After the defeat at the Battle of Ankara against Timur, the Ottomans began their expansion in Anatolia by annexation. When the Balkan expansion started, they had already established a strong state in Anatolia. By capturing Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed acquired the sobriquet of "the Conqueror". There followed the subjection of Genoese colonies on the Black Sea, and the capture of Tirebizond; the invasion of the Morea, northern Albania and Bosnia. Central to Mehmed's view of the Ottoman state was the conviction that by the conquest of Constantinople the Ottomans had made themselves the heirs of Byzantium and of the Caesars. In this way, his attitude towards European art and literature was influenced. In this page, the portraits of Mehmed and pictures from early Ottoman translations of Persian fables are depicted.
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Portrait of Mehmed II From Sarai Albums. Istanbul, 15th century. Hazine 2153, folio 145ba |
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Portrait of Mehmed II ascribed from Sinan Bey. From Sarai Albums. Istanbul, towards end of 15th century. Hazine 2153, folio 10a |
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Entertainment in a palace courtyard Mir, "Ali Shir Neva'i" Divan. From Sarai Albums. Istanbul, 1530. R. 804, folio 111b |
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Hunt Arifi, Guy-u Chawgan. From Sarai Albums. Istanbul, 1539. Hazine. 845, folio 34b-35a |
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Kaykhusraw enthroned Shahname of Firdawsi. Istanbul, 1545. Hazine. 1520, folio 271a |
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Rustam rescuing Bizhan from the well Shahname of Firdawsi. Istanbul, 1545. Hazine. 1520, folio 280b |