Historical Study: Conquests of Mehmed II

As I continue my deep dive into the late Middle Ages of Romania, it’s hard to ignore the influence of the mighty Ottoman Empire. I eventually intend to do a full biographical study on the famous figure of Vlad the Impaler (much inspired by the book The Historian). But first I need to better understand the setting and it’s surrounding players. There were so many great historical leaders and figures in Eastern Europe during this time. Of course there’s the most famous Vlad the Impaler, who was supported by other great leaders such as John Hunyadi, Matthias Corvinus, Stephen the Great, and Skanderberg. All united in their opposition against the great Ottoman conqueror Mehmed II.

When you think of great historical conquerors some of the first names that come to mind are Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, or Napoleon. However it seems like names such as Cyrus the Great, Timur, or Mehmed II are sometimes overlooked perhaps due to their eastern influence. I’ve yet to really see a great Hollywood Biopic epic production that covers the lives of these intriguing eastern conquerors (compared to the western conquerors). Nonetheless I confess that I have just recently discovered the magnitude of Mehmed’s conquests. Sure I have written about the famous 1453 Siege of Constantinople many times now that established Mehmed’s glorious legacy. But I was not aware of the many more conquests he achieved throughout his 30-year tenure to expand the Ottoman Empire into a world power in the east.

The Fall of Constantinople is often considered a historical turning point for many reasons. Not only did it mark the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of the Ottoman Empire. It marked the end of the middle ages and the dawn of the early modern period, the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration. The Ottomans quickly gained great wealth from the city’s booming trade, as well as a significant military advantage. They transformed the city into Istanbul where it became their cultural center of trade and the gateway from Europe to Asia. From here Mehmed II was able to continue his military campaigns of conquest for the next 30 years to expand the Ottoman Empire. What is most admirable about Mehmed is that he would often joined his soldiers in battle, similar to Alexander the Great.

Conquest of the Byzantine Empire (1453)

I’ve written about the decisive Battle of Constantinople various times now (see link), but not so much on the campaign leading up to it. This was to become Mehmed II’s crowning achievement, and it was actually one of his first conquests. Constantinople was the capital and heart of the mighty Byzantine Empire that controlled much of the Eurasian bridge along the Mediterranean from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Anatola, Levant, and northern Africa. The Byzantine Empire had been the undisputed power of this region for the past thousand years since the fall of the Roman Empire.

However as is the case for most vast empires that are far too stretched, portions on the outskirts began to slowly crumble and whither away. This first began in 1071 when they lost the Anatola region to the Seljuk Turks. This continued throughout the 1200s, with further fragmentation of states breaking away such as the Latin Empire, Empire of Nicea, and Empire of Trebizond. The Italian city states of Venice and Genoa also began to rise to prominence. Meanwhile by 1299 Osman I united several Turkish tribes to break away from the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. This marked the beginning of the Ottoman Empire as it quickly began to overtake the Seljuk empire and expand across Turkey.

By 1299 the Ottomans began their military campaign against the Byzantine Empire led by Osman. They achieved a crucial victory at the Battle of Bapheus in 1302 and captured the city of Bursa in 1326 to make it their new capital. Under Orhan I they began their campaign into Europe achieving victories in Gallipoli, Kosovo, and Nicopolis. In 1422 Murad II led the first siege of Constantinople which was unsuccessful due to the impenetrable walls of the city. By 1444 Mehmed II became sultan and established a new strategy to conquer Constantinople. He essentially began to surround the city, by cutting off Byzantine supply lines in Thrace and Anatolia. He also constructed the Roumeli Hissar Fotress on the Bosphorus strait about 4 miles north from the walled city. This fortress would serve as his command center and shipping lane during the assault on the city.

However even though Mehmed controlled the supply lines and had the superior force this meant nothing if they could not penetrate the Theodosian Walls (which had repelled attacks for over 800 years). This was of course the main reason the 1st siege failed under Murad II. Mehmed’s greatest military tactic was the use of gunpowder cannons. While gunpowder had been around for a couple hundred years this was the first major use of cannon weapons. Mehmed II commissioned massive bombard guns from the famous Hungarian engineer Orban. These modern weapons (such as the Dardanelles Gun) could fire massive balls of stone that weighed nearly 700 pounds. This would forever change warfare, thus bringing an end to the Medieval era and the dawn of the early modern period. Swords and arrows now became futile in the face of guns.

As the siege began on April 6 the Byzantine defenders were most likely horrified at the force that stood outside their walls (reminds me of the assault on Minis Trith in Return of the King). 100,000 Ottoman soldiers with their elite Janissaries, a naval blockade of 100 ships, and the massive bombard guns. The thunderous roar of the cannons shattering walls, surely would break any soldier’s spirit. However their leader Constantine XI was resilient and defiant to the end. After 53 days of bombardment, the famous Theodosian Walls were finally breached. On May 29th the Ottoman army stormed into the streets of Constantinople. Constantine XI himself made a heroic final stand by charging at the enemy but was quickly killed in the fighting. This marked an end of the siege and the fall of Constantinople. At the age of 21 Mehmed II had already conquered the capital of the world.

Conquest of Serbia (1454-1458)

The Ottomans had turned their attention towards Serbia as far back as the mid 1300s. Dusan the Mighty established the Serbian Empire in 1346, as an expanded territory that included Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, and the northern portion of Greece. They had become a major growing threat alongside the Byzantine Empire in the Balkan territory. The Ottomans intended to control the region and achieved their first major victory at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, which marked the collapse of the Serbian Empire. However due to limited resources and fragmented states the Ottomans could not consolidate the area. Instead the Serbian Empire evolved primarily into the principality of Moravian Serbia. The Ottomans once again waged war against the region at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Despite being one of the largest battles in medieval history it was ultimately inconclusive and resulted in the death of the Ottoman sultan Murad I.

Following the Battle of Kosovo, Serbia eventually became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire requiring tributes. In an effort to become an independent state again the Moravian principality dissolved and aligned itself once again with the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1402 the Serbian Despotate was established which briefly allowed them some partial independence (however they still had to pay tributes to both Hungary and the Ottoman Empire to avoid conquest). Following the fall of Constantinople a sudden power vacuum began to unfold within the Balkan territory pinning the Kingdom of Hungary against the Ottoman Empire. The Serbian Despotate began to align itself much more with Hungary and even stopped paying tribute to the Ottomans.

In 1456 Mehmed intended to wage war on Hungary by invading the city of Belgrade. However the city was well defended by the regent John Hunyadi who was able to repel the attack. Mehmed suffered injuries from this battle and was forced to retreat to Bulgaria, leaving many cannons behind. Mehmed Eventually regrouped and turned his attention to the Serbian Despotate in 1458, seeking to conquer the Balkan territory. He led his army along the Danube river capturing key fortresses and towns within the Serbian Despotate. By the time Mehmed’s army marched at the capital of Smederevo, the Despotate had undergone political collapse from within. Many of the nobles and key leaders fled to Bosnia or Hungary and the city was essentially left defenseless. By 1459 Mehmed completed his conquest of the Serbian region, by annexing the Despotate into the Ottoman Empire.

Despotate of Morea (Peloponnese peninsula) 1460

Following the collapse of Constantinople, Serbia, and Athens in 1456, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Byzantine Empire was the Greek islands known as the Despotate of Morea (present day Peloponnese). Morea quickly found themselves in a very vulnerable position and turned to the western Italian states for support (Venetians, Genoese, and Papal States). However the region was also in constant civil turmoil between the two ruling brothers, Thomas and Demetrios Palaiologos. Following his conquest of Serbia, Mehmed decided to turn his attention to Morea, especially since they refused to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire. In 1460 Mehmed marched his army into the heart of the Peloponnese island, fairly unchecked. The capital city of Mystras was briefly sieged and lasted only few days until falling to Ottoman control.

Black Sea Campaign (1460-1461)

After capturing the Despotate of Morea, Mehmed II pivoted towards the eastern front seeking to capture territory along the coastline of the Black Sea. These regions were heavily controlled by the Republic of Genoa as key merchant hubs. Mehmed first besieged the fortress of Amasra, with a land and navy force. The Genoese colony easily fell within 2 days. The following year the Ottoman army pressed further east along the coastline of the Black Sea seeking to confront the Trebizond Empire. This was a Byzantine break-away state that established along the coastline of the Black Sea by the early 1200s. Beginning to fear the Ottoman’s rise to power, the Trebizond Empire formed an alliance with the Aq Qoyunlu confederation (based in the middle east).

Mehmed began his campaign against the Trebizond Empire in the spring of 1461 first by attacking the port city of Sinop. After that he pressed towards the capital city of Trebizond with a massive land and sea force. Without the key trading hubs of Amasra and Sinop, Trebizond quickly found itself quite isolated. The siege lasted for about a month with heavy bombardment artillery. While Trebizond was able to put up a strong resistance their morale was low, and eventually the city was surrendered. The city was eventually annexed and their leader was executed. This marked the fall of the Trebizond empire and a significant conquest for Mehmed who now controlled a major portion of the Black Sea.

Conquest of Lesbos (1462)

Two years after conquering the Peloponnese islands, Mehmed moved towards their nearby neighbors of the Lesbos islands in 1462. This island was also in a very vulnerable spot near the Ottoman influence and found itself leaning towards the western Italian states for support. Once again Mehmed saw this as a strategic fortification in the Aegean Sea that he had to have control of. After just 15 days of siege, the Castle of Mytilene fell and their leader Gattilusio was captured and executed. The island was annexed into the Ottoman Empire.

Conquest of Bosnia (1463-1464)

Following the collapse of Serbia, many nobles fled to the Kingdom of Bosnia to try to regroup. However there was no secret that Mehmed intended to continue his conquest of the Balkan region by claiming Bosnia. King Stjepan Tomasevic fully aligned himself with Hungarian support and stopped paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire in 1461. He even appealed to the papacy and the western Christian states. Nonetheless Bosnia found itself quite vulnerable by 1463, due to internal issues within the Kingdom of Hungary. As Mehmed began his rapid campaign into Bosnia, the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus did not have the proper resources or finances to aid Bosnia.

Mehmed began his campaign in the spring of 1463 with an estimated 50,000 soldiers, including janissaries and heavy artillery. He marched his army from Serbia, across the Drina River, using psychological warfare to spread fear and rumors throughout the countryside. The Ottoman army first sieged the royal fortress of Bobovac, then Jajce, and Kljuc. All fortresses fell fairly easy which gave Mehmed significant loot and ruined the Bosnian’s morale. King Stepjan Tomasevic made his final stance at the fortress of Kljuc, hoping for Hungarian aid that never came. He surrendered hoping for mercy, but Mehmed shown him none by having him executed. This harsh act was to serve as a warning to all other leaders who chose to defy him. The Hungarian king Corvinus was later able to recapture some territory in the north, but the majority of Bosnia was annexed into the Ottoman Empire.

Negroponte- Euboea Island (1468)

Following Mehmed’s conquest in Bosnia and the islands of Southern Greece, the Republic of Venice felt their key trading hubs in the Mediterranean were now at risk. Thus the Ottoman-Venetian War began in 1463, when the Republic of Venice attacked Ottoman forts in Morea and Argos. Mehmed responded with swift counterattacks to reclaim his territory in southern Greece. Meanwhile the Albanians allied with the Venetians, who fought fiercely against Mehmed’s army under the leadership of Skanderberg. This resistance went on for several years until the death of Skanderberg in 1468. Mehmed was eventually able to capture the capital city Scutari, annex Albania, which thus left the Venetians all the more stranded.

The true turning point of Mehmed’s war against the Venetians came at the siege of Negroponte (modern day Euboea Island) in 1470. Mehmed invested heavily in his navy to lay siege to this crucial Venetian island in the Aegean Sea. He organized both a ground force of 70,000, along with a powerful fleet, and heavy artillery to lay siege to the key fortifications. This was to be the decisive battle of the Ottoman-Venetian Wars, and both sides fought fiercely. Mehmed personally lead the land forces to lay siege to the walled fortress of Negroponte (just as he had done with Constantinople). The bombardment lasted for several weeks, until finally the walls were breached and the Ottoman army stormed into the city. This marked an abrupt end to Venetian control of the Mediterranean and can arguably be considered Mehmed’s 2nd greatest victory after Constantinople.

Anatolia Campaigns (1468-1473)

After failing to capture Albania from the fierce resistance of Skanderberg, Mehmed continued his fight in the Balkans during the Ottoman-Venetian wars. Meanwhile he also had to split his attention to the eastern Asian front. The Karaman Empire, located in the southeastern portion of Turkey, had begun to intensify it’s aggression against the Ottoman Empire. The Karamans had also allied themselves with the Venetians and the Persian Akkoyunlus seeking to press their advantage. Mehmed thus found himself caught in a two-front war against the Venetians on the west and the Karamans on the east. This offered him a good reason to expand into eastern Turkey as well as towards Anatolia.

Mehmed began his Karaman campaign from Bursa and Ankara in 1468 heading straight for the capital city of Konya. Once again his army moved rapidly and sacked fortresses without much resistance thanks to their superior heavy artillery. Once Konya fell, the city of Larende fell shortly after and their leader Pir Ahmed fled into the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. Ahmed was able to return with a Mamluk force to reclaim some of his territory in Karaman. This led to a 2nd Ottoman offensive in 1474 where Mehmed delivered the final blow to the Karaman Empire and annexed the territory. Mehmed also furthered his conquest into eastern Turkey by crushing the Akkoyunlus under Uzun Hasan at the Battle of Otlukbeli. With this victory Mehmed had total control of eastern and central Anatolia. He decided not to press further into Persia so that he could fully focus on his Balkan campaigns.

Conquest of Otranto (1480)

This was to be Mehmed’s final major conquest, his first outpost in Italy, and his farthest westward expansion into Europe. Otranto was a profitable merchant hub of the Kingdom of Naples and thus very desirable for Mehmed to control after he had recently secured Albania. He appointed Gedik Ahmed Pasha to lead the naval and land assault with an army of 18,000 soldiers and a fleet of 128 ships. The siege began in July 1480 and lasted for 15 days until the walls were breached and the infantry stormed the city. There is a famous account of 800 Italian prisoners who refused to convert to Islam and were subsequently beheaded. They are considered the Martyrs of Otranto and celebrated to this day. After this victory in Southern Italy, Mehmed intended to continue his campaign into Italy however died of illness the following year in May 1481. This conquest of Otranto was very short-lived due to Mehmed’s death, and regained by the Christian armies within a few months in September 1481.