Editing Mehmed II (section)

=== Anatolian conquests (1464–1473) ===
[[File:Fetihname Fatih.jpg|Mehmed's ''Fetihname'' (Declaration of conquest) after the [[Battle of Otlukbeli]]|thumb|right|150px]]
During the post-[[Sultanate of Rum|Seljuks]] era in the second half of the [[Middle Ages]], numerous [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkmen]] principalities collectively known as [[Anatolian beyliks]] emerged in Anatolia. [[Karamanids]] initially centred around the modern provinces of [[Karaman Province|Karaman]] and [[Konya Province|Konya]], the most important power in Anatolia. But towards the end of the 14th century, Ottomans began to dominate on most of Anatolia, reducing the Karaman influence and prestige.

[[İbrahim II of Karaman]] was the ruler of Karaman, and during his last years, his sons began struggling for the throne. His heir apparent was [[İshak of Karaman]], the governor of [[Silifke]]. But [[Pir Ahmet of Karaman|Pir Ahmet]], a younger son, declared himself as the bey of Karaman in [[Konya]]. İbrahim escaped to a small city in western territories where he died in 1464. The competing claims to the throne resulted in an interregnum in the ''beylik''. Nevertheless, with the help of Uzun Hasan, İshak was able to ascend to the throne. His reign was short, however, as Pir Ahmet appealed to Sultan Mehmed II for help, offering Mehmed some territory that İshak refused to cede. With Ottoman help, Pir Ahmet defeated İshak in the battle of [[Dağpazarı, Mut|Dağpazarı]]. İshak had to be content with Silifke up to an unknown date.<ref>Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi'' Cilt I, Akdtykttk Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 pp. 256–257 {{isbn|975-16-0258-0}}</ref> Pir Ahmet kept his promise and ceded a part of the ''beylik'' to the Ottomans, but he was uneasy about the loss. So, during the Ottoman campaign in the West, he recaptured his former territory. Mehmed returned, however, and captured both Karaman (Larende) and Konya in 1466. Pir Ahmet barely escaped to the East. A few years later, Ottoman [[vizier]] (later [[grand vizier]]) [[Gedik Ahmet Pasha]] captured the coastal region of the ''beylik''.<ref>Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi'' Cilt I, Akdtyttk Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 pp. 256–258. {{isbn|975-16-0258-0}}</ref>

Pir Ahmet as well as his brother [[Kasım of Karaman|Kasım]] escaped to Uzun Hasan's territory. This gave Uzun Hasan a chance to interfere. In 1472, the Akkoyunlu army invaded and raided most of Anatolia (this was the reason behind the [[Battle of Otlukbeli]] in 1473). But then Mehmed led a successful campaign against Uzun Hasan in 1473 that resulted in the decisive victory of the Ottoman Empire in the [[Battle of Otlukbeli]]. Before that, Pir Ahmet with Akkoyunlu help had captured Karaman. However, Pir Ahmet could not enjoy another term. Because immediately after the capture of Karaman, the Akkoyunlu army was defeated by the Ottomans near [[Beyşehir]] and Pir Ahmet had to escape once more. Although he tried to continue his struggle, he learned that his family members had been transferred to [[Istanbul]] by Gedik Ahmet Pasha, so he finally gave up. Demoralized, he escaped to Akkoyunlu territory where he was given a ''[[tımar]]'' (fief) in [[Bayburt]]. He died in 1474.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enfal.de/starih40.htm |title=Karamanogullari Beyligi |publisher=Enfal.de |access-date=17 September 2013 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928035633/http://www.enfal.de/starih40.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Citation is a non-English, unreliable website; there must be more scholarly sources available to support this.|date=April 2017}}

Uniting the Anatolian ''beylik''s was first accomplished by Sultan [[Bayezid I]], more than fifty years before Mehmed II but after the destructive [[Battle of Ankara]] in 1402, the newly formed unification was gone. Mehmed II recovered Ottoman power over the other Turkish states, and these conquests allowed him to push further into Europe.

Another important political entity that shaped the Eastern policy of Mehmed II were the Aq Qoyunlu. Under the leadership of Uzun Hasan, this kingdom gained power in the East, but because of its strong relations with Christian powers like the Empire of Trebizond and the [[Republic of Venice]] and the alliance between the Turcomans and the Karamanid tribe, Mehmed saw them as a threat to his own power.