History of the Ottoman Empire/Mehmed II (Fatih) and the rise of the Ottoman Empire

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Fall of Constantinople
Mehmed II
  • Mehmed II wanted to capture Constantinople, because the Byzantine Empire was a potential threat. In April 1453, they attacked Constantinople with 100,000 - 150,000 soldiers. The Byzantine Empire on the other hand had only 7 - 10,000 soldiers. The Republic of Venice and other European countries supported the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople.
  • The Ottomans attacked Constantinople constantly, but could not get results because European countries continually sent reinforcements. In May, the Ottomans lost a large number of soldiers. The Byzantine Empire defended the city successfully. The Ottomans wanted to enter the Golden Horn because, the Byzantine walls were weak there. But, there was a thick chain in the entry of the Golden Horn so, the Ottomans ships were unable to enter. Mehmed II ordered his troops to pull the ships over Kasımpaşa (which is the shore of Golden Horn) with ropes. This was an incredible feat and it allowed the Ottoman warships to enter the Golden Horn. Shortly afterwards they attacked the Byzantine warships. A large number of the Byzantine warships were sunk. Constantinople became too weak, after this attack to hold off Mehmed II's army for much longer. Thus, a few days later, the Ottomans captured Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire fell. Mehmed II made Constantinople the new capital city of the Ottoman Empire, and he renamed it Istanbul. New mosques, hospitals, schools, residences and even a university (Istanbul University) were founded there.
  • After the fall of Constantinople, the Serbs gave some castles to the Ottomans. A few years later, Ottomans attacked the Serbs in 1454 - 1457. The Ottomans captured a lot of Serb castles. Also the Ottomans attacked the Peloponnese and they captured there(Where?) in 1460. The Ottomans attacked the Balkans constantly. The Ottomans captured the Empire of Trebizond in 1461 and so the last Rûm country fell. Two years later, the Ottomans captured Bosnia. Some years later, in the east, Beylik of Karaman and Beylik of Ak Koyunlu formed an alliance against the Ottomans. So, the Ottomans attacked the Eastern Anatolia Region in 1466 and captured Konya Province. The same year Beylik of Karaman was captured there. Because of this attacking, Ottomans attacked there. ( Give context) Beylik of Ak Koyunlu fell in 1473, a year later Beylik of Karaman fell.
  • In 1477, the Crimean Khanate became a state of the Ottoman Empire. Ottomans also captured all of the ports and cities situated on the coast of the Black Sea Thus, the entire Black Sea belonged to the Ottoman Empire.
  • Mehmed II died in 1481. When he died, the people of Europe were said to have been very happy and across the continent, bells rang for days. During his term, the Balkans, Peloponnese, the Crimean Khanate, all of Anatolia, the Caucasus, Northern Syria, and North Iraq became parts of the Ottoman Empire and the Ottomans became a strong force in the region. After the death of Mehmed II, his son Bayezid II became the emperor of the Ottoman Empire.


Quiz on Mehmed II (Fatih) and the rise of the Ottoman Empire

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