius Scholarius was appointed Patriarch of Constantinople. This was once thought to be the origin of the Ottoman millet system; however, it is now considered a myth and no such system existed in the fifteenth century.

The fall of Constantinople shocked many Europeans, who viewed it as a catastrophic event for their civilization. Many feared other European Christian kingdoms would suffer the same fate as Constantinople. Two possible responses emerged amongst the humanists and churchmen of that era: Crusade or dialogue. Pope Pius II strongly advocated for another Crusade, while the German Nicholas of Cusa supported engaging in a dialogue with the Ottomans. "In the past we received our wounds in Asia and in Africa—in foreign countries. This time, however, we are being attacked in Europe, in our own land, in our own house. You will protest that the Turks moved from Asia to Greece a long time ago, that the Mongols established themselves in Europe and the Arabs occupied parts of Spain, having approached through the straits of Gibraltar. We have never lost a city or a place comparable to Constantinople"

The Morean (Peloponnesian) fortress of Mystras, where Constantine's brothers Thomas and Demetrius ruled, constantly in conflict with each other and knowing that Mehmed would eventually invade them as well, held out until 1460. Long before the fall of Constantinople, Demetrius had fought for the throne with Thomas, Constantine, and their other brothers John and Theodore. Thomas escaped to Rome when the Ottomans invaded Morea while Demetrius expected to rule a puppet state, but instead was imprisoned and remained there for the rest of his life. In Rome, Thomas and his family received some monetary support from the Pope and other Western rulers as Byzantine emperor in exile, until 1503. In 1461, the independent Byzantine state in Trebizond fell to Mehmed.

Constantine XI had died without producing an heir, and had Constantinople not fallen he likely would have been succeeded by the sons of his deceased elder brother, who were taken into the palace service of Mehmed after the fall of Constantinople. The oldest boy, renamed Murad, became a personal favourite of Mehmed and served as Beylerbey (Governor-General) of Rumeli (the Balkans). The younger son, renamed Mesih Pasha, became Admiral of the Ottoman fleet and Sancak Beg (Governor) of the province of Gallipoli. He eventually served twice as Grand Vizier under Mehmed's son, Bayezid II.

With the capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II had acquired the future capital of his kingdom, albeit one in decline due to years of war. The loss of the city was a crippling blow to Christendom, and it exposed the Christian West to a vigorous and aggressive foe in the East. The Christian reconquest of Constantinople remained a goal in Western Europe for many years after its fall to the Ottoman Empire. Rumours of Constantine XI's survival and subsequent rescue by an angel led many to hope that the city would one day return to Christian hands. Pope Nicholas V called for an immediate counter-attack in the form of a crusade, however no European powers wished to participate, and the Pope resorted to sending a small fleet of 10 ships to defend the city. The short lived Crusade immediately came to an end and as Western Europe entered the 16th century, the age of Crusading began to come to an end.

For some time Greek scholars had gone to Italian city-states, a cultural exchange begun in 1396 by Coluccio Salutati, chancellor of Florence, who had invited Manuel Chrysoloras, to lecture at the University of Florence. After the conquest many Greeks, such as John Argyropoulos and Constantine Lascaris, fled the city and found refuge in the Latin West, bringing with them knowledge and documents from the Greco-Roman tradition to Italy and other regions that further propelled the Renaissance. Those Greeks who stayed behind in Constantinople mostly lived in the Phanar and Galata districts of the city. The Phanariotes, as they were called, provided many capable advisers to the Ottoman rulers.

A severed head that was claimed to belong to Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos was found and presented to Mehmed and nailed onto a column. While standing before the head, the sultan in his speech said: "Fellow soldiers, this one thing was lacking to make the glory of such a victory complete. Now, at this happy and joyful moment of time, we have the riches of the Greeks, we have won their empire, and their religion is completely extinguished. Our ancestors eagerly desired to achieve this; rejoice now since it is your bravery which has won this kingdom for us."

The news spread rapidly across the Islamic world. In Egypt "good tidings were proclaimed, and Cairo decorated" to celebrate "this greatest of conquests." The Sharif of Mecca wrote to Mehmed, calling the Sultan "the one who has aided Islam and the Muslims, the Sultan of all kings and sultans,". The fact that Constantinople, which was long "known for being indomitable in the eyes of all," as the Sharif of Mecca said, had fallen and that the Prophet Muhammad's prophecy came true shocked the Islamic world and filled it with a great jubilation and rapture.

Third Rome

Byzantium is a term used by modern historians to refer to the later Roman Empire. In its own time, the Empire ruled from Constantinople (or "New Rome" as some people call it, although this was a laudatory expression that was never an official title) and was simply considered as "the Roman Empire." The fall of Constantinople led competing factions to lay claim to being the inheritors of the Imperial mantle. Russian claims to Byzantine heritage clashed with those of the Ottoman Empire's own claim. In Mehmed's view, he was the successor to the Roman Emperor, declaring himself Kayser-i Rum, literally "Caesar of Rome", that is, of the Roman Empire, though he was remembered as "the Conqueror".

Stefan Dušan, Tsar of Serbia, and Ivan Alexander, Tsar of Bulgaria, both made similar claims, regarding themselves as legitimate heirs to the Roman Empire. Other potential claimants, such as the Republic of Venice and the Holy Roman Empire have disintegrated into history.

Impact on the Churches
Pope Pius II believed that the Ottomans would persecute Greek Orthodox Christians and advocated for another crusade at the Council of Mantua in 1459.

Legends
There are many legends in Greece surrounding the Fall of Constantinople. It was said that the partial lunar eclipse that occurred on 22 May 1453 represented a fulfilment of a prophecy of the city's demise.

Four days later, the whole city was blotted out by a thick fog, a condition unknown in that part of the world in May. When the fog lifted that evening, a strange light was seen playing about the dome of the Hagia Sophia, which some interpreted as the Holy Spirit departing from the city. "This evidently indicated the departure of the Divine Presence, and its leaving the City in total abandonment and desertion, for the Divinity conceals itself in cloud and appears and again disappears."

For others, there was still a distant hope that the lights were the campfires of the troops of John Hunyadi who had come to relieve the city. It is possible that all these phenomena were local effects of the cataclysmic 1452/1453 mystery eruption which occurred around the time of the siege. The "fire" seen may have been an optical illusion due to the reflection of intensely red twilight glow by clouds of volcanic ash high in the atmosphere.

Another legend holds that two priests saying divine liturgy over the crowd disappeared into the cathedral's walls as the first Turkish soldiers entered. According to the legend, the priests will appear again on the day that Constantinople returns to Christian hands. Another legend refers to the Marble Emperor (Constantine XI), holding that an angel rescued the emperor when the Ottomans entered the city, turning him into marble and placing him in a cave under the earth near the Golden Gate, where he waits to be brought to life again (a variant of the sleeping hero legend). However, many of the myths surrounding the disappearance of Constantine were developed later and little evidence can be found to support them even in friendly primary accounts of the siege.

Cultural impact

Guillaume Dufay composed several songs lamenting the fall of the Eastern church, and the duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, avowed to take up arms against the Turks. However, as the growing Ottoman power from this date on coincided with the Protestant Reformation and subsequent Counter-Reformation, the recapture of Constantinople became an ever-distant dream. Even France, once a fervent participant in the Crusades, became an ally of the Ottomans.

Nonetheless, depictions of Christian coalitions taking the city and of the late Emperor's resurrection by Leo the Wise persisted.

29 May 1453, the day of the fall of Constantinople, fell on a Tuesday, and since then Tuesday has been considered an unlucky day by Greeks generally.

Impact on the Renaissance
The migration waves of Byzantine scholars and émigrés in the period following the sacking of Constantinople and the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is considered by many scholars key to the revival of Greek and Roman studies that led to the development of the Renaissance humanism and science. These émigrés were grammarians, humanists, poets, writers, printers, lecturers, musicians, astronomers, architects, academics, artists, scribes, philosophers, scientists, politicians and theologians. They brought to Western Europe the far greater preserved and accumulated knowledge of Byzantine civilization. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica: "Many modern scholars also agree that the exodus of Greeks to Italy as a result of this event marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance".

Renaming of the city
Ottomans used the Arabic transliteration of the city's name "Qosṭanṭīniyye" (القسطنطينية) or "Kostantiniyye", as can be seen in numerous Ottoman documents. Islambol (اسلامبول, Full of Islam) or Islambul (find Islam) or Islam(b)ol (old Turkic: be Islam), both in Turkish, were folk-etymological adaptations of Istanbul created after the Ottoman conquest of 1453 to express the city's new role as the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire. It is first attested shortly after the conquest, and its invention was ascribed by some contemporary writers to Mehmed II himself.

The name of Istanbul is thought to be derived from the Greek phrase īs tīmbolī(n) (εἰς τὴν πόλιν, translit. eis tēn pólin, "to the City"), and it is claimed that it had already spread among the Turkish populace of the Ottoman Empire before the conquest. However, Istanbul only became the official name of the city in 1930 by the revised Turkish Postal Law.

Eyewitness accounts

 * 1) Mehmed Şems el-Mille ve'd Din, Sufi holy man who gives an account in a letter
 * 2) Tursun Beg, wrote a history entitled Tarih-i Abu'l Fath
 * 3) George Sphrantzes, the only Greek eyewitness who wrote about it, but his laconic account is almost entirely lacking in narrative
 * 4) Leonard of Chios, wrote a report to Pope Nicholas V
 * 5) Nicolò Barbaro, physician on a Venetian galley who kept a journal
 * 6) Angelino Giovanni Lomellini, Venetian podestà of Pera who wrote a report dated 24 June 1453
 * 7) Jacopo Tetaldi, Florentine merchant
 * 8) Isidore of Kiev, Orthodox churchman who wrote eight letters to Italy
 * 9) Benvenuto, Anconitan consul in Constantinople
 * 10) Ubertino Puscolo, Italian poet learning Greek in the city, wrote an epic poem
 * 11) Eparkhos and Diplovatatzes, two refugees whose accounts has become garbled through multiple translations
 * 12) Nestor Iskander, youthful eyewitness who wrote a Slavonic account
 * 13) Samile the Vladik, bishop who, like Eparkhos and Diplovatatzes, fled as a refugee to Wallachia
 * 14) Konstantin Mihailović, Serbian who fought on the Ottoman side
 * 15) a report by some Franciscan prisoners of war who later came to Bologna

Non-eyewitness accounts

 * 1) Doukas, a Byzantine Greek historian, one of the most important sources for the last decades and eventual fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans
 * 2) Laonikos Chalkokondyles, a Byzantine Greek historian
 * 3) Michael Kritoboulos, a Byzantine Greek historian
 * 4) Makarios Melissourgos, 16th-century historian who augmented the account of Sphrantzes, not very reliably
 * 5) Paolo Dotti, Venetian official on Crete whose account is based on oral reports
 * 6) Fra Girolamo's letter from Crete to Domenico Capranica
 * 7) Lauro Quirini, wrote a report to Pope Nicholas V from Crete based on oral reports
 * 8) Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), wrote an account based on written sources
 * 9) Henry of Soemmern, wrote a letter dated 11 September 1453 in which he cites his sources of information
 * 10) Niccola della Tuccia, whose Cronaca di Viterbo written in the autumn of 1453 contains unique information
 * 11) Niccolò Tignosi da Foligno, Expugnatio Constantinopolitana, part of a letter to a friend
 * 12) Filippo da Rimini, Excidium Constantinopolitanae urbis quae quondam Bizantium ferebatur
 * 13) Antonio Ivani da Sarzana, Expugnatio Constantinopolitana, part of a letter to the duke of Urbino
 * 14) Nikolaos Sekoundinos, read a report before the Venetian Senate, the Pope and the Neapolitan court
 * 15) Giacomo Languschi, whose account is embedded in the Venetian chronicle of Zorzi Dolfin, had access to eyewitnesses
 * 16) John Moskhos, wrote a poem in honour of Loukas Notaras
 * 17) Adamo di Montaldo, De Constantinopolitano excidio ad nobilissimum iuvenem Melladucam Cicadam, which contains unique information
 * 18) Ashikpashazade, included a chapter on the conquest in his Tarih-i al-i Osman
 * 19) Neshri, included a chapter on the conquest in his universal history
 * 20) Evliya Çelebi, 17th-century traveller who collected local traditions of the conquest

Books

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Fall of Constantinople


text:
Binaural recording

Binaural recording is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a 3D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actually being in the room with the performers or instruments. This effect is often created using a technique known as dummy head recording, wherein a mannequin head is fitted with a microphone in each ear. Binaural recording is intended for replay using headphones and will not translate properly over stereo speakers. This idea of a three-dimensional or "internal" form of sound has also translated into useful advancement of technology in many things such as stethoscopes creating "in-head" acoustics and IMAX movies being able to create a three-dimensional acoustic experience.

The term "binaural" has frequently been confused as a synonym for the word "stereo", due in part to systematic misuse in the mid-1950s by the recording industry, as a marketing buzzword. Conventional stereo recordings do not factor in natural ear spacing or "head shadow" of the head and ears, since these things happen naturally as a person listens, generating interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs) specific to their listening position. Because loudspeaker-crosstalk with conventional stereo interferes with binaural reproduction (i.e. because the sound from each channel's speaker is heard by both ears rather than only by the ear on the corresponding side, as would be the case with headphones), either headphones are required, or crosstalk cancellation of signals intended for loudspeakers such as Ambiophonics is required. For listening using conventional speaker-stereo, or MP3 players, a pinna-less dummy head may be preferable for quasi-binaural recordings such as the sphere microphone or Ambiophone. As a general rule, for true binaural results, an audio recording and reproduction system chain, from the microphone to the listener's brain, should contain one and only one set of pinnae (preferably the listener's own), and one head-shadow.

History
The history of binaural recording goes back to 1881. The first binaural unit, the théâtrophone, was invented by Clément Ader. It consisted of an array of carbon telephone microphones installed along the front edge of the Opera Garnier. The signal was sent to subscribers through the telephone system, and required that they wear a special headset, which had a tiny speaker for each ear.

The dummy head recording is associated with the use of the physical synthetic head called the Kunstkopf. The Kunstkopf would be placed in concert halls during the recording of a live orchestra or in the film industry actors could stand around the head whilst recording their dialogue. The dummy head could also be used to imprint positional information on prerecorded sound effects by playing sounds through a loudspeaker in a suitable orientation to the head. For example, thunder and birdsong sounds to be played above the dummy head.

Within the film industry Demolition (1973) was the first radio drama recorded using a dummy head.

In 1974 Virgin Records issued the first solo album by Tangerine Dream's leader Edgar Froese, titled Aqua. The brief sleeve notes inform listeners that side 2 of the disc (i.e. the tracks NGC 891 and Upland) were recorded using the artificial head system developed by Gunther Brunschen. Listeners were advised to optimize their listening by using stereo headphones for that side of the album.

Although Edgar was keen to continue to use and promote this system for subsequent recordings, it was abandoned, due to the fact that, although it worked well through headphones, the improved sound quality did not translate adequately through a hi-fi speaker system.

In 1978, Lou Reed released the first commercially produced binaural pop record, Street Hassle, a combination of live and studio recordings.

Binaural stayed in the background due to the expensive, specialized equipment required for quality recordings, and the requirement of headphones for proper reproduction. Particularly in pre-Walkman days, most consumers considered headphones an inconvenience, and were only interested in recordings that could be listened to on a home stereo system or in automobiles. Lastly, the types of things that can be recorded do not have a typically high market value. Studio recordings would have little to benefit from using a binaural set up, beyond natural cross-feed, as the spatial quality of the studio would not be very dynamic and interesting. Recordings that are of interest are live orchestral performances, and ambient "environmental" recordings of city sounds, nature, and other such subject matters.

During the 1990s, electronic devices which used digital signal processing (DSP) to reproduce HRTFs were made commercially available. These devices would allow the sound engineer to use dialled parameters to adjust the apparent direction of real time sounds. They were unusual and expensive, but would allow the sound engineer to alter special effects of prerecorded sounds quickly and conveniently. Through the manipulation of the parameters, sound engineers could take a monophonic recording of a passing car and make it sound as if it were passing behind them in real time. Recording with an actual dummy head for the same outcome would require a recording booth and a moving speaker, or an array of speakers as well as multiple panning or switching devices.

The modern era has seen a resurgence of interest in binaural, partially due to the widespread availability of headphones, cheaper methods of recording and the general increased commercial interest in 360° audio technology.

The online ASMR community is another movement that has widely employed binaural recordings.

The rise of Dolby Atmos and other 360° audio film technology in relation to commercial entertainment has seen a rise in popularity of the use of binaural simulation. This is with the purpose of fully adapting the 360° soundtrack for headphones and earphones. Users can ostensibly watch 360° films and music with the immersive surround sound experience remaining intact despite using just the two headset speakers. Notably, any full 360° multi-channel soundtrack is automatically converted to simulated binaural audio when listened to with headphones.

In 2005, Aqua was remixed for limited edition reissue in Germany and Japan, with an additional track Upland Dawn appended to the end of the CD.

In 2015, Singaporean singer-songwriter JJ Lin released his debut experimental album From M.E. to Myself, using dummy head recording. This is also the first album in pop music industry using this technology.

Recording techniques
With a simple recording method, two microphones are placed 18 cm (7") apart facing away from each other. This method will not create a real binaural recording. The distance and placement roughly approximate the position of an average human's ear canals, but that is not all that is needed. More elaborate techniques exist.

There are two main methods used to create a binaural effect:
 * 1) Dummy head recording The dummy head or Head and Torso Simulator (HATS) are based upon the average dimensions of a human head and torso. They consist of acoustic materials fitted with ear and mouth simulators as well as two microphones inserted within each ear canal, typically at the ear drum.
 * 2) Simulated dummy head recording Takes place through the digital signal processing (DSP) where the signal is sent through a complex mathematical algorithm imprinting limited HRTF information creating the binaural effect. This process is called HRTF-based binaural algorithm.

Dummy head recording
A typical binaural recording unit has two high-fidelity microphones mounted in a dummy head, inset in ear-shaped molds to fully capture all of the audio frequency adjustments (known as head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) in the psychoacoustic research community) that happen naturally as sound wraps around the human head and is "shaped" by the form of the outer and inner ear. The dummy head (also known as artificial head, Kunstkopf or Head and Torso Simulator) is used to generate binaural recordings. The tracks are then listened to through headphones allowing for the listener to hear from the dummy's perspective. The dummy head is designed to record multiple sounds at the same time enabling it to be exceptional at recording music as well as in other industries where multiple sound sources are involved.

The dummy head is designed to replicate an average-sized human head and depending on the manufacturer may have a nose and mouth too. Each dummy head is equipped with pinnae and ear canals in which small microphones are placed, one in each ear. The leading manufacturers in Dummy Head design are: Brüel & Kjær, Head Acoustics GmBH, Knowles Electronics, and GRAS Sound & Vibration.

Design
The dummy head manufacturers design their products differently to one another catering for specific situations. The GRAS dummy's are flexible: they include head or torso with replaceable pinnae of different sizes and materials, set of different type ear-canal simulators, ear-drum simulators. Heads may include or not include mouth simulator. Brüel & Kjær design includes soft moulded pinnae, nose, mouth and torso. Any dummy head or HATS can be used to record audio of the same nature but different types of them are specifically designed to accomplish different tasks. A new manufacturer to the market for recording binaural is 3Dio with the purpose of recording on a smaller scale. The 3Dio microphones are situated in the ears at an average head distance apart, however the model does not include the full head or torso.

Limitations
The main focus of recording with a dummy head is to achieve a perfect binaural playback that is suited to all listeners. The problem arises that each human head has different shaped and sized features. Due to the diversity in HRTFs it is impossible to create a binaural effect compatible for everyone's ears. Therefore, the simulated dummy head recording algorithm uses average HRTFs to create a moderate binaural effect for everyone.

Technical
The human perception of direction is complex:
 * 1) The sound information arriving at the left and right ears causes inter-aural time differences and interaural level differences. These small variations allow the brain and auditory system to calculate the direction and distance of the sound sources from the listener. See Interaural time difference and Sound localization.
 * 2) With percussive sounds, the impact can be noticed on the skin (usually torso). The strongest and earliest sensory stimulus comes from the skin regions which are aligned perpendicular to the sound source direction.
 * 3) The human head imprints frequency-dependent distortions of phase and amplitude on sounds as they reach the eardrums. The frequency-dependent level differences as well as these distortions vary with the direction of the sound source. This is caused by the geometry and sound-transmitting characteristics of the sinus, throat cavities, eustachian tubes, inner ear, external ears and other tissues of the head and upper body. See Head Related Transfer Function.

Conventional music recording is produced for stereo playback which makes use of only Left and Right playback for speakers and headphones. The implementation of Dummy Head allows the recording artist to make use of three dimensional sound reproduction. This is because through playback via headphones the listener perceives sound as if they were in the position of the dummy. The recording is perceived through the pinnae of the dummy head.

Re-recording techniques
The technique of binaural re-recording is simple but has not been well established. It follows the same principles of Worldizing, a technique used by film sound designers in which sound is played over a loudspeaker in a real-world location and then re-recorded, taking along all the aspects and characteristics of the real-world environment with it.

Using space to manipulate a sound and then re-recording it has been done through the use of echo chambers in recording studios for many years. In 1959, an echo chamber was famously used by Irving Townsend during the post-production process of Miles Davis's 1959 album Kind of Blue. "[the effect of the echo chamber on Kind of Blue is] just a bit of sweetening. At 30th Street, a line was run from the mixing console down into a low-ceilinged, concrete basement room—about 12 by 15 feet in size—anywhere we set up a speaker and a good omnidirectional microphone."

In binaural re-recording, a binaural microphone is used to record content being played over a multi-channel speaker set-up. The binaural head, or microphone, is therefore theoretically making a recording of how humans will hear multi-channel content. The soundtrack to a film, for example, will be recorded by the binaural microphone with all the environmental cues of the given location, as well as reverberations, including those commonly created by the human torso (assuming a HATS model is used). This method, like certain binaural recordings made with a Neumann KU 100.

Using an MRI scanner, Brüel & Kjær and DTU collected the geometries of a large population of human ears. By capturing the full ear canal geometry including the bony part adjoining the eardrum was, this data was post-processed to determine the average human ear canal geometry. Based on this, High-frequency Head and Torso Simulator (HATS) Type 5128, creates a very realistic reproduction of the acoustic properties, covering the full audible frequency range (up to 20 kHz).

Playback

There are some complications with the playback of binaural recordings through headphones. The sound that is picked up by a microphone placed in or at the entrance of the ear channel has a frequency spectrum that is very different from the one that would be picked up by a free-standing microphone. The diffuse-field head-transfer function (HRTF), that is, the frequency response at the eardrum averaged for sounds coming from all possible directions, is quite grotesque, with peaks and dips exceeding 10 dB. Frequencies from around 2 to 5 kHz in particular are strongly amplified as compared to free field presentation.

Timbral issues
In January 2012 BBC R&D worked together with BBC Radio 4 to produce a binaural production of Private Peaceful, the book by Michael Morpurgo. The 88 minute dramatization featured a reproduction of a 5.1 speaker system, and had 4 variations. At the start of each variation, the listener would hear a series of test signals allowing for a choice of which version gives the listener the best spatial experience. By doing this, BBC R&D have accepted that there will be variations on the success of the binaural reproduction, and therefore provided different mixes based on different sets of HRTF data. The release of Private Peaceful had an accompanying survey which all listeners were asked to complete. It asked questions about the success that the binaural reproduction had with the listeners and which version (1-4) the listener thought was most successful.

During an interview with Chris Pike from BBC R&D in September 2012, Pike stated that "you may get good spatial impression but timbral coloration is often an issue". The issue of timbral coloration is mentioned in a large amount of spatial enhancement research and is sometimes seen as the outcome of the misuse or insufficient amount of HRTF data when reproducing binaural audio for example, or the fact that the end-user simply will not respond well to the collected HRTF data. Francis Rumsey states in the 2011 article "Whose head is it anyway?" that "badly implemented HRTFs can give rise to poor timbral quality, poor externalisation, and a host of other unwanted results". Getting the HRTF data correct is a key point in making the final product a success, and possibly by making the HRTF data as extensive as possible, there will be less room for error such as timbral issues. The HRTFs used for Private Peaceful were designed by measuring impulse responses in a reverberant room, done so to capture a sense of space, but is not very external and there are obvious timbral issues as pointed out by Pike.

Juha Merimaa from Sennheiser Research Laboratories found that using HRTF filters to reduce timbral issues did not affect the spatial localization previously achieved using the data when tested on a panel of listeners. This explains that there are ways of reducing the effects of timbral issues on audio that have been processed with HRTF data, but this does mean further EQ manipulation of the audio. If this route is to be further explored, researchers will have to be happy with the fact that the audio is being manipulated in great amounts to achieve a greater sense of spatial awareness, and that this further manipulation will cause irreversible changes to the audio, something content creators may not be happy with. Consideration will have to be taken into how much manipulation is appropriate and to what extent, if any, will this affect the end users experience.

Timbral issues related to headphones
Ideal listening conditions will most likely be experienced with headphones designed and calibrated to give an as flat frequency response as possible in order to reduce colouration of the audio the user is listening to. In most circumstances this has not seemed enough of a problem for end-users to make an investment into headphones that will allow them to hear audio exactly how the creator of the content intended, and will instead continue to use bundled headphones, or in some cases make investments into headphones endorsed and branded by certain artists. As previously discussed, there are issues of timbral effects present while using BRIR and HRTF data to create spatially improved audio, techniques used by Chris Pike and BBC R&D. The results experienced timbral issues and therefore this method may not yet be a successful way of creating spatially enhanced audio for headphones, but these timbral issues are also experienced with headphone choice. "[Are timbral issues brought about by the use of BRIR and HRFT data] any worse than the difference between some cheap headphones that you get with an mp3 player versus some nice Sennheisers".

Brüel & Kjær Head and Torso Simulators (HATS)
Designed to be used in-situ electroacoustics tests on, for example, telephone handsets, headsets, audio conference devices, microphones, headphones, hearing aids and hearing protectors.

Neumann KU 100
The Neumann KU 100 is a dummy head microphone used to record in binaural stereo. "It resembles the human head and has two microphone capsules built into the ears". The Neumann is a commonly used binaural microphone and features use by BBC R&D teams.

G.R.A.S. Head & Torso Simulator KEMAR (HATS)
KEMAR was initially invented in collaboration with the audiological industry for the use of hearing aid development, and is still the de facto standard for this industry – however since then the usage of KEMAR has spread into a multitude of other industries like: telecommunications, hearing protection test, automotive development etc. KEMAR is designed using large statistical research to as close to the average human measurements as possible. The KEMAR model is also the only microphone on this list to feature a torso model. Torso reflections have been seen to be a considerable contributor to creating a successful binaural recording.

3Dio range
The 3Dio range of binaural microphones feature two silicone ear (pinna) moulds separated by 19 cm—close to average distance between human ears. Microphones are placed inside the ears range from Primo EM172 in the Free Space and Free Space XLR models, to DPA 4060s in the Pro II model. The 3Dio range is considerably cheaper than the Neumann KU 100 for example and therefore used more on a consumer to prosumer level. The main difference with the 3Dio models compared to the KEMAR or KU 100 is the absence of a head model. The 3Dio relies entirely in the use on pinna moulds to achieve a binaural effect from the stereo recording.

Sound Professionals SP-TFB-2
An in-ear wearable stereo microphone used like earphones, placed inside the human pinna. This microphone uses the user's pinna to create the binaural effect.

Hooke Verse
The Hooke Verse is a relatively newer binaural device that is an in-ear wearable set of microphones that connects to recording devices utilizing Bluetooth with lossless recording. The codec developed allows the user to capture audio along with video. Additionally, the device utilizes microphone windscreens to cut down on wind noise, a common problem with wearable devices and smart phones.

title: Binaural recording