The People
Greeks 
Constantine XI: King and Emperor of the Romans, Constantine Dragases Palaelogos is the ruler of Constantinople and the emperor of Byzantium. Twice widowed, childless, the forty-eight-year-old sits uneasily on the throne of the Caesars. Many of his own court oppose his alliance with the Catholic West, while the Turks threaten to overwhelm and annihilate his realm.
Lukas Notaras: Grand Duke and High Admiral of Byzantium, the “silver lord” wields enormous wealth and influence. The second most powerful man in Constantinople, after the emperor, he is an opponent of allying with the West and is mistrustful of the empire’s Italian allies.
Giorgos Sphrantzes: Constantine’s secretary, Sphrantzes is completely loyal to his master. The emperor’s top diplomat, he has spent much of his life away from the City. His most recent mission has been to find Constantine a wife; he has not been successful.
Turks
Mehmed II: Sultan of the Ottoman Empire at nineteen, the conquest of Constantinople is the obsession of Mehmed’s young life. In four hundred years, no Ottoman ruler has succeeded in capturing it and Mehmed will risk everything to make the City the
capital of his empire.
Halil Pasha: Mehmed’s Grand Vizier and Grand Vizier to Mehmed’s father, Sultan Murad. Halil Pasha has the wisdom and caution of age. He opposes Mehmed’s plans of conquest and fears that war will surround the empire with enemies. More than that, he fears that victory will end his influence over the sultan and cost him his position and his life.
Gulbahar: Mehmed’s mistress. Gulbahar’s ambitions for Mehmed are exceeded only by her own pursuit of power and influence. She is desperate for Mehmed to take the City and to share in the glory of it becoming the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Italians
Giovanni Giustiniani: A Genoese mercenary, or condotierre, Giustiniani has come to the defense of Constantinople to make his fortune and reputation. A master in the defense of walled cities, he is perhaps the one man on earth who can defeat the sultan’s armies and save the City from destruction.
Alvise Diedo: Commander of the Venetian fleet, Diedo and the crews of his fleet have decided to stay in the City and fight in its defense. His decision is not without controversy. Because of it, the lives of hundreds of Venetians, including his own, are now at stake.
Girolamo Minotto: The Venetian bailò, or ambassador, at the Greek court. Minotto is concerned to keep Venice from a war with the sultan, but is desperate to prevent the City from falling into the hands of the Turks. He will take his place on the land walls in Constantinople’s defense and hope that a Venetian fleet will arrive before it is too late.