The Grand Turk Page 29

  Kazancılar Camii is also known as Üç Mihrablı Camii, the Mosque of the Three Mirhaps. Founded, according to a document known as the Hadika, by a certain Hoca (Teacher) Hayrettin Efendi in 1475, it was enlarged first by the Conqueror himself, then by Hayrettin’s daughter-in-law, who added her own house to the mosque, which thus came to have three mihrabs - whence its name. The main body of the building seems to be original in form though heavily restored. South of the main building is a rectangular annex with a flat ceiling and two mihrabs; it is through this room that one enters the mosque nowadays. According to Ayverdi, this section is ‘wholly new’, which may be true, but so far as form goes it might well be the house added by Hayrettin’s daughter-in-law, in which case this is the only ordinary dwelling place left in the city from the time of the Conqueror.

  Sağrıcılar Camii was founded c. 1455 by Yavuz Ersinan, who was standard-bearer in Mehmet’s army at the time of the Conquest and an ancestor of Evliya Çelebi, who was born in a house beside the mosque. The founder is buried in a little graveyard that was laid out between the mosque and his house, now vanished. Buried beside Yavuzer Sinan is his old comrade-in-arms Horoz Dede, Grandfather Rooster, one of the most famous Muslim folk saints of Istanbul. Horoz Dede received his name during the siege of Constantinople, when he made his rounds at dawn each day and roused Mehmet’s troops with his loud rooster call. He was killed in the final assault on the city, and then after the conquest Yavuz Ersinan buried him beside his mosque, with Sultan Mehmet among the mourners at his grave. The mosque is of the simplest type, a square room covered by a dome. It was restored in 1960 with only moderate success.

  Mehmet’s example was followed by his successors as sultan as well as by the great men and women of their courts, who built mosque complexes and other structures throughout the city. The most notable of the imperial mosque complexes crown the six hills above the Golden Horn: Sultan Ahmet I Camii on the First Hill, Nuruosmaniye Camii on the Second Hill, Beyazit II Camii (the Beyazidiye) and Süleyman I Camii (the Süleymaniye) on the Third Hill, the new Fatih Camii of Mustafa III on the Fourth Hill, Selim I Camii on the Fifth Hill and Mihrimah Camii on the Sixth Hill, not to mention the scores of other Ottoman mosques, medreses, schools, libraries, hospitals, refectories, hans, baths, markets, palaces and fountains that adorn not only the old city but its present extension along both shores of the Bosphorus.

  Some of the other structures in the city remaining from the Conqueror’s time are in Topkapı Sarayı, most notably Çinili Köşk and two complexes in the Third Court, namely the Privy Chamber and the Conqueror’s Pavilion. Çinili Köşk now serves as a museum of Turkish tiles; the Privy Chamber is the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle, containing sacred objects associated with the Prophet Mohammed; while the Conqueror’s Pavilion houses the Treasury of Topkapı Sarayı, an extraordinary collection of precious objects once owned by the Ottoman sultans, including a number that belonged to the Conqueror.

  The Conqueror’s Pavilion also houses the Imperial Wardrobe, a collection of robes and other clothing belonging to all the sultans from the Conqueror down to the end of the Osmanlı dynasty. The Conqueror’s robe exhibited in this collection is similar to the kaftan he wears in the portrait that Gentile Bellini painted of him in 1480. Mehmet would have sat for that portrait in Topkapı Sarayı, for his poor health kept him in the palace through the whole of that year. The room in which he sat for his portrait would have been the marble loggia in the north-east corner of the Third Court, for the light is best there, opening as it does through great archways to the north-east and south-east.

  After Mehmet’s death his son and successor Beyazit II seems to have got rid of his father’s portrait along with other Western paintings, as Giovanni-Maria Angiolello writes in his account of Bellini’s visit to Istanbul.

  Muhammed caused him [Bellini] to make many paintings and portraits of subjects of a lascivious character (massime di cose di lussuria), and some of these were so beautiful that he caused a great number of them to be hung in the palace. When Beyazit succeeded his father, he immediately caused these paintings to be sold in the bazaars, and many of them were bought by our [Venetian] merchants.

  Bellini’s portrait of Mehmet was not seen again until 1865, when it was purchased from a collector in Venice by Augustin Layard, the famous archaeologist, who had been the British ambassador in Istanbul during the reign of Abdül Hamit II. After Layard died his widow presented the painting to the National Portrait Gallery in London, where it remains today.

  The Conqueror’s portrait briefly returned to Istanbul in December 1999, when it was exhibited at the gallery of the Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre. I had not seen the painting in nearly forty years, and then only briefly, but now I looked upon it long and intently, trying to see the man behind the enigmatic face. He seemed to be peering absently into the distance, which from the place where he sat for Bellini would have been towards the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, where their waters meet and flow together into the Sea of Marmara around the city that he had conquered twenty-eight years earlier, changing the world for ever.

  Mehmet was not yet forty-nine at the time he sat for his portrait, looking like a vigorous man at the prime of his life, with no indication that he had only a few months to live. Although he was mortally ill during those months he dragged himself from his bed to lead one more campaign, marshalling his forces on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, only to meet death one day’s march out of Istanbul, the city he conquered four and a half centuries ago and which still bears his imprint today.

  An inscription above the Imperial Gate of Topkapı Sarayı, dated two years before his death, could well serve as the epitaph of Mehmet the Conqueror, the Grand Turk, dominating the entrance to the principal monument that he erected in the city that became his capital.

  By the grace of God and by His approval, the foundations of this auspicious castle were laid, and its parts were solidly joined together to strengthen peace and tranquility by the command of the Sultan of the two Continents and the Emperor of the two Seas, the Shadow of God in this world and the next, the Favourite of God on the Two Horizons, the Monarch of the Terraqueous Orb, the Conqueror of the Castle of Constantinople, the Father of Conquest, Sultan Mehmed Khan, son of Sultan Murad Khan, son of Sultan Mehmed Khan, may God make eternal his empire, and exalt his residence among the most lucid stars of the firmament, in the blessed month of Ramadan of the year 883 [November and December 1478].

  Notes

  All references to authors relate to their works listed in the bibliography. Notes refer to page numbers in the text.

  PROLOGUE: PORTRAIT OF A SULTAN

  xv ‘the Glorious Empire …’, Knolles, vol. I, p. 1

  xv ‘a venomous dragon’, Pastor, vol. III, p. 24

  xvi ‘Modern history begins …’, Coles, p. 7

  xvi-xvii ‘Partly because of empire …’, Said, Culture and Imperialism, p. xxv

  xvii ‘son of Satan …’, Setton, vol. II, p. 150

  1. THE SONS OF OSMAN

  2-3 Thus is Ertogrul …, Knolles,vol. I, p. 134

  4 ‘and the two amused…’, Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1481, p. 23

  4 ‘received a great army…’, ibid., p. 25

  10 ‘the Lady, daughter of Abdullah’, Babinger, p. 11

  10 ‘offered his daughter…’, Doukas, p. 175

  10 ‘longed more for this …’, ibid., p. 176

  10 ‘knew that Belgrade…’, Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1481, p. 119

  10 ‘many men and lords …’, ibid.

  11 ‘Your father has sent …’, Babinger, p. 24

  12 ‘Mehmet must certainly…’, Raby, ‘Mehmet the Conqueror’s Greek Scriptorium’, p. 23

  13 ‘in regal splendor…’, Babinger, p. 30

  14 ‘I have given …’, Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1481, p. 129

  2. THE BOY SULTAN

  15 ‘march with a powerful army…’ Setton, vol. II, p. 78

  15 ‘notwithstanding any trea
ties …’, ibid., p. 83

  16 ‘fled like sheep …’, Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1481, p. 134

  16 ‘after making prisoner…’, ibid., p. 27

  18 ‘for his deceased …’, Babinger, p. 59

  19 ‘from the oppression …’, Setton, vol. II, p. 103

  19-20 ‘Proceeding for about …’, Doukas, p. 188

  20 ‘When he became heir…’, Kritoboulos, pp. 13-14

  20 ‘His physical powers …’, ibid., p. 14

  20 ‘insolence, savagery and violence’, Doukas, p. 192

  20 ‘Bury me in …’, Freely, Turkey around the Marmara, p. 186

  21 ‘And to whomsoever…’, Gibb and Bowen, p. 36

  21-22 ‘This man, who just …’, Sphrantzes, p. 59

  22 ‘Your potential bride …’, ibid., p. 61

  22 ‘with delight and …’, ibid.

  22 ‘had made a vow…’, ibid.

  22 ‘he gave himself …’, Kritoboulos, p. 14

  22 ‘depose some of the governors …’, ibid.

  22 ‘the registers and …’, ibid., p. 15

  22 ‘In addition to this …’, ibid.

  23 ‘much of the public …’, ibid.

  23 ‘He greatly increased …’, ibid.

  23 ‘agreed to give up …’, Tursun Beg, p. 33

  24 ‘stupid and foolish Romans’, Doukas, p. 193

  24 ‘a sincere friend’, ibid.

  24 ‘resolved to carry…’, Kritoboulos, p. 22

  24 ‘to build a strong …’, ibid., pp. 15-16

  24 ‘ordered all the materials …’, ibid., p. 16

  25 ‘I take nothing …’, Doukas, p. 195

  25 ‘he filled thirty…’, Kritoboulos, p. 13

  25 ‘marked out with stakes …’, ibid., p. 19

  25 ‘as they were removing …’, Doukas, p. 197

  25 ‘This was the beginning …’, ibid., p. 198

  26 ‘I would rather see …’, Pastor, vol. II, p. 260

  26 ‘Wretched Romans, how…’, Doukas, p. 204

  26 ‘Night and day…’, ibid., p. 201

  27 ‘Go in peace’, ibid., p. 202

  27 ‘a recital of previous …’, Kritoboulos, p. 23

  27 ‘Let us not then …’, ibid., p. 33

  27 ‘practically all of those …’, ibid.

  27 ‘wanted to advise …’, ibid.

  27 ‘However, seeing the …’, ibid.

  3. THE CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE

  31 ‘informing them furthermore …’, Setton, vol. II, p. 109

  31 ‘prepared the fleet …’, Kritoboulos, p. 37

  31 ‘the total number…’, ibid., pp. 37-8

  31 ‘They set sail …’, ibid., p. 38

  32 ‘in the greatest possible …’, Sphrantzes, p. 70

  32 ‘a city of ruins …’, Inalcık, ‘The Policy of Mehmed II toward the Greek Population …’, p. 231

  34 ‘killed some of them …’, Kritoboulos, p. 40

  34 ‘But after encountering …’, ibid.

  34 ‘came before Constantinople …’, Barbaro, p. 27

  34-35 ‘moved with a great …’, ibid.

  35 ‘that if they were …’, Kritoboulos, p. 40

  35 ‘were willing to make …’, ibid., p. 41

  37 ‘were astounded at …’, ibid., p. 57

  37 ‘The city was …’, Barbaro, p. 43

  38 ‘at the fourth hour…’, ibid., p. 46

  39 ‘the Turks made frenzied …’, ibid., p. 57

  40 ‘not to be frightened …’ Melville Jones, p. 33

  41 ‘Spare us, O Lord, …’, Doukas, p. 221

  41 ‘Finally, my fellow…’, Melville Jones, p. 35

  41 ‘asked to be forgiven …’, Sphrantzes, pp. 124-5

  42 ‘Friends, we have …’, Kritoboulos, p. 71

  43 After this the Sultan …, Kritoboulos, pp. 76-7

  4. ISTANBUL, CAPITAL OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

  45 ‘The sultan then having …’, Evliya Çelebi, vol. I, part I, pp. 43-4

  46 On the following Friday…, ibid., p. 45

  46 ‘The spider is the …’, Freely, Istanbul, the Imperial City, p. 177

  47 ‘Among these was Notaras …’, Kritoboulos, p. 83

  47 ‘Twenty-nine nobles …’, Barbaro, p. 72

  48 ‘on the grounds that …’, Sphrantzes, p. 74

  48 ‘my beautiful daughter…’, ibid., p. 75

  48 ‘appointed some of …’, Kritoboulos, pp. 85-6

  49 ‘that no doghandji …’, Inalcık, Essays in Ottoman History, p. 277

  49 ‘In sum, he has …’, Melville Jones, p. 134

  49 ‘Nothing worse than this …’, Schwoebel, p. 1

  49 ‘of the horrible …’, Setton, vol. I, p. 139

  49 ‘shame of Christendom’, ibid., p. 140

  50 ‘Also in this yere …’, Schwoebel, p. 4

  50 ‘On the day when …’, ibid.

  50 ‘to his vezirs …’, Inalcık, ‘The Policy of Mehmed II toward the Greek Population …’, p. 233

  50 ‘a most intelligent …’, Kritoboulos, p. 85

  50 ‘put him in charge …’, ibid.

  50 ‘had often sent letters …’, Melville Jones, p. 39

  50 ‘he ordered that Halil …’, ibid., p. 40

  51 ‘He sent an order…’, Kritoboulos, pp. 93, 105

  51 ‘along the shores …’, ibid., p. 83

  51 ‘commanded also that …’, ibid.

  51 ‘This was in a way…’, ibid., p. 93

  52 ‘He issued orders …’, Sphrantzes, p. 134

  52 ‘that no one should …’, Babinger, p. 104

  52-53 ‘The Franciscan brothers …’, ibid., p. 419

  53 ‘his father was domineering …’, ibid., p. 411

  53 I saw the ruler…, ibid., p. 418

  54 ‘the finest and best location …’, Kritoboulos, p. 93

  54 ‘ordered the construction …’, ibid.

  54-55 Mehmet II having …, Evliya Çelebi, vol. I, part II, p. 35

  55 ‘command … to all …’, Kritoboulos, p. 140

  55 ‘also commanded them …’, ibid.

  55 ‘to construct many…’, ibid., pp. 140-1

  55 ‘This man had so fine …’, ibid., pp. 88-9

  5. EUROPE IN TERROR

  57 ‘A city which was …’, Freely, Jem Sultan, p. 2

  57-58 Here we have horrible news …, Setton, vol. II, p. 150

  58 ‘son of Satan …’, ibid.

  58 ‘even to the shedding …’, ibid., p. 164

  58 ‘How very much indeed …’, ibid., p.165

  59 ‘they shall be safe …’, ibid., p. 141

  59 The sovereign, the Grand Turk …, Melville Jones, p. 126

  59 He is a man continually…, ibid., p. 12

  60 All those among the men …, Mihailović, p. 99

  60 ‘Mehmet spent many nights …’, Babinger, p. 428

  63 ‘The Sultan invaded …’, Sphrantzes, p. 176

  63-64 He saw it and was amazed …’, Kritoboulos, p. 136

  64 ‘Proceeding according to plan …’, ibid., p. 137

  66 ‘marched straight into …’, Sphrantzes, p. 80

  66 ‘The Christian Empires …’, Medlin, pp. 78ff

  68 ‘it was common knowledge …’, Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople 1453, p. 173

  68 ‘Why tire yourself, my son …’, ibid., p. 174

  68 And we marched in …, Mihailović, p. 117

  68 ‘The Emperor stayed there …’, ibid., p. 119

  68-69 ‘if you do not give ear…’, Babinger, p. 195

  69 ‘Sultan of the two …’, Necipoğlu, p. 34

  6. WAR WITH VENICE

  71 ‘We have done nothing …’, Setton, vol. II, p. 233

  71-72 Once you have …, Babinger, p. 200

  73 ‘inquired about the tombs …’, Kritoboulos, p. 181

  73 He is reported to have said …, ibid.

  73 ‘build a great navy…’, ibid., p. 185

  73-74 Then h
e gave orders …, ibid.

  74 If Mehmet only demanded …, Babinger, p. 216

  75 ‘The killing of such …’, Stavrides, p. 149

  75 Impelled by his lusts …, Babinger, pp. 224-5

  75-76 ‘setting forth the power…’, Setton, vol. II, p. 371

  76 ‘We shall do battle …’, ibid., p. 261

  76 You Germans who do not …, Babinger, p. 235

  78 ‘who alone keep watch …’, Freely, Jem Sultan, p. 17

  79 ‘And King Matyas, having …’, Mihailović, p. 141

  79 ‘indicate that, if he …’, Setton, vol. II, p. 270

  79 ‘common enemy and calamity…’, ibid., p. 275

  79 ‘many and grave difficulties …’, ibid., p. 276

  80 ‘and as to the money…’, ibid., p. 278

  80 The Sultan himself …, Kritoboulos, p. 208

  7. THE HOUSE OF FELICITY

  81 Both as to view…, Kritoboulos, p. 207

  82 The Emperor Mehmet …, Freely, Inside the Seraglio, p. 26

  82 ‘three courts each …’, Necipoğlu, p. 32

  82-83 And here in this …, ibid., p. 202

  87 ‘I entered into the …’, ibid., p.62

  88 ‘Which of you worthies …’, Freely, Inside the Seraglio, p. 38

  89 ‘second seraglio for damsels’, Necipoğlu, p. 160

  90 ‘When you go to …’, Freely, Istanbul, the Imperial City, p. 206

  90 ‘magnificent and excellent portico …’, Necipoğlu, p. 89