Roman / 73 / 74 CE
Masada
Watch a supply line build an earthen approach over the western spur. When the surface is ready, a timber tower can climb toward the casemate wall.
OTTOMAN / BOSPHORUS / 1453 CE
Constantinople.
Artillery approach.
Crews prepare protected gun positions and bring ammunition forward. Heavy cannon fire physical projectiles toward a miniature section of the layered land walls.
Play the Constantinople siege simulation
What to watch.
Workers prepare the artillery approach while supply carriers move forward from camp. The scene includes a compressed section of the layered land walls.
Choose Advance works to reach the artillery phase quickly, or watch construction unfold. Cannonballs follow physical trajectories and collide with terrain and walls.
Inspect the front wall as repeated hits batter its central section. The miniature’s projectile speed and damage are illustrative, not a measured reconstruction of Ottoman artillery.
The historical setting.
The Ottoman siege of 1453 overcame Constantinople’s defenses. The surviving land walls are part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul World Heritage property.
How the model simplifies it
This model shows a selected landward sector. The coastline and buildings are schematic; cannon behavior, wall damage, units, and construction rates are illustrative. It does not model the full campaign.
Three.js renders the scene, while cannon-es handles dynamic bodies, gravity, collisions, pickup constraints, and projectiles. Workers follow local job routines. Siege engines and ships use controlled movement. This is a playable engineering visualization, not an archaeological survey or a calibrated battle model.
Play in your browser.
Construction begins automatically. Choose Overview, Works, City, or Camp to move closer. Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Click a person to inspect their job, then choose Follow this person if you want to stay with them.
Grab & toss lifts workers and soldiers. Release slowly to drop or flick to throw. Shockwave knocks nearby people off balance. Space pauses; 1×, 4×, and 12× change the simulation speed. Advance works moves you to the later phase. Progress is saved separately for each siege in this browser.
Open ConstantinopleSources and further reading.
These links support the historical context. The miniature’s geometry, agents, and physical parameters are original simplified implementations.
Explore another siege.
Roman / 52 BCE
Alesia
Builders extend two defensive circuits around the hilltop settlement. Roman patrols hold the space between them while a relief force approaches from outside.
Roman / 70 CE
Jerusalem
Work crews build approach terraces beneath the northern defenses. Towers and artillery support an assault against several walls around a dense urban model.
Macedonian / 332 BCE
Tyre
Haulers carry rubble from the shore and extend a causeway toward an island city. Ships circle the works and towers advance as the stone surface emerges from the water.
Ottoman / 1648–1669 CE
Candia
Digging crews push zigzag trenches toward the Venetian bastions. Supply carriers move between the camp and batteries while cannon exchange fire over the earthworks.