1

MEHMED THE CONQUEROR

2

3

Mehmet II was born on29th March 1432, inEdirne. He was the son ofSultan Murad II. Hismother was Huma Hatun.Mehmed (or Mahomed)the Conqueror was tall,full faced, well muscledand strong, with a ruddycomplexion and a ram-like nose. Mehmet II was astatesman and a militaryleader.

4

He was quiet, calm andcourageous. He was one ofthe most eminent andlearned men of his time,gathering poets, artists andlearned men around him.He was also interested inliterature, fine arts andmonumental architecture.Also Mehmet was a goodpoet.He was educated byfamous scholarAksemseddin. He was alsointerested in philosophyand science. He invited AliKuscu the famousastronomer to theobservatory in Istanbul .

5

Mehmet II was ascended the throne in his20th year. He took the name “conqueror” (fatih)after the conquest of Istanbul on 29th May 1453. 6

The conquest ofIstanbul spelledthe end of theByzantine Empireand entered aphase of urbanrevival under thewise and tolerantadministrations ofMehmet and hisimmediatesuccessors.

7

The capture of Istanbul was followed by a long succession of campaigns which resulted in a

tremendous extension of direct Ottoman rule. 8

Among those areas that fell to Mehmet II were Serbia, Greece, the Empire of Trezibizond, Wallachia, Bosnia, Karaman, Albania and several Venetian and Geneose

maritime establishments.

9

Sultan Mehmed theConqueror proved himselfto be one of the greatestEmperors in the history ofthe world by his selflesswork on behalf of theMoslem world.

He was a very strictstatesman and a verybrave soldier. He tookplace in front of his armyin the wars and heencouraged his soldiers.

10

He ruled the Ottoman Empire for 30 years. During his sultanate he commanded the armiesin 25 campaigns and expanded the Ottomankingdom from 900,000 to 2,214,000 squarekilometres. 11

Fatih Sultan Mehmet’sreign was known forits tolerance ofreligious differencesand intellectual vigor;the Sultan himselfspoke seven languagesand was responsiblefor the construction ofeight universities.

12

He was an avid art collector; developed a particular interested in the Renaissance; forged

cultural ties with the West, and maintained a personal library filled with texts on medicine,

geography, philosophy, and ancient history. 13

Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire’s civil andcriminal laws were codified into a single body of law. The Sultan is widely regarded as a giftedlinguist and is credited with introducing theword “politics” into the Arabic language.

14

The emperor had died on 3rd May 1481. He was buried in “Fatih Turbesi” (tomb), near the Mosque of Fatih in Istanbul.

15

Babinger, F. (1978).Mehmed the Conqueror and his

Time. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

İnalcık, H.(1990). Review of Mehmed the

Conqueror and his Time.Ankara üniversity.

Kritovoulos .(1954)History of Mehmed theconqueror .Translated from the Greek by Charles T. Riggs Princeton, New Jersey Press.

Philippides, M.(1990). Emperors, Patriarchs, and

Sultans of Constantinople, 1373-1513: An

Anonymous Greek Chronicle of the Sixteenth

Century. Brookline MA: Hellenic College Press.16

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION!!!