One of the most important figures in Ottoman history, Mehmed was the architect of victories that inspired fear throughout Europe and contributed to an image of the Turk prevalent in Western art and literature for many years. From the Western viewpoint, Mehmed was seen as the man who gave the death blow to Byzantium, destroying the last vestige of the Eastern Roman Empire. Not surprisingly, the Turks regard him as the greatest of all sultans, a figure unparalleled in the history of the world for military prowess, statecraft and patronage of the arts and sciences.

Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time

The historian and author of Strolling Through Istanbul presents a detailed portrait of the fifteenth century Ottoman sultan, revealing the man behind the myths. Sultan Mehmet II—known to his countrymen as The Conqueror, and to much of Europe as The Terror of the World—was once Europe's most feared and powerful ruler. Now John Freely, the noted scholar of Turkish history, brings this charismatic hero to life in evocative and authoritative biography. Mehmet was barely twenty-one when he conquered Byzantine Constantinople, which became Istanbul and the capital of his mighty empire. He reigned for thirty years, during which time his armies extended the borders of his empire halfway across Asia Minor and as far into Europe as Hungary and Italy. Three popes called for crusades against him as Christian Europe came face to face with a new Muslim empire. Revered by the Turks and seen as a brutal tyrant by the West, Mehmet was a brilliant military leader as well as a renaissance prince. His court housed Persian and Turkish poets, Arab and Greek astronomers, and Italian scholars and artists. In The Grand Turk, Freely sheds vital new light on this enigmatic ruler.

The Grand Turk

In 1479, the Venetian painter Gentile Bellini arrived at the Ottoman court in Istanbul, where he produced his celebrated portrait of Sultan Mehmed II. An important moment of cultural diplomacy, this was the first of many intriguing episodes in the picture's history. Elizabeth Rodini traces Gentile's portrait from Mehmed's court to the Venetian lagoon, from the railway stations of war-torn Europe to the walls of London's National Gallery, exploring its life as a painting and its afterlife as a famous, often puzzling image. Rediscovered by the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard at the height of Orientalist outlooks in Britain, the picture was also the subject of a lawsuit over what defines a “portrait”; it was claimed by Italians seeking to hold onto national patrimony around 1900; and it starred in a solo exhibition in Istanbul in 1999. Rodini's focused inquiry also ranges broadly, considering the nature of historical evidence, the shifting status of authenticity and verisimilitude, and the contemporary political resonance of Old Master paintings. Told as an object biography and imagined as an exploration of art historical methodologies, this book situates Gentile's portrait in evolving dialogues between East and West, uncovering the many and varied ways that objects construct meaning.

Gentile Bellini's Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II

"Verily, you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and a wonderful army will that army be!" For eight centuries, Muslims made countless attempts to fulfill this prophecy made by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II's conquest of Constantinople is believed to have realised and embodied this prophecy. At the age of twenty-one, Mehmed toppled one of the greatest empires, the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantine. His military genius and his disciplined army were unmatched. For the next thirty years, he ruled and conquered much of Asia Minor and stretched Ottoman power into Europe reaching the borders of Hungary and Italy. Mehmed was the most admired and feared leader of the 15th century. His people called him Al-Fatih, the Conqueror, but he was also known as the prince of the Renaissance as his rule gave birth to the golden age of the Ottoman Empire. This biography of Sultan Mehmed II will immerse the reader into the legendary life of one of the most influential and brilliant leaders of all time.

Sultan Mehmed

Five hundred years ago the great walled city of Constantinople fell under the relentless siege of the Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmed II, Mehmed the Conqueror. Kristovoulos, one of the vanquished Greeks, later entered into the service of the Conqueror and began to write a history of the Sultan's life, starting with the year 1451, the beginning of Mehmed's 31-year reign. Death apparently prevented Kritovoulos from completing his account, but the manuscript covering the first seventeen years has been preserved and this exciting chronicle is here translated into English for the first time. Charles T. Riggs, who died in February 1953 at Robert College in modern Istanbul, was a missionary in the Near East. Originally published in 1954. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

History of Mehmed the Conqueror

Mehmed II the Conqueror and the Fall of the Franco-Byzantine Levant to the Ottoman Turks

An extraordinary biography of the famous sultan for those who wish to know him not only with his military skills but also with his administrative abilities.

Great Eagle

Most biographies describe a chronological line of events. This mostly works well, but for a man like Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror, who spent his thirty-year reign in constant warfare, it creates an, albeit correct, fragmented view of conflicts. The same enemies come up again and again, at different times, but we never get a comprehensive look at Mehmed II's conflicts with each of his many enemies. This biography does not work its way through Mehmed II's life in chronological order, rather it provides vertical views of each of his enemies, who they were, where they came from and how and why they got into conflict with the Ottoman Empire. Through this, a web is spun that, despite not focusing on Mehmed II, provides a biography which describes Mehmed II and his life as told through the stories of his enemies.

The Conqueror's Enemies

Mehmet the Conqueror and Constantinople: an Ottoman Vision of Empire

1453 the Conquest

The History of Mehmed the Conqueror

Mehmed the Conqueror, also known as Mehmed II, was a visionary Ottoman sultan who left an indelible mark on history through his relentless military campaigns and strategic brilliance. Rising to power in the mid-15th century, he achieved legendary status by orchestrating the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, a pivotal event that marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and opened the gateway for the Ottoman Empire to become a dominant force in Europe and the Middle East. Mehmed's reign was marked by innovative administrative reforms, cultural advancements, and an enduring legacy as a military genius, shaping the course of history and earning him a place among the most iconic figures of the Ottoman Empire.

HistoryShelf

Mehmed the Conqueror

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