Mehmed II, the son of Sultan Murad II, born from Huma Hatun, on March 30, of the year 1432. During his childhood and youth Mehmed lived in three cities: Adrianople, Bursa and Manisa. He was the third son of the Sultan, and the Turkish throne was not foreseen for him, on the contrary, there were very many chances that the next sultan would be one of Mehmed's older brothers, who will ascend the throne.
However, in 1437 and 1443 both elder brothers of Mehmed died, and he became the only legitimate pretender to the throne (there was, indeed, Prince Orkhan, second cousin of Murad II, but he fled to the Byzantines in Constantinople). Although Murad II later paid attention to the training of his third son, he still ordered to give him an education appropriate to the status of the heir. Mehmed studied philosophy and sciences, he fluently spoke five languages. His father twice a time tried to retire and leave the country to his son, but Mehmed's arrogance and defiant behavior initially alienated his court and people from him.
In 1451, Sultan Murad II died. 19-year-old Mehmed took his father's throne. The beginning of his reign was marked by a war with Constantinople, the capital and the symbol of the Byzantine Empire. The capture of the city was occurred on May 29, 1453, and became a brilliant victory for the Turkish army, which immortalized the name of Mehmet among the Muslims as Ebu'l Feth - the Father of Conquest. Relying on the conquered authority, Mehmed began persecutions against the old Turkish nobility and brought slave converts to the power, his both first viziers and tutors were of Christian origin: Zaganos Pasha - the Albanian, and eunuch Sehabeddin Pasha - the Georgian.
In later wars Mehmed subordinated Thrace and Macedonia, he also went to Serbia, but here the famous Hungarian commander Janos Hunyadi in 1454 forced him to lift the siege of Semendriya, and in 1456 Christian army defeated Mehmed at Belgrade. Yet, after the death of Hunyadi, Serbia went to Mehmed (1459). Then he overthrew the empire of the Trebizond in 1461, seized Lesbos (1462), most of Bosnia (1463) and Karaman (1466-1471).
In Albania, George Kastriot resisted for a long time, and after his death (1467) the war continued with the Venetians, patrons of Albania. In 1470, Mehmed took the Negroponte from the Venetians.
In 1472, Mehmed inflicted a defeat on the Persian Shah in Cappadocia. In 1473 made his vassal of the Crimean Khan, after which he took from the Genoese Kaffa and Azov (1474).
The wars in Northern Persia against Uzun-Hasan distracted Mehmed for some time from the West. Only in 1480, Mehmed attacked the island of Rhodes, but was repelled by the Knights of the Ioannites. After taking the Ionian Islands from the Neapolitans, Mehmed gave orders to take Otranto (1480); but the Turkish garrison, without getting reinforcements from Turkey, was soon ousted from there.
The death that occurred in May 3, 1481, prevented Mehmet from moving against Rome (or Egypt - nobody knew, it's what Neshri chronicles tell). Mehmed died from the heart attack in Gebze, a district situated 30 miles southeast of Istanbul. The myths that Mehmed was poisoned by his jewish physician Jakub Pasha are not really attested to be true.
Edited by Magnus Khan - 25-Jun-2017 at 07:01