Mehmed II — Conqueror and Administrator of the Ottoman Empire
“Society grows great when people plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” — Greek/Roman Proverb
History is often kind to conquerors of old with grand tales of conquest, omitting the legacy and turmoil they leave behind. Alexander the Great, for all of his great conquests of Western Asia, left behind wars of succession and a divided empire. Genghis Khan, who created a vast empire through conquest, relied heavily on local governance which eventually fragmented after his death. Logically, conquerors are reluctant to stop their conquests when they continue to keep winning. For example, recall that Alexander had to turn back at the behest of his tired troops, much to Alexander’s dismay. One ruler who succeeded in expanding his empire from a regional power to a European rival and laying the foundations of effective governance across his multicultural Ottoman Empire was Mehmed II.
dating 1480
Mehmed II ascended the throne in AD 1451, after the death of his father Murad II. Murad’s reign saw considerable consolidation of the emerging Ottoman Empire against rebellious factions in addition to emerging trade routes with wealthy neighbors that enriched the state. The Ottomans had all but conquered the declining Byzantine Empire, reducing it to the city of Constantinople and a few surrounding principalities. Mehmed was raised to believe that conquering the city was his duty as a Muslim and so he began the preparations to lay siege to the city. In a protracted siege that lasted 53 days and involved the use of many mighty cannons, Mehmed finally broke the walls outside Constantinople and conquered the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. While seemingly only a holdout from a declining empire, the fall of Constantinople symbolized the end of a Christian power and the approach of Islamic empires to Christian Europe.
Within the ruins of the once great seat of Byzantine power, Mehmed sought to rebuild the city in his likeness. He began by renaming it Istanbul, its colloquial Turkish name. He ordered a large engineering effort to rebuild the destroyed walls, built new barracks for his forces, and built cultural centers and hospitals all over the city. Recognizing the importance of multiculturalism, Mehmed encouraged the resettlement of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the new capital city. To ease potential religious tensions, he also allowed the Orthodox Christian Church to continue practicing and established an official edict of tolerance for all religions in the expanding Ottoman Empire. However, an exception to this tolerance would be the devshirme system, where young Christian boys were forcibly abducted from newly conquered territories and trained to join the Ottoman Military. These children were often abused and put through a rigorous training program, the outcome of which was a slave class essentially subservient to Mehmed. Conversely, Mehmed also created the millet system in Istanbul, allowing religious groups to have a certain degree of autonomy. While still subservient to central authority, the millet system allowed the expanding Ottoman Empire to cater to a wide base of ethnic and religious groups. In contrast, Western Europe was rife with outright religious persecution like the Spanish Inquisition, highlighting that the Ottoman Empire’s standards were not significantly worse than those of contemporary powers. The Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II did not provide true religious freedom by any stretch of the imagination, but the structure was organized enough so that dissent in the central regions of the empire were minimal.
Mehmed was also greatly inspired by classic and contemporary literature, employing scholars of all backgrounds and compiling literary works in various languages. He would also patronize Renaissance artists, many of whom visited him at court. This cultural standard also enabled him to build connections with rival Italian states and establish himself and his empire as part of the Western world. These efforts served as a promotion of himself as an Alexander-esque figure for his European subjects, thereby lending credence to his rule. Mehmed would even commission medallion portraits featuring himself and Alexander to drive home this point.
His organizational reforms in governance were also unprecedented at the time. Previously, court positions were given out to families of high status as favors. As a result, administration within regions of the empire could vary wildly. Mehmed revamped the whole system, instead choosing to appoint members from the devshirme system as officials. In addition, religious scholars were trained to be part of the system and were given clear and systematic roles in governance. A code of law was also clearly defined and could be changed to adapt to the times, a change from the previous culture of adhering to tradition. As a result, Mehmed divested a significantly larger amount of power into his subordinates than his predecessors, who in turn legislated and enforced his laws.
With everyday matters under trusted advisers, Mehmed could focus on expanding the empire. The Ottomans took advantage of vassal states or states paying tribute in exchange for their autonomy. This was an easy way to benefit from the economic benefits of controlling the region while also saving on the costs of defense. The Ottomans would also marry into kingdoms to promote relations, such as when Murad married the daughter of the Serbian Despotate. When the vassal Serbian state started skipping payments and allying with the neighboring Hungarians, however, Mehmed took decisive action. While the Serbians resisted the Ottomans in combat for a few years, the death of their leader Durad Brankovic caused enough turmoil for the Ottomans to conquer the Serbians. Similarly, the Despotate of the Morea, which was under the Byzantines and now the Ottomans, soon found themselves conquered as they too faltered on payments due to infighting.
The other vassal kingdom under the influence of the Ottomans was the Kingdom of Wallachia, which often waffled between being the vassals of Hungary or the Ottomans. To sway Wallachia in their favor, the Ottomans released Vlad III, better known as Vlad the Impaler, to claim the Wallachian throne and become a vassal state of the Ottomans. Vlad was the son of the former leader of Wallachia who was kidnapped by the Ottomans under Murad II to blackmail the Wallachians into coercion. Vlad, once freed, did end up taking over Wallachia through a series of civil conflicts but refused to pay tribute to Mehmed. He instead killed the Ottoman envoy and laid waste to Ottoman-controlled Hungary. Vlad continued to lay waste to Ottoman camps until he was betrayed by his allies, who were reluctant to antagonize the Ottomans. As a result, the Ottomans were able to march through Wallachia and install their puppet leader, asserting control over Wallachia as their vassal state.
As the borders of the expanding Ottoman Empire inched closer and closer to Italy, the Pope of the Catholic Church grew increasingly worried. Western Europe, under the fear of losing Rome, considered a crusade among the Christian powers. Fortunately for them, Mehmed II died on May 3rd, 1481 in Istanbul, while preparing to conquer Italy. In his 30-year reign, Mehmed had conquered most of Asia Minor, Albania, Serbia, and Bosnia, while exerting control over the vassal states of Crimea and Wallachia. He was succeeded by his son Bayezid I, who continued his father’s attempts on Italy. Future Ottoman leaders were inspired by the fact that Mehmed had done something unique by administering effective governance and not depleting the economy in the name of conquest. In the years to come, the Ottoman Empire would continue to expand around North Africa and modern-day Iraq, achieving its golden age in the mid-16th century. Even as the state continued to modernize and reform through the next few centuries, the path to progress was paved with the institutions that Mehmed II provided.
Written by Koushik Chennakesavan, edited by Brian Kim
