Fall of Byzantium

"The Fall of Constantinople on 29th May 1453 marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of a new epoch in Europe. Many Greek scholars moved to Italy, initiating there the development of European Humanism and the Renaissance, while the legal succession of Byzantium and leadership of the Orthodox Church transferred to Tsardom and the “3rd Rome'” in Moscow. By losing access to the Black Sea, Europe was deprived of the land route to India; the search for a new sea route brought about the overseas discoveries of the New World. "