Mehmed II

Mehmed II was born on 30 March 1432, in Edirne, then the capital city of the Ottoman Empire. His father was Sultan Murad II (1404–1451) and his mother Hüma Hatun, a slave of uncertain origin.

When Mehmed II was eleven years old, he was sent to Amasya with his two lalas (advisors) to govern and thus gain experience, per the custom of Ottoman rulers before his time. Sultan Murad II also sent a number of teachers for him to study under. This Islamic education had a great impact in molding Mehmed's mindset and reinforcing his Muslim beliefs. He was influenced in his practice of Islamic epistemology by practitioners of science, particularly by his mentor, Molla Gürâni, and he followed their approach. The influence of Akshamsaddin in Mehmed's life became predominant from a young age, especially in the imperative of fulfilling his Islamic duty to overthrow the Byzantine Empire by conquering Constantinople.

After Murad II made peace with Hungary on 12 June 1444, he abdicated the throne in favour of his 12-year-old son Mehmed II in July/August 1444.

During Mehmed II's first reign, he defeated the crusade led by John Hunyadi after the Hungarian incursions into his country broke the conditions of the truce per the Treaties of Edirne and Szeged in September 1444. Cardinal Julian Cesarini, the representative of the Pope, had convinced the king of Hungary that breaking the truce with Muslims was not a betrayal. At this time, Mehmed II asked his father Murad II to reclaim the throne, but Murad II refused. According to the 17th-century chronicles, Mehmed II wrote, "If you are the sultan, come and lead your armies. If I am the sultan, I hereby order you to come and lead my armies." Then, Murad II led the Ottoman army and won the Battle of Varna on 10 November 1444. Halil Inalcik states that Mehmed II did not ask for his father. Instead, it was Çandarlı Halil Pasha's effort to bring Murad II back to the throne.

In 1446, while Murad II returned to the throne, Mehmed retained the title of sultan but only acted as a governor of Manisa. Following the death of Murad II in 1451, Mehmed II became sultan for the second time. Ibrahim II of Karaman invaded the disputed area and instigated various revolts against Ottoman rule. Mehmed II conducted his first campaign against İbrahim of Karaman; the Byzantines threatened to release Ottoman claimant Orhan.

Family

Mehmed II had at least eight known consorts, at least one of whom was his legal wife.

Consorts

Mehmed II's eight known consorts are:

Gülbahar Hatun Mother of Gevherhan Hatun and Bayezid II.

Gülşah Hatun. Mother of Şehzade Mustafa.

Sittişah Mukrime Hatun. Also known as Sitti Hatun. She was the daughter of Dulkadiroğlu Süleyman Bey, the sixth ruler of Dulkadir. She was his legal wife, and it is believed that she had no children. Her niece Ayşe Hatun, her brother’s daughter, became a consort of Bayezid II.

Çiçek Hatun. Mother of Şehzade Cem.

Anna Hatun. Daughter of the Greek emperor of Trebizond David II Komnenos and his wife Helena Kantakuzenos. The marriage was initially proposed by her father, but Mehmed refused. However, after the conquest of Trebizond in 1461, Anna entered Mehmed's harem as a "noble tribute" or "noble guest" and stayed there for two years, after which Mehmed married her to Zaganos Pasha.

Helena Hatun (1442–1469). Daughter of the despot of Morea Demetrios Palaiologos. W. Miller, citing Greek sources, writes that Mehmed did not trust Helena and feared that she might poison him. Furthermore, no Ottoman chronicle mentions a marriage between Mehmed II and Helena Palaiologina.

Maria Hatun. Born Maria Gattilusio, she was the widow of Alexander Komnenos Asen, brother of Anna Hatun's father and by him she had a son, Alexios, executed by Mehmed II. She was judicated as the most beautiful woman of her age and entered in the harem after her capture in 1462.

Hatice Hatun. daughter of Zaganos Mehmed Pasha and his first wife, Sitti Nefise Hatun. She entered the harem in 1453 and Mehmed divorced her in 1456