Apparently the "sword of Constantine XI Palaiologos" myth refuses to die. Here is an article on sword #23, that the author claims belonged to the Byzantine emperor.
http://www.rehbergundemi.com/silah-k...23-nolu-kilic/
Oh well! At least we get a nice picture of the inscription on the blade.
This #23 sword is #2682 from here
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...14&postcount=5
Quote:
συ βασιλευ αηττητε,λογε θεου,πανταναξ,νικης βραβεια δωρησαι κατα των πολεμιων τω ηγεμονι και πιστω αυθεντι Κωνσταντινω ωσπερ ποτε τω βασιλει μεγαλω Κωνσταντινω
(You invincible king, voice of god, all-knowing, bestow (us) the prizes of victory over our enemies, the supreme and true believer Constantine, who once was like Constantine the Great..)
Later, I discovered that the sword belonged to the last Byzantine emperor Constantine Palialogos, thanks to the Greek websites about Chios. This sword is mentioned in many more Greek written sources. The story of the sword is as follows: Paliologos, who aimed to get the support of the crusader armies in 1452, allowed the catholic rite to be held in Hagia Sophia and hosted Cardinal Isidoros, who came from the Vatican, in Istanbul. During this visit, Isidoros Konstantine presented this sword. Later, on April 26, the Genoese commander (Chios) Gioanni Ioustinianos (born in the island of Istanbul) presented this sword to Gioanni Ioustinianos Longos. Longos came to the aid of the Byzantines with 2 ships and 700 men. Longos protected the Agiou Romanou (Topkapı district) Gate during the siege. His soldiers followed him and left Istanbul. He died from the wounds he received 2 days after their arrival in Chios. Chios is a great hero. (The Genoese commander who fought Ulubatli Hasan in the 1453 movie is the same person.)
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Wikipedia got in on this act too:
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki...an_emperor.jpg
The funny thing is, we actually know what John VIII Palaiologos' (Constantine XI's predecessor) sword looked like. It was a typical sabre for the time.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...9&postcount=13
And more of the same.
https://sword-site.com/thread/837/sw...eror-byzantium