Joint Crisis Committee: And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: the Fall of Constantinople, Byzantine Empire vs. Ottoman Empire, 1444
The Fall of Constantinople marked a pivotal turning point in the history of medieval Europe. Protected by the Theodosian Walls, a strong military, and complex bureaucracy, the Byzantine Empire had ruled over the Eastern half of the Roman Empire for over a thousand years. Delegates in this joint crisis committee will play influential figures within the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires in the years leading up to the historical siege in the Spring of 1453. In the Byzantine committee, delegates will be forced to grapple with an Empire that is a shadow of its former self– politically fractured, militarily weak, and economically drained. However, they stand to benefit from Constantinople’s impressive Theodosian Walls and an array of potential European allies that could be coaxed into supporting them.
In the Ottoman committee, the delegates will be forced to deal with a politically weakened Empire in the aftermath of a succession crisis– the voluntary abdication of Sultan Murad II— before they can move on to focusing on conquering Constantinople. They stand to gain from their burgeoning Empire and recent conquests in Asia Minor and Thrace, which significantly bolster their military and economic strength. Armed with the ability to shape their respective Empires in the lead-up to the Siege, each committee stands poised to change the tide of history.
