Mehmed laid the foundations of the Millet system, under which different denominations and religions of the empire ruled themselves according to their own religious law. Moreover, Sultan Mehmed was passionate about Classical and contemporary literature, history, and science. This passion was crowned in his work for building a vast multilingual library that contained over manuscripts in Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, Latin, and Greek, among other languages.
When he died on May 3, , Mehmed left behind an imposing standing in both the Islamic and non-Islamic world alike and an empire, which dominated the vast parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and shaped centuries of the Near East, the Balkans, and North Africa.
U Iktisat Fakultesi Mecmuasi, no. Though much is known of his father, very little is known of his mother. According to some traditions she was a French princess, while others refer to her simply as an Italian woman named Estella.
In later custom, she is referred to as Huma Hatan, after the bird of paradise of Persian legend. Yet most likely, Mehmed's mother was a slave, and there is evidence to suggest that she was a recent convert from Judaism. The first years of the prince were spent in the harem of the palace at Erdine in the European territories of the Empire , although in he was sent to Amaysa, in eastern Anatolia.
According to custom, at five years of age he was given the governorship of the city, with a number of carefully chosen councillors, for his first taste of authority. In , he was brought back to Erdine for his circumcision ceremonies whereupon he was given a different governorship. Mehmed had not been his father's favorite son.
The impetuous and headstrong prince had been difficult to control and to educate. Yet when his brother was strangled one night in bed, the year-old Mehmed became the heir to his father's throne and was summoned to Erdine to learn of the workings of government. Although Murad had made numerous military excursions himself, he hoped generally to secure peace to the east and to the west of the Empire.
Yet in , Christian forces advanced into Ottoman territory on the second crusade in two years. Leaving his son in charge at court, Murad prepared to meet this threat to his state. That summer, while his father was away, Mehmed briefly enjoyed the authority of the sultanate for the first time. On November 10, in a major battle at Varna on the Black Sea, the Turkish army defeated the Crusaders, and the Christian prospect of pushing Islam off the European continent no longer seemed likely.
Yet in the wake of this victory, Murad somewhat surprisingly abdicated the throne to his son, who had not won great respect during his recent regency. The young Mehmed already entertained the bold notion of attacking Constantinople, the capital of the waning Byzantine Empire that sat in the midst of Ottoman territories on the straits between the Mediterranean and Black seas. At the behest of his former councillors, however, Murad returned to the throne on May 5, , to replace the unpopular, and unready, Mehmed and to turn his military attention toward a renewed threat from the West.
In a successful battle against Hungarian forces in October , Mehmed was given his first experience of battle. In January of that same year, his first son was born to a slave girl, Gulbahar, a Christian of Albanian origin. Quickly thereafter, according to his father's wishes, he was properly married to a more suitable noblewoman, Sitt Hatun. The wedding was magnificently celebrated over a three-month period, but unfortunately for the two, their marriage was unhappy and remained childless. Since the laws of succession were not entirely clear during this period, Mehmed typically had his brother drowned to eliminate potential opposition to his claim.
Later, he was to formalize fratricide in law claiming, "whichever of my sons inherits the sultan's throne, it behooves him to kill his brothers in the interest of the world order. Mehmed was to spend his entire reign trying to consolidate his authority and to invigorate his state.
Thus, his initial efforts were to the elimination of all resistance to his rule within the Empire. With the news of Mehmed's accession to the throne, many European powers felt that affairs had changed to their advantage.
Indeed, he was preoccupied with various rebellions along the eastern frontier of the Empire. Moreover, he had to face a revolt among the Janissaries, an elite military corps which he was able later to reorganize under his direct authority to enforce his will within the Empire and in newly conquered territories. Soon Mehmed no longer felt it necessary to maintain good relations with his neighbors to the west.
Throughout his life, Mehmed had declared his hatred of Christianity and his desire to destroy it. Historians in Turkey still argue over whether he was next setting his sights on Rome, which is likely, given his taking Otranto, or would instead turn towards the eastern regions. While the great Ottoman emperor is mostly remembered for the dazzling military conquests of his reign, he was also a true intellectual.
Mehmet is believed to have spoken Persian, Arabic, ancient Greek and Italian — which is viewed by many as a sign suggesting his desire to form an empire spanning the West and East alike.
Turkish historians say his library included books on such topics as geometry, religion, engineering, astronomy, arithmetic, archeology, geography, and philosophy. Known to be a poet, the conqueror was also into art; he commissioned Renaissance painter Bellini to do his portrait. The Ottoman emperor might have been inspired by the life of Alexander the Great in his pursuit of forming an empire, as he read about the military campaigns of the legendary figure.
Homer's Iliad was among the books in his library, and Ptolemy's ancient world map is believed to have been one of the gems of his collection. In a brief life of just 49 years, the conqueror managed to leave an indelible mark on history and his legacy still lives today; he managed to turn his story from humiliation to greatness.
Turkey , Culture , Life Mehmet the Conqueror: Genius emperor of Ottomans With unorthodox military strategies and intellectual mind, conqueror built empire, changed course of history Ali Murat Alhas When his father died in , Mehmed II ascended to the throne once more, yet this time with many lessons learned and a degree of experience under his belt. His eyes were fixed on the conquest of Constantinople — then the Byzantine capital. He immediately launched preparations for the coming battle.
The sultan assembled a large army, some say with over , soldiers, and appeared before the city's strong walls with full confidence. The military campaign continued for more than 50 days, spearheaded by massive assaults with cannons, which he helped invent and perfect, pounding the walls to open a hole through which soldiers could breach the city. In subsequent years he also ensured Ottoman control over Serbia, Morea, Trebizond Trabzon in the northern region of modern Turkey , Bosnia, Albania and a number of Anatolian central Turkish territories, increasing Ottoman control to over 2.
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