Conquered by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1453 Istanbul, What if it had never passed to the Ottoman Empire? Can you imagine possible scenarios?

We are for you We asked artificial intelligence, When you saw the results you said, “I’m glad we conquered it!” You may not be able to stop yourself from saying this. So let’s look at this scenario together.

If Istanbul had not been conquered in 1453, the Byzantine Empire would have survived for a while.

However Byzantium was already a weakened state due to both internal unrest and external pressure. Economic resources were about to run out, the country was constantly disappearing, and internal uprisings were weakening Byzantium’s power. Thus, Byzantium could continue its existence under the protection of a strong Christian state, or it could be conquered by external actors such as Western European powers or Italian city-states.

That’s why Byzantiumnot the Ottomans; It could come under the control of the Western powers and Istanbul; it could have remained a Western European city.

The rise of the Ottoman Empire would slow down.

Istanbul is not conquered by the OttomansIt would mean that the Ottoman Empire would not be able to make major strategic, economic and cultural gains. The conquest of Istanbul played a key role in the Ottoman expansion policy towards the West and increased Ottoman influence in the West as a gateway to Western Europe. If Istanbul had not been conquered, Ottoman pressure and influence on Western Europe would have been much more limited.

This situation By pushing back Ottoman power in the Balkans It could have resulted in the longer survival of Christian states in Eastern Europe. In 2024, Ottoman expansion would have been limited to a smaller region, and perhaps modern-day Turkey would have been a state limited to much smaller borders.

The capital of the Ottoman Empire would be somewhere else.

The inability to conquer Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire He would force him to stay in another city. It was more likely that Edirne would remain the capital or that another city would be chosen as the capital. In this case, in 2024 Turkey we would see a scenario in which Istanbul does not play as central a role as it does today, and the cultural and political center of the Ottoman Empire develops in another city. This could radically change the socio-cultural structure of Turkey.

The city could have remained under Byzantine control and come under the protection of other Western European states, or it could have been conquered by another power. In this situation IstanbulIt could have had international status, like the Vatican, or remained a Christian Orthodox center.

The balance of power would change.

The survival of Byzantium or the conquest of Istanbul by Western powers could further limit Ottoman expansionist movements in Western Europe. A stronger Christian alliance against the Ottoman Empire could have been established in Europe, and Ottoman expansion could have been stopped sooner. In this case in Western Europe Habsburgs and other Christian powers supported Byzantium It could limit Ottoman pressure on Europe. As the Ottoman Empire could not make progress in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, its maritime trade and military power in the eastern Mediterranean would remain weaker.

The history of Eastern Europe and the Balkans would change.

Istanbul, Ottoman It was not only a city, but also the gateway to Eastern Europe. If the conquest had not taken place, the Ottoman Empire’s influence in the Balkans might have been smaller; This could have enabled the region’s Christian states to maintain their existence for longer.

Moreover, Military movements of the Ottoman Empire in Western Europe and the successes would be more limited.

Because Istanbul had not been conquered, the eastern Mediterranean trade routes would have become more easily controlled by Western Europe.

The Ottoman Empire did not control Istanbul, Europe’s trade routes with the East It could speed up the search process. Another power that conquered Istanbul could, like the Ottomans, have controlled the sea routes and made trade difficult, which could have led to the acceleration of geographical discoveries and the discovery of new trade routes. The European powers could have made earlier discoveries in Asia and Africa, and Europe could have entered a period of accelerated colonialism.

Current borders of Turkey in 2024 and their country could have been much smaller or divided. In particular, the weakness of Ottoman influence over Eastern Europe and the Middle East could directly change Turkey’s strategic and geographical structure during the Republican period.

The city would remain an important center of the Christian Orthodox world.

In this situation Religious and cultural structure of Istanbul it would be completely different. Today, Turkey’s cultural structure might be more secular or Western. Istanbul would remain a Christian Orthodox center under Western European influence, while the capital of Turkey would be a different city.

Because the Ottomans could not conquer Istanbul It could lose control of key trade routes, which would weaken the state economically. This economic weakness could mean that Turkey will be less active in world politics by 2024 and will no longer be a regional power. Türkiye existed as a smaller country without major trade routes.

Finally Istanbul is not conqueredIt would greatly change Turkey’s current situation. We may now live in a smaller state structure, develop a different cultural identity, or be in a completely different geographic region.

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