The last emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire defended a single city against an army of 100,000, giving rise to the legend of As the thousand-year Roman Empire entered its final twilight, Constantine XI stood watch over Constantinople, the last great bastion on the Bosporus. The final emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, he became the man upon whom a fading age cast its last light. Born to the imperial house, Constantine spent years defending the Morea against Ottoman expansion, fighting with whatever forces remained to him. When he took the throne, there was little empire left to inherit—an empty treasury, no great field army, and a capital guarded by fewer than 10,000 men. Yet within those walls endured the pride and dignity of Rome. Then Mehmed II came with a vast army, great cannons, and a fleet that closed around the city. Constantine refused every demand for surrender. Casting aside imperial splendor for armor, he took his place among Greek, Venetian, and Genoese defenders on the walls. For nearly two months, they endured