Johannes Grant or Johannis Grandi was a mercenary employed by the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

at the

fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

in 1453. Contemporary Greek and Latin accounts referred to him as being German, although Runciman has suggested he may actually have been a Scot named John Grant. He appears to have been affiliated with the Genoese contingent of mercenaries at the siege, possibly part of the men commanded by

Giovanni Giustiniani Giovanni Giustiniani Longo (; ; 1418 – 1 June 1453) was a Genoese nobleman, mercenary captain, and defender of Constantinople during its siege in 1453. He was instrumental in its defense and commanded 700 men, as well as leading the land forc ...

. His use of counter-mining tunnels prevented the Turks from weakening or invading Constantinople from under the walls. He would fill barrels with water and observe the waves, using incendiary weapons, mostly Cheirosiphon to destroy Ottoman tunnels.The Fall of Constantinopla

Depictions in Fiction

* Grant appears as a minor character in '' The Dark Angel'' by

Mika Waltari Mika Toimi Waltari (; 19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel ''The Egyptian'' (). He was extremely productive. Besides his novels he also wrote poetry, short stories, crime novels, plays, ...

* John Le Grant, an Aberdonian based on the historical Johannes Grant, appears in ''

The House of Niccolò ''The House of Niccolò'' is a series of eight historical novels by Dorothy Dunnett set in the mid-fifteenth-century European Renaissance. The protagonist of the series is Nicholas de Fleury (Niccolò, Nicholas van der Poele, or Claes), a boy ...

'' by

Dorothy Dunnett Dorothy, Lady Dunnett (née Halliday, 25 August 1923 – 9 November 2001) was a Scottish novelist best known for her historical fiction. Dunnett is most famous for her six novel series set during the 16th century, which concern the fictiti ...

* John Grant is the central character in the historical novel ''

Porphyry and Ash Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to: Geology * Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material * Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...

'' * John Grant is featured in the third episode of the historical docudrama series '' Rise of Empires: Ottoman''; here he is depicted as Scottish. * John Grant is the central character in the historical novel '' Master of Shadows'' by

Neil Oliver Neil Oliver (born 21 February 1967) is a Scottish television presenter, author, and conspiracy theorist. He has presented several documentary series on archaeology and history, including '' A History of Scotland'', ''Vikings'' and ''Coast''. H ...

* In the EU4 mod The Third Odyssey (an

Alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

scenario in which the Byzantines flee to America before the fall of Constantinople) Johannes Grandt is an Austrian advisor who rediscovers the secret to

Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon system used by the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded state secret; historians have variously speculated that it was based on saltp ...

. * In the Turkish TV series :tr:Mehmed: Fetihler Sultanı, John Grant, a Scot, is portrayed by actor Abdül Süsler.

References

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown German military engineers Scottish military engineers 15th-century Scottish military personnel 15th-century German engineers Fall of Constantinople People of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars Place of birth unknown {{Scotland-engineer-stub