February 3 1451 – Mehmed II Becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

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Eight years after first becoming leader of the Ottomans at the tender age of twelve, Mehmed II became Sultan for good on February 3, 1451 after the death of his father, Murat II. For the next three decades, he would dedicate his life and his armies to the construction of an empire to rival the height of Rome. By his death in 1481, Mehmed’s conquests laid the foundation for a military force capable of threatening the heart of Europe for centuries. Raised according to Islamic tradition, Mehmed received his first true experience in leadership as the 11-year-old head of government in the northern Turkish city of Amasya. Within months, after his father Murat’s retirement, Mehmed took the throne and immediately faced the threat of an invading army from Hungary led by John Hunyadi. With victory secured, the teenaged Mehmed turned to his father for support, ordering him to retake his position as Sultan or become general of the army. Murat dutifully answered his son’s call and reigned over the Ottoman Empire for another five years. Aged 19 when his father died, Mehmed seemed far more prepared for the role of supreme leader when he took the throne on February 3, 1451. Hoping to spread the influence of Islam and avenge the aggression of the Christian crusaders, he immediately planned to build a larger Ottoman military. He began by constructing stronger castles near the eastern shores of the Bosporus River, then ordered new ships to fill his navy. In April 1453, his assault on the West officially began, starting at Constantinople, a place the Prophet Muhammad is said to have declared “a wonderful leader” would conquer. The massive army surrounded the city, blockading relief efforts and firing cannons over the walls. With Ottoman vessels spread around the peninsula — not to mention a vast boom chain blocking the mouth of the Bosporous — ships could not get in or out. Over the course of six weeks, the Byzantine defenders slowly relinquished control. Having fulfilled the prophecy, Mehmed systematically shifted the Ottoman capital from Adrianople to Constantinople, re-establishing a bustling merchant district to capitalize on the vast trade linking ports on the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea and beyond. Known for instituting religious tolerance and allowing captured territories to remain somewhat self-governing as long as they paid taxes, Mehmed was determined to see Constantinople return to its former glory under his control alone. While the economy rebuilt, he pushed further to the northwest into Eastern Europe, challenging John Hunyadi once again by besieging Belgrade. In the 1460s, Mehmed set off to the east to secure the Empire of Trebizond in 1461 and crush the last remaining traces of Greek influence that might threaten him. (His armies had already captured the tiny Despotate of Morea the year before.) With his eastern frontier secure, Mehmed focused his energy on Europe once again, launching annual assaults against different Balkan kingdoms — Moldavia, Wallachia, Albania and so forth — with varying levels of success. Near the end of his life, Mehmed had just one goal remaining: claiming Rome as his prize. He set foot on the Italian coast at Otranto at the southern end of country in 1480, taking it with ease. But for his death on May 3, 1481, he might have succeeded in restoring the Roman Empire under Ottoman rule. Regardless, he established a system of government that remained for another 440 years until the Ottoman Empire was dissolved in 1922. Also On This Day: 1377 – Papal Troops slaughter 2,000 Italians in the Cesena Bloodbath during the War of the Eight Saints 1534 – Irish rebel Silken Thomas, 10th Earl of Kildare, is executed by Henry VIII 1870 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees men the right to vote regardless of race 1945 – The United States 8th Air Force begins Operation Thunderclap, a bombing raid on Berlin which kills as many as 3,000 and leaves 120,000 homeless 1972 – A massive blizzard hits Iran, killing 4,000 people — the most in history by a snowstorm You may also like : February 3 1995 – Discovery takes off on STS – 63, the first space mission to be piloted by a woman