Siege of Constantinople in 1394—1402 According Slavonic Sources

The article is devoted to the history of the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1394—1402, which became the longest in the entire history of the Byzantine capital. Historians reconstruct these events mainly based on Byzantine and Western European (Venetian, French) sources. However, the Bulgarian and Russian chronicles contain unique information that is not found in other sources. Thus, the Russian chronicles reflect the fact that the pretender to the Byzantine throne John VII Palaiologos participated in the siege on the side of the Ottomans in 1395, trying to establish himself in Constantinople with the help of the Sultans army. Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, whose army consisted not only of Greeks, but also of Italians (“fryazi”), could repel this attack. The Russian chronicles mentioned the material assistance that Russian princes collected for the besieged Constantinople. The Bulgarian Chronicle reports that the Emperor attempted to buy off the Ottomans, but his offer was rejected by the Sultan. The same source confirms the fact that a French detachment participated in the defense of the city, something that the Byzantine authors are silent about. Thus, some very important details of the history of the siege, not mentioned in other documents, were reflected in the Slavonic sources.