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| '''Mehmed II''', '''Mehmet II''', or '''Muhammed II''', (also known as ''el-Fatih'', "the Conqueror", in ], or, in modern ], ''Fatih Sultan Mehmed'') (], ] – ], ]) was first the ] of the ] for a short time from ] to ], and later from ] to ]. He was also the first Ottoman ruler to claim the title of ] of the ] (supreme ruler of all Christians), besides such usual titles as king, ] (ruler of a Muslim state), ] (ruler of Turks), etc. | '''Mehmed II''', '''Mehmet II''', or '''Muhammed II''', (also known as ''el-Fatih'', "the Conqueror", in ], or, in modern ], ''Fatih Sultan Mehmed'') (], ] – ], ]) was first the ] of the ] for a short time from ] to ], and later from ] to ]. He was also the first Ottoman ruler to claim the title of ] of the ] (supreme ruler of all Christians), besides such usual titles as king, ] (ruler of a Muslim state), ] (ruler of Turks), etc. | ||
Revision as of 04:53, 18 December 2005
Mehmed II, Mehmet II, or Muhammed II, (also known as el-Fatih, "the Conqueror", in Ottoman Turkish, or, in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmed) (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was first the sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from 1451 to 1481. He was also the first Ottoman ruler to claim the title of Caesar of the Roman Empire (supreme ruler of all Christians), besides such usual titles as king, sultan (ruler of a Muslim state), Khan (ruler of Turks), etc.
He was born in Edirne (Adrianople, Jedreno), then a capital city of the Ottoman State, on March 30, 1432; his mother Huma Hatun was a daughter of Abd`Allah of Hum (a province encompassing SE part of modern day Bosnia and Hercegovina, NW part of Crna Gora / Montenegro and SW part of Serbia), Huma meaning a girl/woman from Hum. When Mehmed was 11 years old, as per the custom of Ottoman rulers before his time, he was sent to Amasya to govern and thus gain experience.
During his first reign, seeing the upcoming Battle of Varna, Mehmed sent for his father, Murad II, asking him to claim the throne again to fight the enemy, only to be refused. Enraged at his father, who had long since retired to a contemplative life in southwestern Anatolia, Mehmed 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." It was upon this letter that Murad II led the Ottoman army in the Battle of Varna in 1444. It is also said that Murad's return was forced by Chandarli Khalil Pasha, the prime minister (sadrazam or grand vizier) of the time, who was not very fond of Mehmed's rule, since Mehmed's teacher (lala) was influential on him and did not like Chandarli. Chandarli was later executed by Mehmed during the siege of Istanbul on the grounds that he had been bribed by or had somehow helped the defenders.
Two years after reclaiming the throne in 1451, Mehmed brought an end to the Byzantine Empire by capturing Constantinople in 1453 (during the well-known Siege of Constantinople), and other Byzantine cities left in Anatolia and the Balkans. During the siege of Constantinople he promised his men "the women and boys of the city." Upon is conquest, he ordered the 14 year old son of the Grand Duke Lucas Notaras be brought to him for his personal pleasure. When the father refused to render his son to such a fate he had them both decapitated on the spot. (Steven Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople 1453. Cambridge University Press)
The invasion of Constantinople and successful campaigns against small kingdoms in the Balkans, Crimea, and Turkic territories in Anatolia bestowed immense glory and prestige on the country and the Ottoman State started to be recognized as an empire for the first time. However, Mehmed's advance toward the heart of Europe was stopped by the unsuccessful Siege of Nándorfehérvár in 1456, and in 1475, the Ottomans suffered their worst-ever defeat to that day, at the Battle of Vaslui, in Moldavia.
His reign, mostly known for his capture of Constantinople, is also well known for the unusual tolerance with which he treated his subjects, especially among the conquered Byzantines. Within the vanquished city he established a millet or an autonomous religious community, and he appointed the former Patriarch as essentially governor of the city. However, his authority extended only unto the Orthodox Christians of the city, and this excluded the Genoese and Venetian settlements in the suburbs, and excluded the coming Muslim and Jewish settlers entirely. This method allowed for an indirect rule of the Christian Byzantines and allowed the occupants to feel relatively autonomous even as Mehmed began the Turkish remodeling of the city, eventually turning it into the Turkish capital, which it remained until the 1920s.
Mehmed thought of himself as the heir to the throne of the Roman Empire - which, technically, he was after capturing Constantinople - and, as a result, adopted the title "Kayser-i-Rüm" (Roman Caesar) and invaded Italy in 1480. The intent of his invasion was to capture Rome and reunite the Roman Empire for the first time since 751, and, at first, looked like he might be able to do it with the easy capture of Otranto in 1480. However, a rebellion in Albania later in 1480 cut into his military links, allowing a massive force led by the Pope to defeat and evict his army in 1481. Administratively, Mehmed was better at continuing the old Byzantine ways, as he gathered Italian humanists and Greek scholars at his court, kept the Byzantine Church functioning, ordered the patriarch to translate the Christian faith into Turkish and called Gentile Bellini from Venice to paint his portrait.
He is also recognized as the first sultan to codify criminal and constitutional law long before Suleyman the Magnificent (also "the Lawmaker" or "Kanuni") and he thus established the classical image of the autocratic Ottoman sultan (padishah). After the fall of Constantinople, he founded many universities and colleges in the city, some of which are still active.
It is claimed that he spoke about seven languages when he was 21 years old (the age he conquered Istanbul), and there are claims that the prophet of Islam praised him with a prophetic quote.
Some sources claim that he was murdered by poison given by a Jewish doctor. His tomb is located at Fatih Mosque in Istanbul.
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge is named after him.
References
- The Fall of Constantinople, 1453 – Steven Runciman, Cambridge University Press 1990
| Preceded byMurad II | Ottoman Sultan 1444–1446 |
Succeeded byMurad II |
| Preceded byMurad II | Ottoman Sultan 1451–1481 |
Succeeded byBayezid II |