Editing Mehmed II (section)

== Administration and culture ==
{{Main|Millet (Ottoman Empire)}}

[[File:Gennadios II and Mehmed II.jpg|thumb|200px|Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror with patriarch [[Gennadius II]] depicted on an 18th-century mosaic]]
Mehmed II introduced the word Politics into Arabic "Siyasah" from a book he published and claimed to be the collection of Politics doctrines of the Byzantine Caesars before him. He gathered Italian artists, [[humanism|humanists]] and Greek scholars at his court, allowed the [[Eastern Orthodox|Byzantine Church]] to continue functioning, ordered the patriarch [[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadius]] to translate Christian doctrine into Turkish, and called [[Gentile Bellini]] from Venice to paint his portrait<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gentile-bellini-the-sultan-mehmet-ii|title=Gentile Bellini {{!}} The Sultan Mehmet II {{!}} NG3099 {{!}} National Gallery, London|website=www.nationalgallery.org.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-date=9 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409200838/https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gentile-bellini-the-sultan-mehmet-ii|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as Venetian frescoes that are vanished today.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQM5JjFqlmsC&q=frescoes&pg=PA272|title=Venetian Narrative Painting in the Age of Carpaccio|last=Brown|first=Patricia Fortini|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0300047431|edition=3|location=New Haven|page=272|language=en|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-date=9 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409204919/https://books.google.com/books?id=RQM5JjFqlmsC&lpg=PA103&vq=frescoes&pg=PA272#v=snippet|url-status=live}}</ref> He collected in his palace a library that included works in Greek, Persian, and Latin. Mehmed invited Muslim scientists and astronomers such as [[Ali Qushji]] and artists to his court in Constantinople, started a university, and built mosques (for example, the [[Fatih Mosque]]), waterways, and Istanbul's [[Topkapı Palace]] and the [[Tiled Kiosk]].
Around the [[Fatih Mosque|grand mosque]] that he constructed, he erected [[Sahn-ı Seman Medrese|eight madrasas]], which, for nearly a century, kept their rank as the highest teaching institutions of the Islamic sciences in the empire.

Mehmed II allowed his subjects a considerable degree of religious freedom, provided they were obedient to his rule. After his conquest of Bosnia in 1463, he issued the [[Ahdname of Milodraž]] to the [[Bosnian Franciscans]], granting them the freedom to move freely within the Empire, offer worship in their churches and [[monastery|monasteries]], and practice their religion free from official and unofficial persecution, insult, or disturbance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/ahd.html |title=Croatia and Ottoman Empire, Ahdnama, Sultan Mehmet II |publisher=Croatianhistory.net |access-date=17 September 2013 |archive-date=18 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318110046/http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/ahd.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lightmillennium.org/2004_14th_issue/eihsanoglu_stevens.html |title=A Culture of Peaceful Coexistence: The Ottoman Turkish Example; by Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin IHSANOGLU |publisher=Light Millennium |access-date=17 September 2013 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165849/http://www.lightmillennium.org/2004_14th_issue/eihsanoglu_stevens.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, his standing army was recruited from the ''[[Devshirme]]'', a group that took Christian subjects at a young age (8–20 yrs): they were converted to Islam, then schooled for administration or the military Janissaries. This was a meritocracy which "produced from among their alumni four out of five Grand Viziers from this time on".<ref>The Ottoman Centuries Lord Kinross</ref>

Within Constantinople, Mehmed established a ''[[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]]'', or an autonomous religious community, and appointed the former Patriarch [[Gennadius Scholarius]] as religious leader for the Orthodox Christians<ref>''Renaissance and Reformation'': James Patrick, p. 170, 2007</ref> of the city. His authority extended to all Ottoman Orthodox Christians, and this excluded the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] and [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] settlements in the suburbs, and excluded Muslim and Jewish settlers entirely. This method allowed for an indirect rule of the Christian Byzantines and allowed the occupants to feel relatively autonomous even as Mehmed II began the Turkish remodeling of the city, turning it into the Turkish capital, which it remained until the 1920s.

===Centralization of government===
[[File:Costanzo da ferrara, medaglia con mehmed II, sultano ottomano, conquistatore di costantinopoli, 1478.jpg|thumb|Medal of Mehmed II, with mention "Emperor of Byzantium" ("Byzantii Imperatoris 1481"), made by [[Costanzo da Ferrara]] (1450-1524).]]
Mehmed the Conqueror consolidated power by building his imperial court, the divan, with officials who would be solely loyal to him and allow him greater autonomy and authority. Under previous sultans the divan had been filled with members of aristocratic families that sometimes had other interests and loyalties than that of the sultan. Mehmed the Conqueror transitioned the empire away from the [[Ghazi (warrior)|Ghazi]] mentality that emphasizes ancient traditions and ceremonies in governance<ref name="Architectural History Foundation">{{cite book|last1=Necipoğlu|first1=Gülru|title=Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries|date=1991|publisher=Architectural History Foundation|page=21}}</ref> and moved it towards a centralized bureaucracy largely made of officials of [[devşirme]] background.<ref name="Architectural History Foundation"/> Additionally, Mehmed the Conqueror took the step of converting the religious scholars who were part of the Ottoman [[madrasa]]s into salaried employees of the Ottoman bureaucracy who were loyal to him.<ref name="Architectural History Foundation"/> This centralization was possible and formalized through a [[Ottoman law|kanunname]], issued during 1477–1481, which for the first time listed the chief officials in the Ottoman government, their roles and responsibilities, salaries, protocol and punishments, as well as how they related to each other and the sultan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Necipoğlu|first1=Gülru|title=Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries|date=1991|publisher=Architectural History Foundation|page=16}}</ref>

Once Mehmed had created an Ottoman bureaucracy and transformed the empire from a frontier society to a centralized government, he took care to appoint officials who would help him implement his agenda. His first grand vizier was [[Zaganos Pasha]], who was of devşirme background as opposed to an aristocrat,<ref name="Meḥemmed Ii">{{EI2|last1=İnalcık|first1=Halil|title=Meḥemmed II|volume=6|url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/mehemmed-ii-SIM_5111}}</ref> and Zaganos Pasha's successor, [[Mahmud Pasha Angelović]], was also of devşirme background.{{sfn|Babinger|1992|p=114}} Mehmed was the first sultan who was able to codify and implement kanunname solely based on his own independent authority.<ref name="Meḥemmed Ii"/> Additionally, Mehmed was able to later implement kanunname that went against previous tradition or precedent.<ref name="Architectural History Foundation"/> This was monumental in an empire that was so steeped in tradition and could be slow to change or adapt. Having viziers and other officials who were loyal to Mehmed was an essential part of this government because he transferred more power to the viziers than previous sultans had. He delegated significant powers and functions of government to his viziers as part of his new policy of imperial seclusions.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Necipoğlu|first1=Gülru|title=Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries|date=1991|publisher=Architectural History Foundation|page=15}}</ref> A wall was built around the palace as an element of the more closed era, and unlike previous sultans Mehmed was no longer accessible to the public or even lower officials. His viziers directed the military and met foreign ambassadors, two essential parts of governing especially with his numerous military campaigns.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Necipoğlu|first1=Gülru|title=Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the fifteenth and sixteenth Centuries|date=1991|publisher=Architectural History Foundation|page=18}}</ref> One such notable ambassador was Kinsman Karabœcu Pasha (Turkish: "Karaböcü Kuzen Paşa"), who came from a rooted family of spies, which enabled him to play a notable role in Mehmed's campaign of conquering Constantinople.<ref name="historytoday.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.historytoday.com/bernard-lewis/europe-and-turks-civilization-ottoman-empire|title=Europe and the Turks: The Civilization of the Ottoman Empire {{!}} History Today|website=www.historytoday.com|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-date=12 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512171213/http://www.historytoday.com/bernard-lewis/europe-and-turks-civilization-ottoman-empire|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2022}}

=== Interest in Western culture ===
[[File:Sarayi Album 10a.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait of Mehmed, by [[Nakkaş Sinan Bey]] ([[Topkapı Palace]] albums)]]
Aside from his efforts to expand Ottoman dominion throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, Mehmed II also cultivated a large collection of Western art and literature, many of which were produced by Renaissance artists. From a young age, Mehmed had shown interest in Renaissance art and Classical literature and histories, with his school books having caricaturistic illustrations of ancient coins and portraiture sketched in distinctly European styles. Furthermore, he reportedly had two tutors, one trained in Greek and another in Latin, who read him Classical histories, including those of [[Laertius]], [[Livy]], and [[Herodotus]], in the days leading up to the fall of Constantinople.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Raby|first=J.|date=1 January 1982|title=A Sultan of Paradox: Mehmed the Conqueror as a Patron of the Arts|journal=Oxford Art Journal|language=en|volume=5|issue=1|pages=3–8|doi=10.1093/oxartj/5.1.3|issn=0142-6540}}</ref>

From early on in his reign, Mehmed invested in the patronage of Italian Renaissance artists. His first documented request in 1461 was a commission from artist Matteo de' Pasti, who resided in the court of the lord of [[Rimini]], [[Sigismondo Malatesta]]. This first attempt was unsuccessful, though, as Pasti was arrested in Crete by Venetian authorities accusing him of being an Ottoman spy. Later attempts would prove more fruitful, with some notable artists including Costanzo da Ferrara and Gentile Bellini both being invited to the Ottoman court.<ref name=":0" />

Aside from his patronage of Renaissance artists, Mehmed was also an avid scholar of contemporary and Classical literature and history. This interest culminated in Mehmed's work on building a massive multilingual library that contained over 8000 manuscripts in Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, Latin, and Greek, among other languages.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Necipoğlu|first=Gülru|title=Visual Cosmopolitanism and Creative Translation: Artistic Conversations with Renaissance Italy in Mehmed Ii's Constantinople|date=1 January 2012|journal=Muqarnas Online|volume=29|issue=1|pages=1–81|doi=10.1163/22118993-90000183|issn=0732-2992}}</ref> Of note in this large collection was Mehmed's Greek scriptorium, which included copies of [[Arrian]]'s ''Anabasis of Alexander the Great'' and Homer's ''Iliad''.<ref name=":0" /> His interest in Classical works extended in many directions, including the patronage of the Greek writer Kritiboulos of Imbros, who produced the Greek manuscript ''History of Mehmed the Conqueror'', alongside his efforts to salvage and rebind Greek manuscripts acquired after his conquest of Constantinople.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Raby|first=Julian|date=1983|title=Mehmed the Conqueror's Greek Scriptorium|journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers|volume=37|pages=15–34|doi=10.2307/1291474|jstor=1291474}}</ref>

Historians believe that Mehmed's widespread cultural and artistic tastes, especially those aimed towards the West, served various important diplomatic and administrative functions. His patronage of Renaissance artists have been interpreted as a method of diplomacy with other influential Mediterranean states, significantly many Italian states including the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Florence.<ref name=":1" /> Furthermore, historians speculate that his Greek scriptorium was used to educate Greek chancellery officials in an attempt to reintegrate former Byzantine diplomatic channels with several Italian states that conducted their correspondences in Greek.<ref name=":2" /> Importantly, historians also assert that Mehmed's vast collection of art and literature worked towards promoting his imperial authority and legitimacy, especially in his newly conquered lands. This was accomplished through various means, including the invocation of Mehmed's image as an Oriental neo-Alexandrian figure, which is seen through shared helmet ornaments in depictions of Mehmed and Alexander on medallion portraits produced during Mehmed's reign, as well as being a leitmotiv in Kritiboulous' work.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Akkoc|first1=Yunus|last2=Gozuacik|first2=Devrim|date=18 October 2018|title=Autophagy and liver cancer|journal=The Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology|volume=29|issue=3|pages=270–282|doi=10.5152/tjg.2018.150318|pmid=29755011|pmc=6284658|issn=1300-4948}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|chapter=Circular Definitions|date=1998|pages=17–44|publisher=Duke University Press|doi=10.1215/9780822399896-002|isbn=978-0-8223-2155-2|title=Ladies Errant}}</ref> Additionally, his commissioning of Renaissance artwork was, itself, possibly an attempt to break down Western-Oriental cultural binaries in order for Mehmed to present himself as a Western-oriented ruler, among the ranks of contemporary European Christian monarchs.<ref name=":2" />

==== Collection of Christian art and relics ====
[[File:Apse mosaic Hagia Sophia Virgin and Child.jpg|thumb|Mosaic of the Virgin and Child in the apse of the Hagia Sophia, preserved by Mehmed II after the fall of Constantinople.]]
A significant part of Mehmed II's foray into Western culture was his collection of Christian artwork and relics. The sultan obtained the relics after his conquest of Constantinople, when he ordered that all the relics in the local churches be brought to him.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Necipoğlu |first=Gülru |title=Architecture, ceremonial, and power: the Topkapi Palace in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries |date=1991 |publisher=Architectural History Foundation ; MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-14050-8 |location=New York, N.Y. : Cambridge, Mass |page=136}}</ref> Among these relics were the putative skull and arm bone of [[John the Baptist|St. John the Baptist]] and a stone on which, purportedly, [[Jesus]] was born.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Necipoğlu |first=Gülru |title=Architecture, ceremonial, and power: the Topkapi Palace in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries |date=1991 |publisher=Architectural History Foundation ; MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-14050-8 |location=New York, N.Y. : Cambridge, Mass |pages=135}}</ref>  The relics were indeed very dear to him, as evidenced in a few anecdotes. For example, the sultan became "greatly distressed" when the royal librarian stepped on the aforementioned stone to reach a book high on a shelf. Again, after the Venetians had offered to purchase the same stone for 30,000 ducats, Mehmed replied that he would not sell it for even 100,000 ducats. This is confirmed by [[Guillaume Caoursin]], a contemporary of the sultan, who writes that he would not sell any of his relics, for they were "more precious than money." Sources even indicate that Mehmed lit candles in front of the relics of St. John the Baptist "as a sign of [[veneration]]."<ref name=":12" /> In addition to Christian relics, Mehmed also maintained an interest in Christian artwork. The Hagia Sophia is a significant example, for, upon conquering Constantinople, Mehmed preserved the mosaics that it contained, which can still be seen today.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal |last=Necipoğlu |first=Gülru |date=2012 |title=Visual Cosmopolitanism and Creative Translation: Artistic Conversations with Renaissance Italy in Mehmed II's Constantinople |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23350362 |journal=Muqarnas |volume=29 |pages=15 |jstor=23350362}}</ref> Mehmed also himself commissioned a painting of the [[Virgin and Child|Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus]], as two independent Italian sources report.

===== Purpose of the collection =====
[[Franz Babinger]], a German orientalist, writes that Mehmed used these relics "for purposes of bargaining with Christians."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Babinger |first=Franz |title=Mehmed the Conqueror and his time |date=1978 |publisher=Princeton University Press |others=Bollingen Foundation Collection (Library of Congress) |isbn=978-0-691-09900-2 |series=Bollingen series |location=Princeton, N.J |pages=411 |language=en, de}}</ref> However, Julian Raby, [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] lecturer on Islamic art and director emeritus of the [[Freer Gallery of Art]] and the [[Arthur M. Sackler Gallery]], argues the purpose of the collection is more unclear, mentioning that [[Niccolò Sagundino]], a contemporary, writes of two conflicting opinions, the first being Babinger's and the second being that it expressed Mehmed's "sincere devotion."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=RABY |first=JULIAN |date=1982-01-01 |title=A Sultan of Paradox: Mehmed the Conqueror as a Patron of the Arts |url=https://academic.oup.com/oaj/article-abstract/5/1/3/1579372?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Oxford Art Journal |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=5 |doi=10.1093/oxartj/5.1.3 |issn=0142-6540}}</ref>

===== Reaction to the collection =====
Mehmed's collection of Christian art and relics brought about various reactions from his contemporaries. Along with his general openness to Christianity, Mehmed's collection was a cause of an unfulfilled hope of some in the West that he would convert to Christianity. His son and successor, Bayezid II, suspected similarly, accusing Mehmed of "not believing in Muhammad." Although Mehmed's interest in Christianity and Christian culture caused concern among traditionalist factions, [[Gülru Necipoğlu]] writes, the sources written in Islamic languages do not support "such a perception of Mehmed's irreligiosity."<ref name=":13" /> Upon his accession to the sultanate, Bayezid, who hated "figural images of any sort," sold his father's art collection and also offered the relics to the rulers of Rhodes, France, and Italy as ransom for his brother, [[Cem Sultan|Cem]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Necipoğlu |first=Gülru |title=Architecture, ceremonial, and power: the Topkapi Palace in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries |date=1991 |publisher=Architectural History Foundation ; MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-14050-8 |location=New York, N.Y. : Cambridge, Mass |pages=138}}</ref>