Plate 025 · Bombard · Medieval

Basilic

"Orban's Bombard"

The legendary super-bombard that shattered the walls of Constantinople in 1453.

Basilic — Photograph by Geni — Photograph by Geni · CC BY-SA 4.0View on Wikimedia Commons →

Historical Record

Provenance & Service

Cast by the Hungarian engineer Orban for Sultan Mehmed II, the Basilic was, by contemporary accounts, 8.2 m long with a bore of 76 cm. It required 60 oxen and 400 men to move and could fire only seven shots a day. Together with smaller bombards, it breached the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople — ending the Byzantine Empire.