Byzantium survived barbarian raids and crusades, but it was unable to fend off the young Turkish sultans. He began to conquer more and more countries....
Muhammad, the future ruler and conqueror, was born on March 30, 1432 in Edirne, then the capital of the Ottoman state. He was the fourth son of Sultan Murad II, and his mother was a concubine, Huma Hatun. Traditionally, as the son of the Sultan, Muhammad was appointed governor of a province at the age of 11. After the death of his three older brothers in very mysterious circumstances, Muhammad suddenly became heir to the throne in 1443. His father, known for his love of philosophy and science, hired the best teachers for his son and began to take him on military operations.
In 1444, Murad II abdicated to his son. He just wanted to live quietly, studying his favorite philosophy, and not being distracted by military and state affairs. Sultan Mohammed II, 12, did not want to heed the advice of his father's prime minister, Khalil Pasha, who favored a peaceful foreign policy. The boy preferred the military and was anxious to capture Constantinople.
At this time, after determining that the Ottomans ruled by children were easy prey, Hungarian and Polish forces invaded the country. The Pope himself blessed the invasion, calling it a new Crusade. We had to ask Murad, an important retiree of the Ottoman Empire, to command the army. He agreed, but on the condition that he would not rule — That Muhammad would continue as sultan. On 10 November 1444, Murad defeated the invaders at the Battle of Varna.
In 1445, in order to raise funds for new military operations, Muhammad ordered the minting of coins with less precious metals. Naturally, the Turkish currency Akçe immediately depreciated. Khalil Pasha hastened to take advantage of this and explain to the Janissas why their incomes had plummeted. The guards did not like the idea and insisted that Murad return to the sultan's throne. Muhammad was sent by his father to govern a province, but was also often involved in military operations. This continued until Murad's death. On 18 February 1451, Mehmed II ascended the throne for the second time.
This time, he was more cautious. Mohammed tried to make himself look young and inexperienced in the eyes of european ambassadors, so they didn't take him seriously. However, as his contemporaries wrote, "day and night, sleeping and getting up, going in and out of the palace, he had an idea and a concern, that is, what military means and what machine to use to occupy Constantinople." To achieve this goal, the Sudan enriched its neighbours by ensuring that they did not interfere in the conflict between the Ottomans and the Byzantines.
Eventually, after a long siege, blockade and bloody battle, Constantinople fell on 29 May 1453. The second Rome became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Muhammad began to bring the representatives of the various nationalities living in Byzantine land closer to him. The logic is simple - the new courtier owes everything to the sultan and is therefore loyal only to him. Muhammad respected religious tolerance. For example, he appointed the new Patriarch of Constantinople by special decree. This higher church position was redeemed exclusively from the slave monk Gennady Sculaeus.
The capture of Constantinople did not appease the sultan. In 1454, he began to conquer Serbia, but the operation ended in failure. When Muhammad's army besieged Belgrade, the Hungarian general Janosh Hunyadi trapped the Ottomans, almost completely destroying them. Soon, the Sultan returned with a powerful new army. Serbia became weak due to the epidemic of the plague, surrendered and became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
The target of Mehmed II's new campaign was the Fragment of Byzantium, Morea, ruled by the brothers of the last Byzantine emperor, Dmitry and Thomas Palaologus, who were in a long-standing conflict. Even in the face of the advancing Ottomans, they could not reconcile, and the Sultan's army quickly crushed their resistance. Then Trapezund fell and became part of the Ottoman Empire.
Muhammad stumbled upon the banks of the Danube River, where Vlad III Tepes, famous for his nickname Dracula, ruled here in Wallachia. Formally, he was a tribute to the Ottomans, but he often failed to perform his duties. The Sultan sent an ambassador to the rulers of Varadj, demanding tribute and an army of more than 20,000 men, confirming the seriousness of these demands. Dracula defeated the uninvited guests, and all those who survived the battle, including the ambassador and his entourage, were crucified. After that, the Sultan set out for Wallachia with a large army. On his way, Vlad set up a terrible forest with hundreds of crucified Sultan's subjects. However, this did not demoralize the Ottomans, who dealt sensitive blows to the Wallachians. In response, Tepes personally led night raids on the Sultan's camp, during which many fighters were killed. Enraged, Muhammad waged an all-out war against the unruly Wallachians. After several battles, Dracula fled to Hungary. The Sultan put his brother Radu on the throne of Varadhi and decided that the battle was over.
The war continued almost uninterruptedly. Mehmed II's ambitions affected almost every country in Eastern Europe, even Venice. Albania was the only country that Mehmed II could not conquer with a storm. This small but proud country refused to surrender and became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. Only in 1479, 12 years after the start of the Albanian campaign, did the Turks succeed in establishing their rule over these lands. Most conquered countries cannot boast of this resilience.
In 1475, the Sultan turned his attention to the Crimean Khanate, a fragment of the Golden Horde. The Turks quickly occupied the Genoese fortresses along the coast and occupied all the territory of the khanate. His younger brother Nur-Devlet, who replaced Khan Mengli Giray and was put on the throne, immediately declared Crimea a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
In his later years, Mehmed II became very fond of food, and although he considered himself a devout Muslim, he liked to drink good wine. He died on 3 May 1481. It is believed that his death was caused by poison – either by being put into his food or provided by a doctor sent by one of the Sultan's sons. Mehmed II was buried in the mosque he built, which became known as the Conqueror's Mosque.