Historical Memory Culture and the significance of the 1453 Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople

Medievalism and Imperial Modernity research strand seminar

Co-organized with the York Asia Research Network and Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies. 

The story of the Ottoman ‘Conquest of Constantinople’ has taken on new significance for politics and identity in Turkey. The government administration makes conspicuous use of the Conquest as a counterpoint to Kemalist national history and as part of ‘Neo-Ottomanist’ politics. 1453 is – in some settings – pervasive in public space and life: in films, in metro stations, public anniversary celebrations and in museums that glorify the ‘Conquest’ as a righteous victory in which citizens can find a stock of Ottoman characteristics to emulate. In this talk, I explore the meanings of, and contests over, the taking of the city.