When Western Europe fell into the dark ages, Constantinople in the east sustained the ember of Greek and Roman civilization. It served as a bastion for Christians against the Islamic world. The city had been on the front line of the confrontation of the two major monotheisms during the for centuries. In 1453,200,000 Ottoman soldiers approached the city, and Constantinople only had 8,000 defenders. After several weeks of massive artillery bombardment, the Byzantine Empire fell completely. The Greeks and Christians in the city were slaughtered, and thereupon the Middle Ages terminated.