1453 : Over the Hill Productions : 9781513665894 : 1513665898 : 09 Sep 2020 : Battles, intrigue, good vs evil, romance, history and betrayal.... Welcome to the year, 14531453 is told as a story by the emperor's secretary, George Sphrantzes, which includes a number of 'first person' accounts and flashbacks to other eras that impacted the Byzantine Empire. While this is based mostly on facts and stories that took place in 1453, it also includes drama, with the occasional sense of humour and romance added in.Constantinople/Byzantium, one of the greatest cities in Greek history, became a shadow of its former self, due to civil wars and the betrayal of the Crusaders of 1204. Against the backdrop of a controversial 'union' of churches with the Vatican, the emperor must find a way to save his city, with just 8,000 soldiers, meagre resources and a sultan who could bring 120,000 fighters and his musical trumpets to the gates of Constantinople. Those gates and walls were bombarded and attacked o