*Includes pictures.
Constantinople would continue to serve as.
The city had been an imperial capital as far back as the 4th century, when Constantine the Great shifted the power center of the Roman Empire there, effectively establishing two almost equally powerful halves of antiquity\'s greatest empire.
In terms of geopolitics, perhaps the most seminal event of the Middle Ages was the successful Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. *Includes pictures