| Fall of Gallipoli | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theByzantine-Ottoman wars andOttoman wars in Europe | |||||||
 The Byzantine and Ottoman Empires within a year of the occupation of Gallipoli | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Ottoman Beylik | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John VI Kantakouzenos | Süleyman Pasha | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 10,000–20,000 exmercenaries[1] | ||||||
Thefall of Gallipoli (Turkish:Gelibolu'nun Fethi,lit. 'Conquest of Gelibolu') was the siege and capture of theGallipoli fortress and peninsula, by theOttoman Turks, in March 1354. After suffering a half-century of defeats at the hands of the Ottomans, theByzantine Empire had lost nearly all of its possessions inAnatolia, exceptPhiladelphia. Access to theAegean andMarmara seas meant that the Ottomans could now implement the conquest of the southern Balkans, and could advance further north into theSerbian Empire andHungary.
During theByzantine civil war of 1352–57, Turkish mercenaries allied with the emperorJohn VI Kantakouzenos plundered most ofByzantine Thrace and, around 1352, were granted[2][3] the small fortress ofTzympe near Gallipoli. On 2 March 1354, the area was struck by an earthquake that destroyed hundreds of villages and towns in the area.[4] Nearly every building in Gallipoli was destroyed, causing theGreek inhabitants to evacuate the city. Within a month,Süleyman Pasha seized the site, quickly fortifying it and populating it with Turkish families brought over from Anatolia.[2]
John VI offered cash payments to theOttoman sultanOrhan to vacate the city, but was refused. The sultan reportedly said he had not taken the city by force and could not give up something which had been "granted to him byAllah".[5] Panic spread throughoutConstantinople as many believed that the Turks would soon be coming for the city itself. Because of this, Kantakouzenos's position became unstable, and he was overthrown in November 1354.[4]
Gallipoli was to become the major bridgehead into Europe through which the Ottomans would facilitate further expansion into Europe.[6] The Turks launched campaigns throughout the countryside and Within less than ten years, nearly all of Byzantine Thrace fell to the Turks, includingAdrianople.[4]
40°24′48″N26°40′16″E / 40.4133°N 26.6711°E /40.4133; 26.6711