In the 14th century, much of the Greek peninsula was lost by the Byzantine Empire at first to the Serbs and then to the Ottomans. By the beginning of the 15th century, the Ottoman advance meant that Byzantine territory in Greece was limited mainly to its then-largest city, Thessaloniki, and the Peloponnese (Despotate of the Morea). After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, the Morea was the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire to hold out against the Ottomans. However, this, too, fell to the Ottomans in 1460, completing the Ottoman conquest of mainland Greece. With the Turkish conquest, many Byzantine Greek scholars, who up until then were largely responsible for preserving Classical Greek knowledge, fled to the West, taking with them a large body of literature and thereby significantly contributing to the Renaissance. COUNT 5
QSN1 A lot of Greece was lost by whom in the 14th century? ANS1 Byzantine Empire QSN2 At the start of 15th century, the biggest Byzantine city was what? ANS2 Thessaloniki QSN3 Constantinople was overcome by who in 1453? ANS3 the Ottomans QSN4 The Ottomans controlled mainland Greece in what year? ANS4 1460 QSN5 Who had a large impact on the Renaissance?  ANS5 Byzantine Greek scholars