Siege (44 page)

Constantine sat speechless, his head bowed. When he looked up, Longo met his eyes and saw in them anger battling with a hopeless resignation. Finally, Constantine spoke. ‘You will have my answer, but not now,’ he said. ‘I need time.’

‘Very well,’ Mehmed said, and rose from his chair. ‘You have one day to answer, no more. And let me remind you. Our law allows for two days of plunder. If you do not accept my terms, then you and your people can expect no mercy. You have one day. Farewell, Emperor.’

Mehmed turned and went to his horse. Ulu stayed behind. ‘Leave this city, Longo,’ he said quietly. ‘If we meet again, then one of us will die.’ Then he turned and followed his master.

‘Come, Constantine,’ Longo said. ‘We must get back to the walls. It is not safe here.’

Constantine rose slowly, his eyes still fixed on the retreating figure of the sultan. ‘I am the protector of my people. Shall I allow them to be slaughtered? What should I do?’

‘You are the emperor. It is for you to decide.’

‘You are right.’ Constantine straightened, and his jaw took on a firmer set. ‘Come. There is much to decide and not much time. I must speak with the council.’

The council met that evening in the emperor’s palace. Sphrantzes, Notaras, Longo, the Archbishop Leonard and the various commanders were all there. When the emperor arrived, he looked as if he had aged years since that morning. His shoulders were slumped, his brow creased and bags had formed under his eyes.

‘Thank you for coming,’ he began. ‘We face a difficult decision. The sultan has offered to spare the lives of my people if I surrender. He will give free passage to any who wish to leave the city, and he has offered me the Morea and a fiefdom in his lands.’ Constantine paused and looked at each of the men around the table in turn. ‘I will not surrender Constantinople,’ he said finally. ‘I will stay and fight, to the death if necessary. If we withstand this final assault, then victory will be ours.

‘But I will not force you to stand beside me,’ Constantine continued. ‘If any of you wish to try to escape tonight by sea, then I will understand. You will have my thanks for the sacrifices that you have already made.’

‘I will stay by your side to the death, My Lord,’ Dalmata said.

‘And I,’ Longo echoed. One by one, each of the men around the table pledged themselves to stay.

‘Thank you all,’ Constantine said. ‘Tomorrow I will send a messenger to the sultan telling him that I have refused his offer. Whoever delivers the message may not return. I will not order a man to his death. Ask amongst your men for volunteers.’

‘I will go,’ Notaras said.

Longo had not expected anything like this. ‘No, Notaras,’ he said. ‘We need you here, at the walls. The Greeks look to you as their leader.’

‘And if I die, then they will fight to avenge me,’ Notaras said. ‘But I do not plan to die. I have heard that the sultan is an honourable man. I do not believe that he will dare to put to death the megadux of Constantinople. And if he does, then I will not die without a fight.’

‘I thank you for your offer, Notaras,’ Constantine said. ‘But I forbid it. You are too valuable to risk your life in such a way.’

‘You cannot forbid me this,’ Notaras replied. ‘As megadux it is my right and duty to speak for Constantinople. I will not send another to do my duty.’

‘It is not your duty to die like this,’ Constantine said.

Notaras met the emperor’s eye. ‘You said it yourself, My Lord. If I am not willing to give my life, then how can I ask the same of my men?’

‘Perhaps Notaras is right,’ Sphrantzes added. ‘The sultan has killed lesser emissaries, but he will hesitate before putting the megadux to death. Notaras might even be able to persuade the sultan to let us evacuate some of the women and children.’

‘Very well,’ Constantine said. ‘You will deliver my message to the sultan, Notaras. But I expect you to return. Do nothing foolish.’

‘I will not, My lord,’ Notaras replied. ‘I swear it.’

The next morning Notaras stood in the shadow of the Golden Gate, dressed in his finest silver-plated armour in preparation for his visit with the sultan. The armour was for show only. Notaras had no intention of fighting. He had spent the night before at the Haghia Sofia, praying. Now he felt calm and ready. He would do what needed to be done.

The emperor and Longo had come to see him off. Constantine stepped forward and embraced Notaras. ‘God give you strength We will be watching and waiting on the walls. I expect you to return.’

‘I will do what I must, My Lord,’ Notaras replied. Longo stepped forward and offered Notaras his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Notaras took it.

‘It has been an honour to fight beside you,’ Longo told him. ‘Do return, Notaras. We will need you in the days to come.’

‘If I do not return, guard the city well,’ Notaras replied.

‘I will,’ Longo said. He lowered his voice. ‘About Sofia …’

‘You are a good man,’ Notaras cut him off. ‘I cannot blame you for loving her. I ask only that you protect her.’

Nearby, bells began to ring, signalling a changing of the guard on the walls of Constantinople. ‘It is time,’ Constantine said. ‘God be with you, Notaras.’

Notaras nodded and mounted his horse as the Golden Gate swung open before him. He rode out past the walls and on to the plain beyond. Ahead of him loomed the Turkish fortifications: pointed logs projecting from a rampart of dirt some four feet high. Notaras headed for a low point in the middle of the earthen wall. When he reached it he found a troop of janissaries in their black armour waiting for him. At their head was a giant of a man.

‘Dismount and come with us,’ the huge janissary said in heavily accented Greek. Notaras dismounted and the troop closed around him, forming a large square with Notaras in the centre. Together, they set off into the middle of the camp. Notaras could see little past the janissaries around him, but from what he did see, the camp appeared to be in a frenzy of activity. He glimpsed several men piecing together wooden ladders, and many others sharpening weapons. Clearly, the sultan anticipated a fight.

The square came to a halt, and the janissaries in front of Notaras stepped to either side, revealing a large red tent with the sultan’s standard flying atop it. Notaras stepped towards the entrance, but a tall, thin man in luxurious robes came out of the tent and stopped him. ‘Greetings,’ the man said in perfect Greek. ‘I am Halil, grand vizier to the sultan. What is your name, and why have you come?’

‘I am Lucas Notaras, megadux of Constantinople,’ Notaras replied. ‘I have come on behalf of the Emperor Constantine to deliver his response to the sultan.’

‘Very well,’ Halil replied. ‘You must remove your weapons.’ Notaras unbelted his sword and handed it to the janissary leader. The giant man began to search Notaras, but Halil waived him off. ‘I will search him personally, Ulu,’ he said. He quickly searched Notaras, patting his sides and feeling under his armour. When he had finished, Halil waived Notaras forward. ‘Follow me.’

Notaras followed Halil into the tent. The floor and walls were
covered with thick carpets, and the space was well lit with braziers and lanterns. On the far side of the tent the sultan lounged upon a divan, surrounded by generals in dark-grey armour and advisors in robes of gold and scarlet. Janissary guards lined the sides of the tent. Ulu followed Notaras inside and stood directly behind him. Halil motioned for Notaras to stop some twenty feet from the sultan. The grand vizier then spoke to Mehmed loudly in Turkish. Notaras understood nothing but his own name.

When Halil had finished, he turned and addressed Notaras in Greek. ‘It is customary to kneel before the sultan.’

Notaras frowned. ‘I am megadux of the Roman Empire. I kneel before no man but the emperor.’

There was grumbling from all sides at his response. Ulu leaned forward and growled in Notaras’s ear, ‘Bow before the sultan, dog.’

Notaras stood his ground. Ulu began to draw his sword, but the sultan waved him back. ‘Let him be, Ulu,’ Mehmed said in Greek. ‘If the megadux will only kneel before his master, then so be it. He shall kneel before me soon enough. Now tell me, what message do you bring from the emperor?’

‘The emperor will not surrender,’ Notaras said. ‘Nor will he ever serve you. He does ask, however, that you give safe passage to any women or children who wish to leave the city.’

Mehmed laughed. ‘The emperor refuses my offer, and yet he makes demands.’ The smile fell from Mehmed’s lips, and when he spoke again his voice was harsh. ‘There will be no safe passage. The people of Constantinople have had their chance to flee. When Constantinople falls, my soldiers will be given two days to sack the city. That is our law. I cannot change it. Tell that to your emperor. You may go.’

Notaras did not move. ‘I have not finished. There is more that I must tell you, but I must speak to you alone.’

‘Alone?’ Mehmed retorted. ‘Do you think me a fool? Whatever you have to say, you may say it here.’

Notaras glanced around the room at the men lining the walls. He would have preferred to speak to the sultan in private, but
what he had to say would become known soon enough. And besides, most of the brutes in the tent probably did not speak Greek. ‘I wish to make you an offer, Sultan,’ Notaras said. ‘You have seen how strong the walls of Constantinople are. The people of Constantinople are equally strong. They will fight to the death, and your army will be broken upon our walls.’

Mehmed sat upright. ‘You speak of an offer, and yet I hear only insults,’ he snapped. ‘What is it that you wish to say? Speak quickly, Megadux, before I lose my patience.’

‘I can show you a way into the city.’

‘And what do you seek in return?’

‘The emperor is a fool to reject your offer,’ Notaras said. ‘I am no fool. I ask for that which you offered the emperor: the territory of the Morea to rule as emperor.’

‘Is that all?’

‘I ask also that the Orthodox Church be allowed to remain in Constantinople and that the monk Gennadius be made patriarch. He is a wise man. It is he who showed me the way into the city.’

‘A pity that he is not here, then,’ Mehmed said. He paused, studying Notaras. The seconds passed, and Notaras could feel sweat beading on his forehead. If the sultan did not accept his offer, then all was lost. Finally, Mehmed spoke, but not to Notaras. ‘What do you think of this offer, Halil?’

‘I know of this monk, Gennadius. He is the one who warned us of the attempt to burn our fleet,’ Halil replied. ‘He can be trusted. I think that you should consider the megadux’s offer.’

Mehmed nodded and turned back to Notaras. ‘I have heard of you, Megadux. You have a reputation.’

‘Then you know that you can trust my word.’

‘What I have heard,’ Mehmed continued, ‘is that you would do anything to protect the Roman Empire, even sacrifice your life. Yet now you offer me Constantinople. Why?’

‘I fought for the people of Constantinople,’ Notaras said. ‘They have betrayed their faith. They have betrayed me. There is nobody left there to fight for.’

‘Not even the emperor?’

‘The city will be better ruled by you than by Constantine,’ Notaras replied. ‘He turned our defences over to a Latin and sold our city to the pope for nothing. He has sealed his fate. I would rather live under the sultan than under such a man.’

‘Very well. Show me the way into the city. If you can offer me Constantinople, then you will have everything you ask for and more.’

Longo and Constantine stood on the wall above the Golden Gate, their eyes fixed upon the distant tent of the sultan. Sphrantzes and Dalmata had joined them, and they all waited in silence. Sphrantzes bit at his thumbnail, while Dalmata fingered the hilt of his sword. Constantine gripped the wall. Longo stood with his hands clasped tight behind his back. Finally, Notaras emerged from the tent. His polished armour flashed in the sun, making him recognizable even at this great distance. His horse was brought to him, and Notaras mounted.

‘He is safe,’ Constantine said. ‘Thank God for that. The megadux is a difficult man. But he is brave, and his men love him. I do not know how we would have replaced him.’

Longo merely nodded. Notaras was not out of danger yet. A dozen mounted janissaries surrounded him and led the megadux some twenty yards from the sultan’s tent. Then they stopped. ‘Look,’ Longo said. ‘The sultan.’ Mehmed had emerged from the tent, and all around him Turks were kneeling. A horse was brought to Mehmed, and he mounted and joined the group around Notaras. Together, they all set off at a trot, riding towards the walls of Constantinople.

‘Perhaps the sultan is honouring the megadux by escorting him from his camp,’ Sphrantzes suggested.

‘Or perhaps Notaras is being led to his execution,’ Dalmata countered grimly.

The group of horsemen had passed the Turkish fortifications now. They stopped just short of the range of the Christian cannons,
turned to their left, and began to ride parallel to the walls. They were close enough now that Longo could make out their gestures. Notaras seemed to be pointing to the walls as he rode.

‘What is he doing?’ Constantine asked.

Notaras brought his horse to a halt opposite the point where the single Blachernae wall met with the Theodosian double walls. A huge round tower stood at the juncture of the two walls. ‘It is there,’ Notaras called back to the sultan, who sat astride a horse some ten feet away. He pointed to the dark wedge of space formed where the curve of the tower met the Blachernae wall. ‘There is a sally port called the Kerkoporta hidden by the curve of the tower. It allows troops to emerge and surprise anybody who is attacking the Blachernae wall.’

‘That is all you have to show me?’ Mehmed called back. ‘What good will this do?’

‘If you attack just before dawn in two day’s time, I will see to it that your men find the door unlocked and unguarded,’ Notaras replied. ‘From there, your men can enter the city. They will attack the defenders from behind, and the city will fall.’

Mehmed rode his horse closer to Notaras. ‘How do I know that this is not some trick? I see no door. Perhaps you hope to have my men ride into an ambush.’