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Fatih Sultan Mehmet

Fatih Sultan Mehmet took Istanbul in 1453 and transformed it into an empire. it gradually expanded its borders and horizons. The Sultan, who has a vision that has not been found in any Turkish monarch throughout history, he was always thinking big and moving accordingly. Mehmet II, who considers himself the heir of the Roman Empire, take the city of Rome He was planning to step into the Italian boots to embrace the Western world. First of all to understand the expedition to Southern Italy It is necessary to examine the politics and attitude of the kings of Aragon and Naples. So we’ll take you back a little…

The Napolian Kingdom And Albania :

After the son of King Ferdinand of Aragon and his father’s health in Sicily Alfonso the 5th, King of Argon in 1416, Thanks to Europe’s mixed succession system, in 1442 he became King of Naples as Alfonso I. The king wanted to evolve into a strong structure by involving the Balkans and the Mediterranean. To this end, he has opposed Venice with great interests and colonies in the Mediterranean. To have a say in the Mediterranean, of course it was necessary to spend a tooth in Venice. One of the threats predicted by the King of Naples was the Ottoman State…

King Alfonso himself did not take a hostile attitude towards the Ottomans, who actually spread to Albania and Peloponnese. He did not welcome the Turks from entering their own expansion zone. He felt the need to take immediate action upon this situation.

Using Albania against the Ottomans was one of the best measures to be taken. The man whom the Ottomans called Iskender Bey, son of Yuvan, was an Albanian who was subjugated by Murat II. Gjergj Kastrioti was the youngest son of the Kastriyota family. The young sent to the Ottoman palace as an indicator of loyalty, He became a Muslim and fought in the Ottoman army. As a result of the achievements he gained until the sancakbeyli Iskender Bey, Battle of Varna

He betrayed the Ottoman Empire during the Niche Collisions mentioned in his article. He entered the castle by showing himself as Akçahisar bey and slaughtered all the guards. Explaining his rejection of Islam, Alexander said he would fight to avenge his family. He chose the red flag with the double-headed eagle as a symbol of the uprising. In 1444, İskender Bey brought all the princes of Albania together in the region. Manages to establish carrion union. Thanks to this solidarity among Albanians, Iskender Bey will increase his sovereignty in the region and will be able to build a relatively large army and build castles.

Iskender Bey attacked the Ottomans with guerrilla tactics and it translates to an advantage for itself. 2.Murat repeatedly sends force to the rebel, but fails to defeat it. Iskender Bey’s success attracts the attention of Europeans. In the future, the Pope would even declare him the ‘Commander of the Holy Authority’.

King Alfonso also showed great resistance against the Ottoman Iskender Bey and He decided to support the Albanians financially and morally. In fact, the confidence was so high that Iskender Bey in the name of suppressing a rebellion in 1448 He sent his troops to the kingdom of Naples. It wasn’t just Naples, who wanted to dominate the Albanian area, Venice also wanted to take over this region. Albania;

The population of Naples and Venice was divided into two. Both states regarded this region as a buffer for themselves. In 1453, when Mehmet II took Istanbul, attention was paid to the Italian peninsula. suddenly turned to the east. The other half of the city of Rome, Constantinople fell, was buried in the history of Eastern Rome. Church bells began to ring in certain parts of Italy and Europe ‘The Turks are coming!’ he had been horrified by word of mouth.

In 1455, Fatih Sultan Mehmet began his rivalry with Iskender Bey. Since the unity of Venice and Naples against the Ottomans in the region will make it difficult Fatih, made diplomatic moves. Venice also wanted to get their own pipe in the region at Naples. Conquerors, the trade and economic interests of the Venetians who have superior to everything, so that they do not unite,

When Albania was set free on the coast, the two countries were prevented from converging. The struggle against Iskender Bey did not end in a kind.

Although the Ottoman army sent troops to Albania every year almost without exception, it could not defeat Iskender Bey. Iskender Bey was a hostile enemy for Fatih and it was very difficult to eliminate. To send troops to the region; Conquests around the land like an 8-armed octopus the Ottoman war machine did not detract from the power. But the same thing did not apply to Iskender Bey and Carcass union.

With each passing day, their powers were diminishing. In 1458, Alfonso was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand. Iskender Bey who swore to Ferdinand; he agreed to be his vassal and did his best to remain on the throne. After all, İskender Bey’s biggest supporter was Napoli. 1463-79 The Ottoman-Venetian wars Venice’s attitude towards Iskender Bey also changed. Venice supported the Albanians unconditionally against the Ottoman Empire. In 1468, his enemy Iskender Bey, who harassed Fatih, died.

Hearing the news of death, Fatih said, line Woe to Christianity; they lost their swords and shields ” is said to be said. It is obvious that İskender Bey was a significant enemy for the Ottoman Empire.

After the death of Iskender Bey and towards the end of the war against Venice, the Turks, entered Albania with great force. Now the Turks were too strong to stand in front of them, The Turks had one of the most powerful land armies of the time. In 1478,

Akçahisar saw his fourth bird and could no longer resist the Ottomans. All Albanian princes and castles fell one by one against the Turkish army. With the conquest of Shkodra by the Conqueror in 1479, the conquest of Albania was completed. The obstacle between Rome and the Turks is finally over, Fatih’s falcon gaze had been looking at Rome …

Southern Italy :

Fatih knew for a long time that the states in Italy had been dealing with internal confusion. At the same time the Italian states and Rhodes on the Adriatic coast and the Ottoman Inability to prevent it in the Aegean took the event to a different dimension. Now the Ottomans were ready to go to the other side of the coast… In this direction, the Ottoman government, to approach a little closer to Southern Italy Zenta, located in the Greek sea, wanted to acquire the islands of Cephalonia and Ayamavra.

These islands are close to the coast of Epirus where the Turks are dominant. Leonardo, the lord of the islands, paid taxes to the Ottoman Empire each year through the Sanjakbey of Ioannina. When Prince Leonardo, his wife, daughter of Serbian Despot Lazar, died He married one of King Ferdinand’s relatives. This marriage was of course political. The prince of the Ottomans saw an obstacle to the Italian campaign. Leonardo had to be eliminated.

The Ottomans claimed that they had not been asked during marriage. He decided to conquer these islands as the first step of the Southern Italy Expedition. Meanwhile, Naples and Venice had fallen on each other. The Ottomans seemed to have found a good time for their plans. Gedik Ahmet Pasha, who was assigned for this job, with the navy Ayamarva, Zenta and took the islands of Kefalonia. Pasha was then appointed to the flag of Avlonya. Because now the expedition had begun and Avlonia would be used as the top. Preparations were made, soldiers were armed with rifles and swords, the navy set sail for Rome….

The first military operation of the Ottomans towards Italy, the main target of this expedition was Apulia region. It is called Pulya in Turkish sources. It is also located at the very end of the southwest coast of the Adriatic. is considered a bridgehead. According to the plan, under the command of Gedik Pasha, which was seen on the shores of Pulya in July 1480 The navy, thought to be between 80 and 120 pieces, anchored in Otranto port on 25 July. Soldiers were removed in front of the Otranto castle and the siege was launched. What happened to the fear of the Italian statesmen, the Turks to destroy Christianity, They came to destroy the sovereignty of Jesus, to kiss the pope the Turkish boots.

They immediately asked their allies for help. When Gedik Ahmet Pasha besieged Otranto, the Ottoman Empire was engaged in another great expedition: The Siege of Rhodes… Fatih had recently started both projects and the main power was focused in Rhodes. Fatih wants this place very much Mesih Pasha is in the siege of history books he was fighting the heir. Let us leave the siege of Rhodes, which will be a separate documentary, and return to Otranto.

King of Naples, Ferdinand, in the region to remove the siege of Gedik Pasha in Otranto He sent an army of 20,000 men with his son, the duke of Calabria. Duke Alfonso could not resist the Ottoman troops because the Turks were fighting with a higher technology and a skill superior to them. And the siege didn’t seem to grow much. In the face of Ottoman cannon shots and attacks, the castle fell down on August 11.

After that, Pasha took the castles around Otranto. soldiers, supplies and ammunition. He had raids on Lecce and Brindisi. Looted by the intelligence of the region was also collected. Ahmet Pasha, who wanted to make this region a base and continue the conquest of Italy, he wanted to renew his forces. Come to see the death of Fatih Pasha in May 1481, Ahmet Pasha, He had to return to Istanbul. As he left, he left behind a commander named Hayrettin Pasha with 8,000 soldiers in the castle. One and a half years of supplies and warfare was placed in the castle. After things had improved in the center, the expedition would resume. At least he thought so Istanbul was very confused with Fatih’s death. the civil war broke out.

The throne fight between the two brothers had begun to have a negative effect on the Ottoman foreign policy. When Gedik Ahmet Pasha was assigned to another position in the country, Hadım Süleyman Pasha was appointed to take care of Rumeli Beylerbeyi. Taking advantage of the outbreak of civil war in the Ottoman Empire, the Naples king revolted the Albanians again. He managed to keep Süleyman Pasha beyond the sea. The Turks in southern Italy were hesitant. Ferdinand asked for help from his son-in-law, Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (Matyas Korven).

He sent the cavalry to help. As Turkish forces in Otranto could not be sent help The Duke of Calabria came with a 40-piece fleet of Naples and Aragon, restraining the Ottoman territories. Then Otranto, which was in Turker’s hands for 13 months, fell on 10 September 1481. As with the other castles, all of his guards were swords. King Ferdinand feared the wrath of Bayezid II for immediate peace He knocked on the door of the Ottomans. The Sultan, who was involved in the case of Cem Sultan and was a peaceful pro and the peace offer on condition that the war materials were returned.

The Otranto Expedition has caused almost the entire Christian world to worry became a grave event. This is why there was a great panic in Italy. epic stories were written. Fatih’s project to seize Northern Italy as well as Southern Italy Upon his death it happened. In short, after Fatih’s death, his dreams were dead.…