The achievements of Sultan Fatih Mehmet 2 are no less than that of Alexander the Great! [Thread]
Mehmed’s predecessors had laid the foundation for a state ruled over by an absolute sovereign & administered & protected by a caste of ‘Sultans Servants' who served him fully.1️⃣
Mehmed’s predecessors had laid the foundation for a state ruled over by an absolute sovereign & administered & protected by a caste of ‘Sultans Servants' who served him fully.1️⃣
Mehmed’s grand aspirations and ambitious vision further developed this idea. He saw himself as the legitimate heir to Byzantium
& as having realized Islamic traditions that Constantinople would one day be Muslim; and also as the epigone of the heroes of the Classical world. 2️⃣
& as having realized Islamic traditions that Constantinople would one day be Muslim; and also as the epigone of the heroes of the Classical world. 2️⃣
He knew some Greek, and his interest in the ancients must have been widely known in contemporary political circles. It was alluded to in his own time by the Venetian Niccolò Sagundino, a native of Euboea, in his account of the Ottomans. 3️⃣
Mehmed was fascinated by Spartans, Romans & Carthaginians but identified above all with Alexander of Macedonia & Julius Caesar.
The Byzantine Critoboulos of Imbros (Gökçeada) wrote in the preface to his eulogistic biography that Mehmed’s exploits equalled Alexander’s: 4️⃣
The Byzantine Critoboulos of Imbros (Gökçeada) wrote in the preface to his eulogistic biography that Mehmed’s exploits equalled Alexander’s: 4️⃣
"Seeing that you are the author of many great deeds & in the belief that the many great achievements of generals & kings of old, nor merely Persians & Greeks, are not worthy to be compared in glory & bravery and martial valour with yours,... 5️⃣
I do not think it just that they and their deeds and accomplishments should be celebrated and admired by all while you should have no witness for the future or that the deeds of others should be better known and more famed while your accomplishments... 6️⃣
[which are] in no way inferior to those of Alexander the Macedonian sould not be set forth nor passed on to posterity."7️⃣
Mehmed fostered this identification of himself with great warriors of the past. On his way to win Lesbos from the Venetians in 1462 he visited Troy, where he viewed the
ruins, noted the advantageous location of the site, enquired about the tombs of the heroes of the siege. 8️⃣
ruins, noted the advantageous location of the site, enquired about the tombs of the heroes of the siege. 8️⃣
Soon he had the Iliad & the standard life of Alexander, Arrian’s Anabasis of Alexander the Great, copied for his library. The historical tradition Sultan Mehmed tried to keep alive reached far back into the past, but his eyes were set on a brilliant future for his empire. 9️⃣
Source: Osman's Dream by Caroline Finkel page 87.
