Explanation: During the final siege of Constantinople, the besieging Ottoman Turkish forces took a little something special to those formidable ancient walls which had frustrated numerous (though not all) previous assailants on the city: the cutting-edge technology of cannons! And not only that, but some of the largest ever made.
It took some time - and one of the largest and most impressive cannons bursting from being fired too much/overheating/catastrophic integrity failure - but the Ottomans eventually battered down the walls, and ended the Byzantine Empire for good.
Explanation: During the final siege of Constantinople, the besieging Ottoman Turkish forces took a little something special to those formidable ancient walls which had frustrated numerous (though not all) previous assailants on the city: the cutting-edge technology of cannons! And not only that, but some of the largest ever made.
It took some time - and one of the largest and most impressive cannons bursting from being fired too much/overheating/catastrophic integrity failure - but the Ottomans eventually battered down the walls, and ended the Byzantine Empire for good.