Both the prophecies of our eternally blessed and exalted prophet (saws), proved literally true in the forth coming, chronicles. The first naval expedition was mobilized during the days of Caliph Sayyidina Uthman (r.a.) and Umme Haram along with her husband Abadah ibn Samat accompanied them. They however, could not proceed to Constantinople due to their encounter with the Navy of Cyprus. The enemy was defeated and they had to sign a treaty with the Muslims but due to heavy losses to their fleet, they had sailed back, During the return journey. Umme Haram fell off'of her horse and died.

The second expedition was commissioned during the reign of Muawiyah (ra). The fleet was commanded by Sufyan ibn Auf al Azdi and Yazid ibn Muawiyah; also a number of noble companions of the Holy Prophet (saws) including Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, Ibn 'Umar, Ibn al-Zubair and Abu Ayyub Ansari were among the principle mariners. The city could not be captured but the cherished dream of our eternally blessed and exalted Prophet (saws) was transformed into a coveted aim of the succeeding generations of the Muslim Ummah.

Abu Ayyub Ansari (ra) died during the besiege of Constantinople and his will to be buried in close proximity to the walls of the city was fulfilled by Yazid ibn Muawiyah. The seers and sages o fthe Ummah opine that the man who occupied the territory of the enemy was Abu Ayyub and as such deserves to be called the primitive conqueror of Constantinople.

Another tradition which gave everlasting impetus to the Muslim sovereigns through out the ups and downs of our eventful history has been narrated by Bashir ibn Sahym as; The Holy Prophet (saws) said, "Certainly you shall conquer Constantinople and the best of Amirs of that contingent and the best of forces will be that (victorious) Force."

To seek the predicted benediction; a number of rulers including 'Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, Hashem ibn Abdul Malik, Mehdi Abbasi, Haroon Rashid and many others made sustained efforts to capture the city but Divine Providence had chosen Muhammad, the Fateh (conqueror) for this most coveted honor and excellence.

Muhammad, the Fateh was the 7th Caliph of Ottoman Dynasty who ascended the throne at the age of twenty two and very soon proved his credentials as a very competent ruler by virtue of his sterling qualities of head and heart. As the Chief Executive of the State he for the first instance, consolidated his power by crushing all possible hostile forces that could tend to create law and order problem for him or could be a menace to his sovereignty. Then he very carefully studied the causes of failure of all the previous expeditions undertaken against Constantinople. He critically examined the war strategy of the past generals and tried to redress their weak points. He very rightly concluded that no blockade of the city could be effective until the supply line of the enemy is broken. The Caesars of Constantinople used to get reinforcement and all sort of provision including war equipment and food supply through Bosphorus, Therefore, it was inevitable to consolidate full control on the Bosphorus. Previously Bayazid of Ottoman Dynasty had raised a fort on the eastern shore of the Bosphorus, but it failed to exercise full control on the sea passage which anyhow remained open for the European ships loaded with men and material for the Byzantine Empire. Therefore, Muhammad the Faeh ordered the construction of another fort on the western side of the bay to effectively check the entry of European ships during the war against the Emperor of Constantinople. He installed very heavy artillery on both the forts which contained very destructive type of guns and cannons.

Constantinople, as described by Muhammad Abdullah Enan, occupies an impregnable situation that is endowed by nature with the best advantages of great cities. It is surrounded from the east by the waters of Bosphorus and from the west is sought by the waters of Marmara. It is divided by the Golden Horn into two large sections: Pera, which is the north - eastern section and Istanbul, which is the real Roman city. Istanbul occupies a large triangle of rocky hills whose base looks on the Marmara and its right side on the waters of the Golden Horn and the harbor. Each of these two sides was guarded by a single wall. The third side, six miles long, was the side connected with the land of the European continent. It was defended by a double line of impregnable towers, forts, a double ditch, and it was pierced by twelve gates. In each of the three angles of the triangle was an invincible fortress. The waters of the Golden Horn which defended the north - eastern side of the city were closed by a formidable iron chain, which's both limits extended at the entrance between the wall of Galata and the wall of Istanbul.

Naturally, Muhammad the Fateh had to take into consideration all the hurdles he had to cross to capture the city. He was lucky to be helped by an engineer from Hungary who fabricated a large cannon. It could throw great bombs sufficiently to smash the walls of Constantinople. The city could not be broken through until it was attacked from al! sides, but the most formidable hurdle was the unbreakable net work of iron chains which was vigilantly-guarded by Roman ships.

The idea flashed through the mind of Muhammad while he was engaged in intensifying his war - preparations. He decided to make a passage through the rocky hills to launch his ships unto the Golden Horn. He ordered to dig a ditch about 10 miles long on the western shore of the Bosphorus. The ground was covered by wooded planks which were lubricated with grease to facilitate the mobilization of the carriages carrying ships unto the Golden Horn. This miracle was performed over night which of course frustrated the enemy. Thus Muhammad was successful in launching eighty of his warships that were equipped with artillery and comprising very brave warriors fully trained for the offensive. When in the early morning, the ships sounded their drums and the warriors raised slogans of Allahu Akbar, the enemy was bewildered and demoralized.

So far. the enemy was concentrating on the land side, but the new situation forced them to shift their troops to the side of the Golden Horn. This unique strategy of the Sultan divided the force of the enemy and made the fortification of the land side vulnerable for the invaders.

As a Muslim general, the Sultan did not only depend on material preparation. On May 29 1453, the night preceding the major operation and after Fajr prayer, the Sultan and all his soldiers turned to Allah "the Sustainers of the Worlds" and with humbleness besought help from the "All Powerful" and solicited His mercy to grant them victory over the infidels.

The Emperor of Constantinople was Constantine Palaelogus, the last of Caesars of Byzantine Empire. He was brave and dauntless. He was determined to prefer death to surrender. The Sultan sent his envoy asking for submission but he bravely refused to submit and expressed his determination to defend the city to his last breath. On 28(h of May, he assembled the defending troops along with the elite of the city and implored them to steadfast. Gibbon in his famous book "Decline and Fall of Roman Empire" says, "The last speech of Palaelogus was the funeral oration of the Roman Empire. He describes on the record of his minister Phranzas who was present there that they wept and they embraced regardless of their families and fortunes. They devoted their lives and each commander departing to his station maintainedall night a vigilant and anxious watch on the ramparts".

In the morning of May 29'" 1453, the Sultan ordered a full Hedged offensive encounter both by land and sea. The artillery started its violent shelling with thunder and fire. The walls of Constantinople which magnificently stood intact since centuries began to crumble and there were wide breaches here and there. The Sultan of course commanded the troops from the land side to launch a terrible offensive on the station between the gate of Polyandri and the gate of St. Romanus. A company comprising of thirty valiant warriors under the command of Hassan was the first to jump the top wall but 18 of them were pierced down. Yet it was an enterprising attempt which was followed by other Mujahtdeen and they started pouring into the city like a torrent. Thundering of artillery, heating of drums, and inspiring slogans of Allahu Akbar intensified theoperation. Before the Zuhr prayer, the conquerors were in the city. The Emperor. who fought bravely to his last breath, was killed and there was no resistance from any quarter.

As soon as the Sultan stepped into the city, he prostrated himself in sajda on the ground to express his gratitude to Allah Almighty. Then he mounted on his horse and went around the city granting aman (safety) to all the inhabitants. Then they all assembled in the church of St.. Sophia where the call was given for Zuhr prayer and the victorious troops offered the prayer in congregation.

Constantinople had been the strongest threshold of Christianity for centuries. After the conquest it became the strongest threshold of Islam for centuries to come. The Holy Prophet (saws)) had predicted that there will be no Caesar after the death of Caesar and so it happened that this title was abandoned for ever and no emperor of the Christendom ever claimed to be a Caesar.

By Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Javed