FATIH SULTAN MEHMET           

       He was first enthroned in 1444 when he was 14. However, Crusaders Army, wishing to avail from his being a child, Murad the 2nd ascended the throne for the second time to encounter the danger and defeated the enemy in Varna Battle. Fatih became the sultan one year later after 2nd Kosovo war, but he was resent to Manisa Governorate on grounds that he is a child. He went to Edirne from Manisa to ascend the throne at full gallop upon his father's death in 1451 February. He was a 21 years old youth. It is said that he spent all his times reading during times when he waited for his rule in Manisa. It is reported that he had learnt Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages apart from Arabic and Persian.

       When he was enthroned, he left Grand Vizier Çandarlı Halil Pasha in his office who made him return to Manisa when he had been enthroned before. After putting down Karamanoğlu Ibrahim Bey rebellion, he began to prepare to conquer Istanbul. He constructed the Boğaz Kesen fortress in the Bosphorus, which we call now Rumelihisarı. He cast big artilleries, some of them being bigger than ever before, in Edirne to demolish the sound walls of Byzantium which withstood sieges for centuries. After he completed the preparation, he marched toward Istanbul with his army. He headquartered behind the hill across Eğrikapı on 6 April 1453. The soldiers were besieging the city being spread from Marmara to Haliç. The army had three major artilleries and fourteen batteries of artilleries, large and small. These three major artilleries were placed across Saint Romain, which now we call Topkapi. Apart from those, there were wooden towers and other siege equipment. A navy commanded by Baltaoğlu Suleyman Bey completed the siege.

       Emperor Constantine Dragazes had got prepared for defending the city as from the date Boğazkesen castle was constructed. The soldiers of the Emperor consisted of merely eight or nine thousand people. However, Istanbul people able to fight with arms and voluntaries about thirty five thousand people, and a few thousands of foreign helpers like Genoese, Venetian people and foreign captains and German artillerymen called Gran, all joined the defense. The Golden horn was closed for Turkish ships by means of a thick chain stretched over today's Galata bridge.

       The major artillery brought by Fatih from Edirne had boomed when used killing Hungarian Engineer Orban. The navy commanded by Baltaoğlu could not do good too.Three or four Genoa ship loaded with provisions and munitions, by splitting the navy consisting of small ships because of their being big and available wind at that time, entered Golden Horn passing on the lowered chain. Poor Baltaoğlu was immediately dismissed from Navy Command because of his failure despite his self-sacrificing fight so much that he lost one of his eyes, and Hamza Bey was appointed in that office.
Such failures provided the opportunity for Halil Pasha, who was reported to take bribes from Greek, to request to the Sultan to give up the siege a second time. However, Mehmed the Second was not that kind of man. The artilleries did no good on the land side, and the assault tower made of wood were burned by Byzantine soldiers with Gregeois fire.

       Mehmet the second, gathered a big council consisting of scholars such as Zağanos Pasha and his hodja, Molla Gürani and Akşemseddin, and decided to carry on siege, and took a genius measure to separate defense forces by forcing the city from the Golden horne: He laid down slip ways between Dolmabahçe and Kasimpaşa and took 67 ships to Haliç in one night. The siege lasted for 53 days.

       At last, on 29 May 1453, Turkish soldiers entered the city. Conquering Istanbul, he put an end to the Medieval Times. Fatih lived in Istanbul for about twenty days after he conquered the city, and showed his generosity which you cannot see in the winners of not only that age, but also today. He allowed election of a new patriarch by the Greeks and privileged them in a manner that resulted in many difficulties in the future for Ottoman State.

       He executed Grand Vizier Halil Pasha in his return to Edirne, and appointed Mahmut Pasha in his place only after one year. Fatih, who conquered Istanbul when he was 23, reigned for 28 years after that, and conquered two empires, fourteen states, two hundred cities during his sultanate and deserved his title "Fatih", meaning conqueror.

       He also fought some unsuccessful wars. However, most of his battles ended up in bright victories. Famous Jan Hünyad had routed Firuz Bey's army, taking him captive. In Albania, famous Iskender Bey caused much trouble for Fatih's armies. In 1459, Greece and Serbia were invaded. In 1462, Trabzon Empire was captured by Ottomans. Two years later, Bosnia was conquered. Karaman government was ended totally. Albania was invaded at last. The army commanded by Gedik Ahmed Pasha took Crimea in 1475 and Crimea became an Ottoman state. Turkish raiders rode around in Austria.

       Fatih Sultan Mehmed tried to occupy Rhodes castle, but could not succeed. Rhodes Knights could thus save themselves from Turkish claw until the times of Suleyman the Magnificent, the son of Fatih's grandson. Otlukbeli Battle resulting in the defeat of Uzun Hasan, the ruler of Akkoyunlu State was fought in 1472.

       Fatih Sultan Mehmet, who set out leading Royal Army on 25 April 1481, began to progress passing through Uskudar and spent the night near Gebze a week later. His health condition had immediately got worse as from the date he started out, going worse everyday. His private Jewish physician (Real name Maestro İacopo), who was a Venetian in origin, had increased the dosage of the poison he was giving him as from the date of movement, on the pretext of treating the sublime khan. This was the fifteenth assassination attempt of Venetian against Fatih. The previous fourteen had not worked. This time, Venetians could achieve the private doctor of the sultan promising an astronomical price.

       Fatih Sultan Mehmet, died in his tent in Gebze on 3 May 1481 with great pains. However, Yakup Pasha's intentions were found out immediately. He was lynched by Turkish soldiers before he could gain the enormous wealth of 250 millions promised by Venetia. Our historians describe him as follows: "He was of medium height, a man with thick bones and broad shoulders. His body was longer than his legs, his eyebrows were high and curved, his face was white, his hair black and curly, his neck was short and inclined to the front, his forehead was wide and his eyes were bright. His mouth was small. He had an aquiline nose like a falcon".

       He is buried in the tomb at the yard of Fatih mosque, he constructed in Fatih district, which bears his name. He constructed schools around the mosque and opened them perfectly. He was the one who constructed Eyup mosque and Saint Sofia school.It is well-known that he respected scholars much, he always kissed hands of his hodja, Molla Gürani, he stood for Molla Hüsrev even in the mosque, he gave great gifts to reputed scholars such as Molla Cami and Ali Kuşçu. Fatih was also engaged in literature and wrote lyric poems with Avni penname. 14 of his lyric poems were published in Berlin in 1904 under the name Divan-ı Avni (Avni's Divan).