The Fourth Crusade and the Capture of Constantinople in 1203
The Petrion district played a central role in one of the most dramatic episodes of Byzantine history—the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders. On July 17, 1203, the Venetian fleet, under the command of Doge Enrico Dandolo, anchored before the Petrion. Using their famous flying bridges—wooden gangways fixed between ships and walls—the Venetians attacked the fortifications along the harbour.
They managed to set the free ends of their bridges on top of the city walls, allowing the Crusaders to climb directly onto the battlements. In this bold assault, twenty-five towers were captured, and the defenders forced to retreat. The victory allowed the Crusaders to restore Emperor Isaac Angelus to the throne, marking a short-lived moment of triumph before the final fall of the empire to the Latins.
The Final Assault of 1204
Less than a year later, on April 12, 1204, the Crusaders launched a second and final attack on the city, again concentrating their efforts around the Petrion. The famous ship Pelerine became legendary when its flying bridge fastened securely onto one of the towers. From it, a brave Venetian soldier and a French knight named André d’Urbois crossed over the bridge, seized the tower, and opened the way for their companions Turkey Sightseeing Tours.
Soon after, ladders were raised, the walls were scaled, and three gates were forced open. The city of Constantinople fell to the invaders, ushering in the era of the Latin Empire, which lasted for nearly sixty years. These events turned the Petrion and its fortifications into lasting symbols of both heroism and tragedy in Byzantine memory.
The Siege of 1453 and the Fall of the City
More than two centuries later, during the Ottoman siege of 1453, the Phanar and Petrion districts once again witnessed fierce fighting. In the early morning of May 29, 1453, Turkish ships in the Golden Horn launched a violent assault against this section of the city’s harbour walls.
The Greek defenders, though vastly outnumbered, managed to repel the attack for a time. They held their ground bravely until the Ottoman land forces, advancing from other parts of the city, finally made further resistance impossible.
Tradition says that the memory of this desperate struggle is still preserved in local names. The street called Sandjakdar Yokoushou, meaning “Ascent of the Standard-Bearer,” is said to mark the path taken by the Turkish flag-bearer who planted the banner of victory. Likewise, the nearby Church of St. Mary Mougouliotissa, known in Turkish as Kan Klisse (“the Church of Blood”), is believed to commemorate the bloody battle fought around it Gate and Suburb of Pegae.
Yeni Aya Kapou – A Later Addition
The next gate east of the Phanar, called Yeni Aya Kapou (“New Holy Gate”), appears to have been opened after the Ottoman conquest, since it is first mentioned by the 17th-century traveller Evliya Çelebi. However, there is one reason to believe it may have existed earlier as a small Byzantine postern gate, later enlarged by the Turks.
Inside the walls, near this gate, are the remains of a large Byzantine building, which would likely have required a small nearby entrance for access. This suggests that Yeni Aya Kapou may stand on the site of an older gateway that once served the Byzantine structure.
The Gate of St. Theodosia (Aya Kapou)
The next entrance, Aya Kapou, derives its name from the nearby Church of St. Theodosia, known today as Gül Djamissi (“The Rose Mosque”). The name matches the description in Pusculus, who referred to this entrance as the Porta Divæ Theodosiæ.
St. Theodosia was one of the most venerated martyrs of Constantinople, and her church stood close to the city walls overlooking the Golden Horn. The present mosque occupies the same site and preserves part of the ancient building’s structure.
According to tradition, the church was built or restored by Maria, the natural daughter of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, after she returned to Constantinople following the death of her husband, the Khan of the Mongols. Remarkably, this church was granted to the Greek community by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of the city, through a firman (imperial decree). The document also records that the church was presented to Christodoulos, the architect of the Sultan’s great mosque on the Fifth Hill.
From the Crusader sieges of the thirteenth century to the Ottoman conquest of 1453, the Petrion and Phanar districts stood at the heart of Constantinople’s greatest struggles. Their gates—Porta Phani, Yeni Aya Kapou, and Porta Divæ Theodosiæ—witnessed both the valor of defenders and the triumph of conquerors, remaining silent witnesses to the fall and rebirth of the city now known as Istanbul.