Mehmed II and Bayezid II, 1451-1501

Ottoman Empire – The Ascendency of the Ottoman Empire, 1453-1606

In this course, Dr Colin Imber (University of Manchester) explores the rise of the Ottoman Empire from the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 to the Peace of Zsitvatorok in 1606. We begin with the careers of Mehmed II (1451-81) and Bayezid II (1481-1512), focusing in Mehmed's never-ending thirst for military campaign and Bayezid's reform of both the army and the navy, as well as Ottoman law. In the second module, we continue with the reign of Bayezid II, as well as those of Selim I (1512-20) and Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-66), thinking in particular about the Ottoman advance into Europe. In the third and fourth modules, we look in more detail at Suleiman's campaigns, exploring first the period between 1522-36, culminating in the capture of Baghdad (1534), and then the period 1536-66, ending with his death at the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566. In the fifth module, we move on to the reigns of Selim II (1566-74) and Murad III (1574-95), including the famous Battle of Lepanto (1571), before ending in the sixth module with the decline of the Ottoman Empire against a resurgent Habsburg Monarchy, ending with the Peace of Zsitvatorok in 1606.

Mehmed II and Bayezid II, 1451-1501

In this module, we think about the careers of Mehmet II and his son Bayezid II, focusing in particular on Mehmet's seemingly never-ending thirst for military campaigns, Bayezid's dealings with his brother, Sultan Cem, his improvements to both the Ottoman navy and the army, and his reform of Ottoman law.