The Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453.

Evidence

The Triumph of Orthodoxy – celebrated in feast and icon – did not secure the survival of the Byzantine Empire. In 1453 the city fell to the Turks, Constantinople became the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and the great cathedral of Hagia Sophia became a mosque. — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1055

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1055
• XREF: connects to: The Ottoman Empire expanded significantly under Suleiman’s rule. — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1100; The Ottoman conquest of 1453 birthed the Turk as a new Muslim monster archetype; Biblical villains were costumed as Turks in Renaissance church imagery

Broader Connections

• The Ottoman Empire expanded significantly under Suleiman’s rule. #expands (0.60) — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1100