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==Aftermath==
The city was looted for three days, in accordance with the traditional Muslim punishment allotted to a city that had resisted a siege, but Mehmed restrained his troops out of respect for the ancient but now conquered empire. Evidence of restraint is valuable Christian treasures were later returned to the Church intact, such as the precious Gifts of the Three Magi. After the area was secured, Mehmed entered the city in a ceremonial procession where the local population brought him flowers in congratulations.
In Mehmet's view, he was the successor to the Roman Emperor, but he was nicknamed "the Conqueror", and Constantinople became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire. [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Hagia Sophia]] was converted into a mosque, although the [[Church of Constantinople]] remained intact, and [[Gennadius II (Scholarius) of Constantinople|Gennadius Scholarius]] was appointed [[Patriarch]] of Constantinople. The Peloponnesian fortress of Mystras held out until 1460, and the autonomous Byzantine state in Trebizond did not fall until 1461.
