7th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1444–1446, 1451–1481)
"Fatih Sultan Mehmed" redirects here. For the bridge that spans the Bosphorus strait, see Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.
Mehmed II
Kayser-i Rûm (Caesar of the Romans) The Sultan of Two Lands and the Khan of Two Seas[1]
Portrait of Mehmed II by Gentile Bellini, dating 1480
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Padishah)
1st reign
August 1444 – September 1446
Predecessor
Murad II
Successor
Murad II
2nd reign
3 February 1451 – 3 May 1481
Predecessor
Murad II
Successor
Bayezid II
Born
30 March 1432 Edirne, Ottoman Sultanate
Died
3 May 1481(1481-05-03) (aged 49) Hünkârçayırı (Tekfurçayırı), near Gebze, Ottoman Empire
Burial
Fatih Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Consorts
Gülbahar Hatun
Gülşah Hatun
Sittişah Hatun
Çiçek Hatun
Anna Hatun
Helena Hatun
Maria Hatun
Hatice Hatun
Issue
Bayezid II
Cem Sultan
Şehzade Mustafa
Gevherhan Hatun
Other
Names
Meḥemmed bin Murad Han[2]
Dynasty
Ottoman
Father
Murad II
Mother
Hüma Hatun (biological) Mara Branković (adoptive)
Religion
Sunni Islam[3][4]
Tughra
Mehmed II (Ottoman Turkish: محمد ثانى, romanized: Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; Turkish: II. Mehmed, pronounced [icinˈdʒi ˈmehmed]; 30 March 1432 – 3 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (Ottoman Turkish: ابو الفتح, romanized: Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit. 'the Father of Conquest'; Turkish: Fâtih Sultan Mehmed), was an Ottoman sultan who ruled from August 1444 to September 1446, and then later from February 1451 to May 1481.
In Mehmed II's first reign, he defeated the crusade led by John Hunyadi after the Hungarian incursions into his country broke the conditions of the truce Peace of Szeged. When Mehmed II ascended the throne again in 1451, he strengthened the Ottoman navy and made preparations to attack Constantinople. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire. After the conquest Mehmed claimed the title Caesar of the Roman Empire (Ottoman Turkish: قیصر روم, romanized: Qayser-i Rûm), based on the fact that Constantinople had been the seat and capital of the surviving Eastern Roman Empire since its consecration in 330 AD by Emperor Constantine I.[5] The claim was only recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Nonetheless, Mehmed II viewed the Ottoman state as a continuation of the Roman Empire for the remainder of his life, seeing himself as "continuing" the Empire rather than "replacing" it.
Mehmed continued his conquests in Anatolia with its reunification and in Southeast Europe as far west as Bosnia. At home he made many political and social reforms, encouraged the arts and sciences, and by the end of his reign, his rebuilding program had changed Constantinople into a thriving imperial capital. He is considered a hero in modern-day Turkey and parts of the wider Muslim world. Among other things, Istanbul's Fatih district, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Fatih Mosque are named after him.
^Cihan Yüksel Muslu (2014). The Ottomans and the Mamluks: Imperial Diplomacy and Warfare in the Islamic World. p. 118. Mehmed presented himself to the world as The Sultan of two lands and the Khan of two seas
^Gustav Bayerle (1997). Pashas, Begs, and Effendis: A Historical Dictionary of Titles and Terms in the Ottoman Empire. Isis Press. p. 150.
^The Essential World History, Volume II: Since 1500. Archived 18 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine By William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel
^The Rise of Turkey: The Twenty-First Century's First Muslim Power Archived 18 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine. By Soner Cagaptay
Mehmed I (c. 1386 – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi (Ottoman Turkish: چلبی محمد, "the noble-born") or Kirişçi (Greek: Κυριτζής, romanized: Kyritzis...
that if Murad II had used all available resources he could easily have invaded Europe. Murad was born in June 1404 (or 1403) to Sultan Mehmed I. The identity...
military backing from the Mamluks in Egypt. Karamani Mehmed Pasha, latest grand vizier of MehmedII, informed him of the death of the Sultan and invited...
Mehmed V Reşâd (Ottoman Turkish: محمد خامس, romanized: Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; Turkish: V. Mehmed or Mehmed Reşad; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the...
Mehmed IV (Ottoman Turkish: محمد رابع, romanized: Meḥmed-i rābi; Turkish: IV. Mehmed; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693), also known as Mehmed the Hunter...
Mehmed III (Ottoman Turkish: محمد ثالث, Meḥmed-i sālis; Turkish: III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595...
Selim II gained the throne after palace intrigue and fraternal dispute, succeeding as sultan on the 7th of September 1566. Selim's Grand Vizier, Mehmed Sokollu...
personally led by MehmedII or Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (30 March 1432 – 3 May 1481) (Ottoman Turkish: محمد ثانى, Meḥmed-i s̠ānī; Turkish: II. Mehmet; also...
half-brother Mehmed IV, who was born on 2 January 1642. After the deposition and execution of his father in 1648, Suleiman's half-brother Mehmed came to the...
of the Ottoman Empire. C. Kafadar H. Karate (MeḥmedII’s ascension to the throne in 855/1451. MeḥmedII’s campaign to Qaraman; 855/1451.) Laonicus Chalkondyles...
kingdom, Mehmed invaded Bosnia and conquered it very quickly, executing the last Bosnian king Stephen Tomašević and his uncle Radivoj. In 1462 MehmedII came...
Mehmed VI Vahideddin (Ottoman Turkish: محمد سادس Meḥmed-i sâdis or وحيد الدين Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn; Turkish: VI. Mehmed or Vahdeddin/Vahideddin; 14 January 1861...
addition to his daughters, Ahmed II was deeply attached to his niece Ümmügülsüm Sultan, daughter of his half-brother Mehmed IV, so much so that he treated...
outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan MehmedII (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the Byzantine army was led by...
inspired his cognomen). Peace was restored in 1460. The Ottoman Sultan, MehmedII, ordered Vlad to pay homage to him personally, but Vlad had the Sultan's...
different councillors, his policy towards Murad and Mehmed was not coherent and resulted in disaster. MehmedII considered Constantine to have broken the terms...
centralized imperial state, a process which was brought to fruition by Sultan MehmedII (r. 1451-1481). The conquest of Constantinople in 1453 is seen as the...
Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1453 following its conquest by MehmedII. The Ottoman Empire's early years have been the subject of varying narratives...
was the son of Sultan Mehmed IV (1648–87) and Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmenia, who was of Greek Cretan descent. Mustafa II abdicated in favor of...
Ottomans.[better source needed] The Ottoman Sultan, MehmedII, later invaded Wallachia in June 1462. Mehmed's secretary, Tursun Beg, recorded that Vlad Țepeș...
who was killed during the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Sultan MehmedII in 1453. If true, since Constantine XI died childless, and had the Ottomans...
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