1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 63 Glory
Boom——Long——

Several huge cannon shots shocked the entire city, and the crowd looked towards the place where the cannon shots came from.

In the Golden Horn Bay in the north, a huge fleet sailed against the wind, firing cannons and spewing fire and lead.

On the fleet, the double-headed eagle flag and the flag of the Palaiologos family fluttered, announcing the return of the city's owner.

Boom——Boom——

There was another burst of gunfire, this time even more violent and deafening.

Before people had time to marvel at the grandeur of the fleet, their attention was drawn to the city gates.

Outside the city gate, wisps of smoke were rising from several cannons.

The sharp-eyed people shouted.

"Into the city!"

Entering the city.

A column of heavy infantry marched towards the city gate.

They were wearing grey robes, iron armor underneath, holding long spears, scimitars on their waists, and iron helmets on their heads. They walked slowly towards the city gate.

Their armor had obviously been specially treated, and the exposed parts reflected dazzling light.

The robes bear the emblem of the legion - a lion wearing a crown.

The leader was riding a war horse, and the horse's coat also had a crowned lion painted on it.

He had a blank expression on his face, staring into the distance.

"That's Count Mikhail and the First Guards Regiment! My brother served there!"

Many well-informed people in the crowd had already recognized this army.

"This is His Highness Isaac's most elite force, which has participated in countless wars, big and small!"

The First Legion of the Guards filed in, lined up from the Golden Gate to the Central Street, slowly split into two columns, and walked towards the crowd.

The crowd retreated in terror until the road was clear enough for eight horses to ride abreast.

The guards stood still, hammering their halberds heavily into the ground.

boom--

The cannons roared again, accompanied by the dull sound of horse hooves.

Tuk Tuk——

The noisy crowd fell silent, all looking forward to it, sticking their heads out and looking at the city gate.

Closer, closer, the knights are getting closer.

Dozens of family knights, fully armored and holding banners, walked through the city gate.

They held the flag of the Palaiologos family, and the golden and red cross quadrilateral fluttered in the wind, making it particularly conspicuous.

People knew that the purple nobles were coming.

Da da--

The horse's hooves hit the stone slabs, slowly and firmly.

On November 1448, 11, the forty-four-year-old Constantine Palaiologos walked out of the darkness cast by the tower and greeted the morning sunshine of Constantinople.

He rode a white horse, wore a purple robe, and had a crown of a despot on his head. He held his head high, and a smile appeared on his handsome face.

"Wan Sheng!"

The guards shouted loudly and smashed their halberds to the ground.

"Wan Sheng!"

The crowd also began to cheer.

Constantine looked around and waved to the crowd.

Isaac followed closely behind his father, half a horse length behind.

He was also wearing a purple robe, noble and awe-inspiring.

Isaac held the captured Mamluk flag, waved it at the crowd, and threw it under the tower.

Then, one red cavalryman after another walked in from the city gate and threw flag after flag in front of the tower.

The flags of the Ottoman Navy, the Fezzan flag, the Hafs flag, and the scribbles of African tribes were all thrown in front of the city gate.

People opened their mouths and their pupils widened.

They understood. This is the Golden Gate!
When the Eastern Roman Empire was at its height, everyone knew that at the western end of the city, near the Sea of ​​Marmara, there was a gate decorated with gold plates and marble and bronze statues that shone brightly in the sun.

This is the Golden Gate.

A huge and magnificent arch with two magnificent towers made of polished marble on each side.

During the heyday of the Eastern Roman Empire, victorious emperors would walk through here in their best attire, carrying symbols of victory.

The enemy's tattered flags, the foreign king in chains, the recaptured holy relics, the barbarian slaves in strange costumes, the carriages piled with spoils...

After the catastrophe of 1204, the gold and decorations on the Golden Gate were gone, and the emperor had no victories worth writing about.

This place has been abandoned for so long that almost everyone has forgotten what it represents and the glory of their ancestors.

And today——

And today, more and more red knights are riding horses into the city gate, followed by Muslim captives with their heads bowed, holding all kinds of small gold and silver items in their hands.

The captives were kicked to the ground, with shackles nailed to their hands and feet. They fell to their knees and groaned in pain.

Gold and silver were thrown to the crowd, which cheered and hailed the name of Constantine.

The Red Knights kept coming, seemingly without end.

Behind them, black people imprisoned in cages rode in carriages, exposed to the public, huddled in fear.

Behind them, horses pulled carts loaded with gold and silver, which sparkled in the sunlight.

Constantine walked slowly forward, and the crowd pushed and shoved, following him forward.

They passed the palace of Blachernae, where guards saluted the purple-clad nobles outside.

They passed the Church of Chora, whose bells welcomed Constantine's return.

They passed the Church of St. Theodosia, the Church of the Holy Apostles, and the high Aqueduct of Valens.

They took to the central streets, to the Forum of Theodosius and the Forum of Constantine, eclipsing the banners of St. Mark in the Colony to the north.

They saw the hippodrome, the Great Palace, the statue of Justinian and the majestic Hagia Sophia.

The church bells rang, and Patriarch Gregory III of Constantinople, along with Cardinal Isidore and other senior clergymen, welcomed Constantine's arrival.

Patriarch Gregory III smiled and held out his hand to Constantine.

The Patriarch led Constantine slowly into the church, where Queen Mother Helena and Constantine's supporters had been waiting.

Isaac followed them in and took his place in the place reserved for him.

Constantine followed the Patriarch through the welcoming crowd to the second gate and lit special candles.

Constantine, accompanied by the Patriarch, came to the porphyry slab in front of the altar screen, prayed facing the icon of Christ, and then entered the altar.

The choir began to sing hymns and incense was lit in the church.

The singing is long and the fragrance is lingering, as if you have entered heaven.

Constantine sits on the throne and the Patriarch blesses the crown.

After the blessing, Gregory III held the crown, which symbolized the highest authority of the Eastern Roman Empire, in both hands and placed it firmly on Constantine's head.

The Patriarch stepped aside to give Constantine room.

"Long live!"

All the ministers knelt down and cheered "Long live the emperor".

Constantine walked out of the church and showed his crown to all the citizens who followed him.

He drew out his sword, pointed it into the distance, took on this responsibility, and shouldered this burden.

"Long live!"

The Guards and Slavice Corps shouted loudly.

"Long live!"

The citizens who supported Constantine shouted loudly.

"Long live!"

Gradually, the cheers grew louder and louder, echoing throughout the city and across the sky, covering up all other noise.

On November 1448, 11, in front of the entire city's people, Constantine Dragases Palaeologus was crowned emperor in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

It was Constantine XI.

(End of this chapter)