Mehmed II, son of Murad II (1403-1451), was the third son and in contrast to his brothers who were born from the noble Turkish women, he was born to a slave mother. Mehmed received a good religious education and served as governor. His father Murad, a successful conqueror and skilled administrator, sought to move away from the control. In 1444, he made Mehmed the Sultan but under the tutelage of Khalil. Since 1448, Mehmed took part in all the important campaigns and administrative activities of the state (Freely, 2009).
Mehmed II, as well as many outstanding representatives of the Ottoman dynasty, was a man of unpredictable and secretive character. He was able to lead a daring and complex policy. The first arrangements organized by the sultan testified his intention to establish a lasting peace in the region. This opinion was imposed on many Western embassies that were sent to establish direct contacts between the Christian countries of the Mediterranean and the new Turkish ruler. Mehmed II resumed peace treaty with Venice and established a three-year truce with Janos Hunyadi. Sultan swore on Koran to the Ambassadors of the Emperor Constantine IX that he would not claim ownership of Constantinople Empire (Freely, 2009).
Despite his vows and assurance of peaceful intentions, in 1452 Mehmed openly began preparing a siege of Constantinople which was held in April-May 1453. To the walls of the second Rome, Mehmed led an army of several hundred thousand people, including twelve thousand Janissaries. The army of Byzantine consisted only of seven thousand people. On May 29, 1453 the city was taken, a considerable part of the population was killed. The fate of the last emperor, Constantine XI, was unknown but there is no doubt that he was killed that day. The first action of the Sultan was to move the capital from Adrianople to Constantinople. Turkish population began an active colonization of the city. On the day of the storming, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. A suburb of Constantinople, the Genoese colony of Galata, became completely subordinate to the Turkish administrative authorities (Franz, 1992).
After the capture of Constantinople, it was necessary to resolve issues of religion. Sultan, speaking as a Roman bazilevs, took over the general management of Eastern Christianity. As for the direct control of numerous Christian communities, new patriarch Gennady was appointed. In his empire, Mehmed promoted religious tolerance. The Jews of Constantinople and Asia Minor, as well as refugees from European countries, repeatedly pointed out that the position of the Jewish population in Turkey appeared to be much better than in Europe which at the time actively developed repression of political dissent. In 1476, Mehmed II published a set of laws which in great detail regulated the rights and duties of rulers, the clergy, the attitude towards people of other religions and many other aspects. In Istanbul, a lot of construction was underway. Mosques, covered markets and, finally, the Sultan's palace luxury were built at that time. Mehmed also actively supported the organization of artisans and merchants (Freely, 2009).
Important changes were made in the status of the Grand Vizier. Although he was unable to make unilateral decisions on matters of state, he was vested with larger powers. For the education of future administrative and military elite, palace schools were created. The territory of the Ottoman Empire was divided into two halves - Anatolia and Rumelia, each under the control of the Governor-General (beylerbeya). Anatolia and Rumelia were divided into districts Sandzak. Sandzak was divided into timaru and ziamet. They were owned by the Sipahi - horse soldiers of Turkish origin. Land was worked by raya - peasants from among conquered peoples (Franz, 1992).
After the conquest of the new capital and settling internal affairs, Mehmed II carried on his aggressive policy. He planned to expand his empire further so that someday it would become the new global Islamic state. So in 1461, he put an end to the dynasty of Komnenos and the Empire of Trebizond. In 1463, he conquered Serbia, Marey principality, Duchy of Athens, Bosnia. Already in 1456, after the defeat near Belgrade, the Turks were forced to narrow down the number of its territorial claims. At the same time, Wallachia, subordinate of Turkey, retained a certain degree of autonomy. In 1479, the main area of Albania was occupied by the Turks. The long war with Venice which lasted until 1479 was ended with the peace treaty signed in Constantinople. On the basis of the treaty, Venetians obtained the right to trade within the whole Ottoman Empire. Mehmed captured the Genoese colony of Crimea along with Kaffa, now Feodosia. Crimean Khanate that caused a severe damage to the countries of Eastern Europe with its numerous war campaigns and raids, in 1475, came under the protectorate of the Sultan which led to a strengthening of his active policy. After making peace with Venice, Mehmed II unleashed his hands for further conquests in the Mediterranean. In 1480, his troops landed in southern Italy, seizing Otranto. In 1481, in the midst of the military successes, Mehmed died (Franz, 1992).
During the reign of Mehmed II, Europe changed dramatically its attitude towards Turkey. For many European territories, especially those who found themselves in difficult relations with Catholic authorities, Turkish Empire that patronized Eastern Christianity and took under the protection all the dissident forces of the Catholic world, became a kind of ideal of humane government, even though the news of the bloody conquest of the Turks were widely distributed in European countries. Thus, Mehmed II was able to establish himself in Europe as a sovereign who spoke as an equal with other European monarchs and rulers. It was a huge moral and political victory of the Turkish sultan, as well as for the Ottoman Empire
Works Cited
- John Freely (2009). The Grand Turk: Sultan Mehmet II - Conqueror of Constantinople and Master of an Empire. Overlook.
- Babinger, Franz (1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Princeton University Press.
