Reddit mentions of The Fall of Constantinople 1453 (Canto)

I just glanced over it, focusing on the end, because I suspected ...

Steve Runciman, Fall of Constantinople

Anyways, Constantinople was a center of civilization and religion for Islam too, after the conquest, so it's importance did not end with the fall of the Byzantines.

Secondly, the Byzantines did not simply surrender. It was a lengthy, fierce siege, and by Runciman's account, it came down to one, final day, that ended in slaughter, not surrender.

Although the Byzantines were bitter about the betrayal by the Latins, they turned to them for aid in their final hour, going so far as to considering Church reunion as a condition.

tl;dr: interesting city, faulty history lesson

The Fall of Constantinople is worthy of a good movie. No one was truly evil, no one was truly good. Lots of intrigue, hope that never comes, and in the end [spoilers], when Turkish flags begin to appear above the city gates the Emperor pulls off his royal armor, picks up his sword, and vanishes into crush of men defending the breached gate - his body is never found.

Or.. you could just read.

I never checked out Vijayanagara... thanks!

The classic text regarding the very end of the fall of the Byzantine Empire is Runciman's The Fall of Constantinople. For a history book, it is surprisingly romantic and tragic, and if you're interested in themes of loss and collapse, you can do no better.

It is mostly concerned with the actual siege of Constantinople though, so the scope may be too small. I can tell you that the issues surrounding the collapse of the Byzantine Empire are impossibly complex -- it sat on the crossroads of three continents and had enemies in every direction. Even its allies couldn't be trusted to stand with Byzantium (See: The Fourth Crusade and the Venetian non-response to the siege of 1453).

Good luck on your project, I hope this was of some help to you.

I haven't encountered any novels about that particular event, but I can recommend some pretty good nonfiction!

Steven Runciman's book, while old, is a pretty good summary.

This one's a bit hyperbolic in my mind, but it does the job, and it is pretty well-written.

If you really get into it, Nicolas Barbaro's eyewitness account is absolutely fascinating, though it is his diary and translated from medieval Italian, so it's a bit clunky if you're looking for something that reads well.