21 Facts About Mehmet II

Mehmet II is considered a hero in modern-day Turkey and parts of the wider Muslim world.

Mehmet II's father was Sultan Murad II and his mother Huma Hatun, a slave of uncertain origin.

Mehmet II was influenced in his practice of Islamic epistemology by practitioners of science, particularly by his mentor, Molla Gurani, and he followed their approach.

Mehmet II eventually served twice as Grand Vizier under Mehmed's son, Bayezid II.

Mehmet II secured promises of support from the Turkish beys of Sinope and Karamania, and from the king and princes of Georgia.

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Mehmet II led a sizable army from Bursa by land and the Ottoman navy by sea, first to Sinope, joining forces with Ismail's brother Ahmed .

Mehmet II captured Sinope and ended the official reign of the Jandarid dynasty, although he appointed Ahmed as the governor of Kastamonu and Sinope, only to revoke the appointment the same year.

Mehmet II's rule was short-lived as Hunyadi invaded Wallachia and restored his ally Vladislav II, of the Danesti clan, to the throne.

Mehmet II failed to take the Acropolis and was forced to retreat to Patras, the capital of Peloponnese and the seat of the Ottoman bey, which was being besieged by a joint force of Venetians and Greeks.

Mehmet II's reign was short as Pir Ahmet appealed to Sultan Mehmed II for help, offering Mehmed some territory that Ishak refused to cede.

Mehmet II energetically pursued the attacks against the Albanian strongholds, while sending detachments to raid the Venetian possessions to keep them isolated.

Mehmet II gathered Italian artists, humanists and Greek scholars at his court, allowed the Byzantine Church to continue functioning, ordered the patriarch Gennadius to translate Christian doctrine into Turkish, and called Gentile Bellini from Venice to paint his portrait as well as Venetian frescoes that are vanished today.

Mehmet II collected in his palace a library which included works in Greek, Persian and Latin.

Mehmet II's authority extended to all Ottoman Orthodox Christians, and this excluded the Genoese and Venetian settlements in the suburbs, and excluded Muslim and Jewish settlers entirely.

Mehmet II delegated significant powers and functions of government to his viziers as part of his new policy of imperial seclusions.

Mehmet II's viziers directed the military and met foreign ambassadors, two essential parts of governing especially with his numerous military campaigns.

Mehmet II's first documented request in 1461 was a commission from artist Matteo de' Pasti, who resided in the court of the lord of Rimini, Sigismondo Malatesta.

Mehmet II'storians believe that Mehmed's widespread cultural and artistic tastes, especially those aimed towards the West, served various important diplomatic and administrative functions.

Mehmet II's heroes were Achilles and Alexander the Great and he could discuss Christian religion with some authority.

Mehmet II was reputed to be fluent in several languages, including Turkish, Serbian, Arabic, Persian, Greek and Latin.

Mehmet II was just beginning new campaigns to capture Rhodes and southern Italy, however according to some historians his next voyage was planned to overthrow the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and to capture Egypt and claim the caliphate.