Background

Mehmed II was born on 30th March 1432 in Edirne, which was the capital city of Ottoman state. His father was Sultan Murad II (1404-1451) and his mother Huma Valide Hatun who was born in the town Devrekani, Kastamonu. He was sent to Amasya at eleven years to govern and thus would gain experience as it was customary amongst the Ottomans before his time. Sultan Murad II sent a number of teachers to help him study. The Islamic education had great impact on him and thus reinforcing his Muslim beliefs. The practitioners of science influenced his practice of Islamic epistemology by those who practiced science.

The influence of Akshamsaddin in Mehmed’s life became kind of stagnant from a young age especially in the imperative of fulfilling his Islamic duty to overthrow the Byzantine Empire by first conquering Constantinople as consolidating the Ottoman Empire and marked the end of the middle ages. After the conquest of Istanbul on 29th May 1453, he took the title “conqueror” (Fatih).

The first reign of Mehmed’s II the defeated the crusade led by Janos Hunyadi after the Hungarian Incursions into his country broke the conditions of the truce empire Peace of Szeged. The representative of the pope, Cardinal Julian, had convinced the king of Hungary that it was not a betrayal when he broke the truce with Muslims. Mehmed II at that time asked his father Murad II to reclaim the throne but his father refused. He was angered by his father who was long time retired to a contemplative life in south western Anatolia and he wrote” if you are the Sultan, come and lead your armies. If I am the sultan I hereby order you to come and lead my armies” after Murad II received the letter, he led the Ottoman army and won the Battle of Varna in 1444.

The grand vizier of that time, Cabndarli Halil Pasa, forced Murad II to return to the throne though not fond to Mehmed II rule since Lala(royal teacher), Mehmed II’s influential, had a rivalry with Candarli.

Education

He was followed to live by the rules of Ottoman empire and follow customs of all the empires. He was sent to Amasya to study and learn experience of life. His father had sent several scholars and teachers to help him learn. However, he got very interested and attached to Islamic teaching and focused more on it.

Career

He was among the youngest to rule the Ottoman empire at a very early age.

Conquest Constantinople

When Mehmed II took over the throne again in 1451, he devoted to strengthen the Ottoman navy and made preparations for taking Constantinople. The fortress Anadoluhisari had been built in the narrow Bosporus Straits by his great-grandfather Bayezid on Asian side and Mehmed erect a stronger fortress called Rumelihisari on European side and gained controlled over the strait. He proceeded to levy a toll of ships on completing the fortress within reach of their cannon. A Venetian vessel that refused signals o stop was sunk with a single shot.

Mehmed in 1453 commenced the siege of Constantinople with an army between 80,000 to 200,000v troops and a navy of 320 vessels though the heaviest part of them was the transport and store ships. The city was surrounded in sea and land.

In April the siege of Constantinople began. After several fruitless assaults, the city walls held off the Turks with little difficulty even with the use of a new Orban’s bombard cannon similar to the Dardanelles Gun. A little over a month later Constantinople fell on May 29 following a 27 day siege. He moved the Ottoman capital from Adrianople to Constantinople. Ten years after the conquest he visited troy and boasted of his vengeance on the Trojans by having conquered the Greeks.

Conquest in Asia

His conquest on Constantinople allowed him turn his attention to Anatolia. He allied himself with the Golden Horde by trying to create a single political entity in Anatolia by capturing Turkish states; Beyliks and Greek Empire of Trebizond in northeastern Anatolia. White Sheep was another important entity in Eastern policy. The Turcoman kingdom gained power in the east through with the leadership of Uzun Hasan but because of their strong relations with the Christian powers like Empire of Trebizond and the republic of Venice and alliance between Turcoman and Karamanoglu Tribe made Mehmed see them as a threat to his own power. He led a successful campaign against Uzun Hasan in 1473 and resulted to a decisive victory of the Ottoman Empire in the battle of Otlukbeli.

Conquest in Europe.

After the fall of Constantinople, Mehmed would also go on to conquer the Despotate of Morea in the Peloponnese in 1460 and the empire of Trebizond in northeastern Anatolia in 1461. The last two vestiges of Byzantine rule were thus absorbed by the Ottoman Empire. The conquest of Constantinople bestowed immense glory and prestige on the country.

Mehmed II advanced towards Eastern Europe as far as Belgrade and attempted to conquer the city from John Hunyadi at the siege of Belgrade in 1456. Hungarian commanders defended successfully the city and Ottomans retreated with heavy losses but at the end Ottomans occupied nearly all of Serbia.

In 1463 after a dispute over tribute paid annually by Bosnian kingdom, he invaded Bosnia and conquered it quickly executing the last Bosnian king, King Stjepan Tomasevic. He also came into conflict and defeated with Prince Vlad III of Wallachia in 1462 at the night attack. Mehmed II helped Radu Tepes the brother of Vlad to take revenge of the Ottoman military losses. Very soon Radu and his battalion of Romanian Janissary as a single force managed to defeat Vlad III Dracula north of the Danube after months of lingering fighting, and he also managed to take over and controlled the Wallachia and was greatly honored the title of Bey in the same year. His brother Vlad (the Dracula) lost all his powers and e3scaped from his country.

In the year 1475 the ottomans suffered a great defeat at the hands of the great of Moldavia at the battle of Vaslui. The following year Mehmed won a victory against Stephen at the battle of Valea Alba and nearly destroyed all of the relatively small Moldavian army. Then he sacked the capital of Suceava but couldn’t take care of the castle of Targu Neamt or the Citadel of Suceava. With a plague running in his camp and food to retreat as Stephen was Reinforcing his Army and Dracula, turning from exile, was marching with a 30,000 strong army to aid Moldavians. He invaded Italy (1480) aiming to reunite the Roman Empire

The military conflicts between the Ottomans and European forces showed that the Ottomans presence in Europe was not a temporary situation. During Mehmed II reign, the Balkans were not completely surpassed by the Ottoman war machine but couldn’t stop either.

Achievements

• Conquest Constantinople
  
  Conquest in Asia
  
  Conquest in Europe

Religion

Within the conquered city, Mehmed established an autonomous religious community and he then appointed the former patriarch as essentially governor of the city. His authority extended only to the Orthodox Christians of the city and this excluded the coming Muslims and Jewish settlers entirely and also excluded the Genoese and Venetian settlements in the suburbs. This allowed indirect rule of the Christian Byzantines and allowed the occupants to feel autonomous even as Mehmed II began the Turkish reconstruction of the city, that is to turn into the Turkish capital, and remained up to the 1920’s.

Politics

Mehmed II amalgamated the old Byzantine administration into Ottoman state. He first introduced the word politics into Arabic from a book he published and claimed to be a collection of politics doctrines of the Byzantine Caesars before him. He brought together Italian artists, humanists and Greek Scholars at his court. He kept the Byzantine Church functioning and ordered the patriarchs to translate the Christian faith to Turkish and called Gentile Bellini from Venice to paint the portrait. He was very serious to continue the Empire as its Caesar and came closer to capturing Rome and conquering Italy than most people realized.

Views

He became a ruler at a very young age and had the courage to conquer all that he wanted to. He was true brave man and a real patriot. He made his empire strong and made strengthened the hearts of his people.

Personality

On his accession as conqueror of Constantinople, currently aged 21 years, he was reputed to be fluent in seven spoke languages including Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Latin. At times he called the Ulama whoa re the learned Muslim teachers, and made them to discuss theological problems in his presence. Throughout his reign, mathematics, astronomy, and Muslim theology reached their highest level among the Ottomans. Mehmed himself was a poet writing under the name “Avni” (the helper, the helpful one) and left a divan (a collection of poems in the traditional style of classical Ottoman literature). Mehmed II mysteriously died at the age of 52 on May 3, 1481. It is said he died due to poisoning instigated by his son Bayezid. This failed his new campaigns to begin to capture Rhodes and Southern Italy. He was succeeded by his son Bayezid II.

Some of the legacies he left were like the founding of many mosques and religious schools in the city such as the Kulliye of Faith Mosque which was after the fall of Constantinople. He is also recognized as one of the first Sultan to codify criminal and constitutional law, thus establishing the classical image of the autocratic Ottoman sultan. Istanbul’s Faith Sultan Mehmet Bridge which was completed on 1988 and crosses the Bosporus Straits is named after him and also his name and picture appeared on the Turkish 1000 lira note from 1986 to 1992.

Physical Characteristics: In the thirty one years rule of Mehmed and the numerous wars expanded the Ottomans Empire to include Constantinople, the Turkish kingdoms and territories of Asia Minor, Bosnia, the kingdom of Serbia and Albania. He also left an imposing reputation between the Islamic and Christian worlds. He was also regarded a bloodthirsty ruthless man by the Christians and some of his subjects. He is the eponymous subject of Rossini’s 1820 opera, Maometto II Bridge. The Ottoman Empire remained culturally and geographically strong despite the death of the Sultan Mehmed II.

Quotes from others about the person

• “Should any man tell you that a mountain had changed its place, you are at liberty to doubt it if you think fit; but if any one tells you that a man has changed his character, do not believe it.”
  
  ―Mehmed the Conqueror

Interests

• arts, ancient traditions

Connections

His father was Murad II and the mother was Huma Hatun.

Mehmed had several wives that are:

I. Emine Gulbahar Hatun who he married on 1446 daughter of an Albanian Bey

II. Gulsah Hatun who he married on 1451 and was the daughter of Ibrahim II of Karaman

III. Sittisah Hatun who he married on 1449 and was the daughter of Suleiman Bey, the sixth ruler of Dulkadir State who died in 1492.

IV. Cicek Hatun who he married on 1458 was the daughter of an Anatolian Bey of Turkish origin and died on 1481.

V. Hatun Alexias a Byzantine princess

VI. Valide Sultan Amina Gul-bahar an orthodox Greek woman who was born in village of Douvera

VII. Gevher sultan

VIII. Sitti Mukrime Hatun

His children were:

I. Bayezid II a son with Sittisah

II. Sultan Cem a son with Cicek

III. Mustafa a son with Gulsah

IV. Gevherhan a daughter with Emine Gulbahar

V. Djem Zizim who died in the year 1495

Father:

Murad II

Mother:

Huma Hatun

References

• Mehmed the Conqueror and his time by Franz Babinger