Sultan Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conqueror, achieved what his predecessors
failed in his tenure as sultan, conquering the unconquerable Constantinople. Thereby,
toppling the Byzantine Empire all by the time he was merely 21. He then went on to
defeat the real-life Dracula, encouraged the development of the arts and sciences,
and expanded the Ottoman Empire to new reaches. However, under the surface there are more strange
and dark secrets that help in painting the portrait of this celebrated man. Today on
Nutty History, we will be investigating the fascinating life of Sultan Mehmed II.
Mehmed II was born in Adrianople, in Turkey, on March 30, 1432, the fourth son of the ruling
Ottoman sultan, Murad II. It seemed that even from a young age Mehmed was destined for greatness.
He famously declared that there was only one thing he wanted. “Give me Constantinople,” he said.
Funny, most kids usually say, “Give me chocolate,” but to each their own we guess. Mehmed was unlike
other children. His father, Murad II, had been fed up with political grievances and was shaken by the
death of his eldest son. His solution? Abdicate the throne and pass it onto, then 11-year-old,
Mehmed. A little hands-on experience was never a bad thing, right? Well, let’s just say it
wasn’t exactly the turnout Murad was looking for. Between the tension in the conquered territories,
particularly in Europe, and the threat from Crusaders the public was a little on the fence
with having a child ascending the throne. From homework to homeland defense that quickly? We
totally see their point. Within two years Mehmed gave up his seat and Murad II picked up again
where he had left off, eliminating the threat of crusade and resuming his role as Ottoman Sultan.
Poor little Mehmed was humiliated by his inability to lead successfully
and he was sent away to hit the books again. Failure was no match for this
go getter! He would go on to learn around 7 languages including Arabic, Greek, Turkish,
Persian and Latin: as well as study philosophy, geometry, metallurgy and mathematics. He was
nothing short of meticulous in his methods towards becoming the valiant leader he soon would be.
Mehmed was given a second chance at becoming Sultan at the age of 18 when his father died.
He made a mad dash consolidating his power, his supporters, and eliminating rival claimants.
It is rumored his father’s youngest infant son drowned in his bath “unknowingly”. Nothing and no
one would stop him. With all potential threats out of the way, he would assume the Ottoman throne for
a second time in 1451. But hold on, let’s rewind a second and go back to the whole decimating family
members thing. You might be thinking that was a little harsh right? To those wishing to rule,
not necessarily. Mehmed II himself later officially enacted the fratricide law,
stipulating: “Whichever of my sons inherits the sultan’s throne, it behooves him to decimate
his brothers in the interest of world order.” Wait… what!? Under the terms of the legislation,
whichever member of the ruling dynasty succeeded in seizing the throne on the death of the old
sultan was not merely permitted, but encouraged, to decimate all his brothers together with any
inconvenient uncles and cousins in order to reduce the risk of subsequent rebellion and civil war.
Mehmed’s law ultimately resulted in the death of 80 members of the house of Osman
over a period of 150 years. These victims included all 19 siblings of Mehmed III
(the 7th sultan post Mehmed II). When he ascended in 1595, he took no chances and had them strangled
with silk handkerchiefs so no royal blood would technically be spilled. Not only that, but he
also had the mission carried out by deaf and mute servants so they couldn’t even testify in court.
And his nickname was “The Just.” Somehow, we’re just not seeing the correlation there…
Don’t worry, by the 17th century they substituted the Western notion of simply giving the job to the
first-born son instead. Though, some argue that this lines up precisely with the decline of the
Ottoman Empire. Who would have thought that there might be a downside to brotherly love?
Mehmed II’s first reign was mere child’s play in comparison to what he would go on to accomplish.
During his 30-year reign he defeated and conquered two empires, seven kingdoms, and 200 towns.
Earning him the name Ebul-Khayrat (The Father of Good Works). What set Mehmed apart from others
was not just his military prowess, but his adoration and pursuit of knowledge. He notably
first introduced the word Politics into Arabic "Siyasah" from a book he published and claimed
to be the collection of Politics doctrines of the Byzantine Caesars before him. In this fashion,
after the conquest of Constantinople one of the first structures he built was a library.
Though there is no clear indication of how many books lined the shelves during his reign,
a catalog done during the reign of his son Sultan Bayezid II states there were 7,200 works
in 5,700 volumes. They do say knowledge is power. As for palace life, Mehmed found
amongst his greatest pleasures spending time in the company of scholars, poets, and scientists,
whom he encouraged to converse and argue in their fields of expertise. One philosophical debate was
said to have gone on for seven days! By the end, the sultan asked the scholars in question to each
write a book detailing their point of view, which he paid them each 10,000 coins to do so.
Probably the first and last time a philosopher got paid! The Sultan’s dedication to intellect
and the arts not only served him as a hobby, but it also came in handy in expanding his empire.
His particular interest was in cartography, using maps for practical, ideological, and aesthetic
purposes. Some say they gave him visual rendering to his present and future world domination.
Similarly, perhaps, to how a Pinterest board with inspirational quotes can inspire us to
“carpe diem”. Meanwhile, he became the first ruler-conqueror in history to make practical
use of maps for military strategy. Thus, making cartography a permanent tradition in the Ottoman
military, and putting themselves on the map, as it were. With Mehmed II’s love of literature, it
might not be a surprise to say that he, himself, dabbled in writing for pleasure. Well, perhaps it
was a little more than dabbling… But Mehmed didn’t write about science, mathematics, or history. He
wrote poetry. To maintain his anonymity, he even used a nom de plume calling himself Avni. He left
behind a collection, known as divan, consisting of some 80 poems in Turkish. His poetry was so
far-reaching that in some quarters he is viewed as one of the pillars of Ottoman Classic Literature.
His verse occasionally uses Istanbul as a scene and Istanbulites as characters;
speaks of love; and links with potential real-life experiences. This foray into writing
maintains the complexities of his personality, balancing his cruel nature with a gentler touch.
Of all of Mehmed’s contributions, his most notable and celebrated was his conquest of
Constantinople in 1453. The siege was relatively brief by historic standards, lasting a grand
total of 53 days. Mehmed II went in with a strong army and guns blazing – or canons,
that is. The most powerful ones the world had ever seen up until that point. Once they had breached
the infamous 12-meter tall Theodosian Walls, the fight for Constantinople was over quickly.
The city was captured, officially bringing the Roman Empire to an end. One would assume the
sultan’s next move might be to forcefully plunder the city, but Mehmed wasn’t just any leader. While
he did want to restore the Christian capital as a Muslim one, he additionally wanted it to
be the political, economic, and social center of the area it had formerly dominated. He aimed
to repopulate the city with all conquered peoples of the empire, whose intermingling would prove a
model for a powerful and integrated empire. Pretty forward thinking for the period. Furthermore,
under Ottoman rule all major religious groups were allowed to establish their own self-governing
communities, called millets, each retaining its own religious laws, traditions, and language
under the general protection of the sultan. So, a total utopia where all are welcome and arts,
culture and social sciences are celebrated? Honestly, not a bad way to get followers in
your advance towards world domination. He would’ve totally slayed on Instagram.
Speaking of slaying, one of Mehmed’s most famous adversaries was none other than Vlad III.
Otherwise known as Vlad Dracula. That’s right! The same “I want to suck your blood” Dracula that
inspired Bram Stoker’s famous novel. And this real-life Dracula was no less horrifying than
his fictional counterpart, as Mehmed II would soon discover. Vlad III led a campaign against Ottoman
territory and captured a large Ottoman force. As a warning, he punctured and decimated more than
20,000 of the Turkish prisoners – while they were still alive! Which won him the name
Vlad the Impaler. It took nearly 20 years for Mehmed to get his revenge on Dracula.
An Ottoman-backed ruler decimated him with the aid of Ottoman forces. Vlad’s body was sent to Mehmed
in Istanbul as a trophy, confirming that Vlad the Impaler would no longer be a feared assailer!
In his fleeting life of 49 years, Mehmed the Conqueror managed to leave an indelible impression
on history and his legacy still lives on today. While some of his forward thinking was admirable,
maybe we’ll hold off snuffing out our siblings to be all powerful.
What do you think? Was Mehmed II pretty forward thinking or downright mad?
Let us know in the comments below and we’ll see you next time for more Nutty History.