Previous   Next
Home » Images » 0050 Pictures From History » CPA0024741

Turkey: Illuminated page from the Avni Divani'ndan bir Sahife, a book of ghazals and poetry from the Ottoman Court of Fatih Sultan Mehmed (r. 1444-46; 1451-1481)

Turkey: Illuminated page from the <i>Avni Divani'ndan bir Sahife</i>, a book of ghazals and poetry from the Ottoman Court of Fatih Sultan Mehmed (r. 1444-46; 1451-1481)

Mehmed II or Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (30 March 1432 – 3 May 1481) (Ottoman Turkish: محمد ثانى, Meḥmed-i s̠ānī; Turkish: II. Mehmet; also known as el-Fātiḥ, الفاتح, 'the Conqueror' in Ottoman Turkish; in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmet; also called Mahomet II in early modern Europe) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire twice, first for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to 1481.

At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire, transforming the Ottoman state into an empire. Mehmed continued his conquests in Asia, with the Anatolian reunification, and in Europe, as far as Bosnia and Croatia. Mehmed II is regarded as a national hero in Turkey, and among other things, Istanbul's Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Fatih University and Fatih College are all named after him.

Quick links to other images in this gallery: