Mehmed The Conqueror This paper will examine the

Mehmed was born in Edirne, the capital city of the Ottoman Empire, in 1432, the third son of Sultan Murad II. The identity of his mother has never been ascertained but all sources seem to agree that she was a European slave and some suggest that she was Jewish. During his childhood, Mehmed's two older half-brothers were placed in positions of importance by their father. One brother, Prince Ahmed Celebi died in 1437 while governor of the city of Amasya; five-year-old Mehmed was appointed to take his place. Mehmed's other half-brother, Prince Alaeddin Ali, was made governor of Manisa at that same time. In 1439, however, Murad switched the two appointments, sending Alaeddin Ali to Amsaya and Mehmed to Manisa. When Mehmed was eleven years of age, Alaeddin Ali was mysteriously strangled while in bed, leaving Mehmed as the heir apparent to Murad.

The Turks had moved into Anatolia during the 10th Century, at which time they convert

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nking state official and general came from this pool of men who had been enslaved as young boys. The final objective of Mehmed's foreign policy, the emphasis on ghaza, was pursued for the rest of his reign. Mehmed was not content to simply consolidate Ottoman control over the Islamic states, as had been his father. Mehmed dreamed of a greater Ottoman Empire encompassing Asia and Europe. Although many contemporaries and later historians attributed to Mehmed the outlook of a truly cosmopolitan and even renaissance ruler, his real interest in Europe arose from a desire to fulfill the ancient goal of converting the known world to Islam, erecting an Islamic successor to the Roman Empire in the process. As will be seen below, Mehmed pursued this goal by alternating campaigns in Anatolia with advances in Europe, mainly in the Balkans. When Mehmed's troops entered Constantinople on the 29th of May, they proceeded to pillage and plunder the city for three days, looting anything of value and destroying much of which could not be taken. Men, women, and children were taken as slaves; women of all ages and young boys were used as objects for sexual gratification. Christian churches received special attention as janissaries stole th
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Approximate Word count = 3780
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)