Pope Innocent VIII and Prince Cem

When Cem, brother of Sultan Bayezid II, came to be incarcerated in Rome as the "guest" of Pope Innocent VIII, he had a very comfortable life. Bayezid wanted to keep his rival claimant far away from Constantinople and Ottoman lands, and was willing to pay to do so.

Innocent wanted a Crusade against the Ottomans, but he needed military support from Christian rulers. The death of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary—who had seized Ottoman-held territories in Bosnia—in 1490 created a delay in the plans.

To hold off Innocent, Beyazid promised not to attack Rome or Venice or Rhodes and to pay 40,000 ducats to the pope annually to keep Cem under guard. 10,000 of the ducats were to go to the Knights of St. John in Rhodes, who initially took Cem into custody when he asked for their help against Bayezid. Bayezid also gave Innocent 120,000 crowns—a sum greater than all papal revenues combined—and the Holy Lance. 

Innocent's attempt to convert Cem to Christianity was unsuccessful, and despite the comfort of his lifestyle in Rome, Cem wished fervently to die in Muslim lands. When Charles VIII of France invaded Italy in 1494 to conquer Naples (at Innocent's urging, although Innocent had died two years before), he stopped in Rome and made Pope Alexander VI surrender Cem. Perhaps Charles wanted to start receiving payments from the Sultan. He took Cem with him on campaign, but Cem died on 24 February 1495.

Sultan Bayezid (no doubt relieved that there was no longer a rival claimant and that he no longer had to pay a fee to keep Cem imprisoned) declared a three-day period of national mourning. He requested Cem's body for a proper Islamic funeral, but Charles kept it, hoping to ransom it for more gold. It took four years for Cem's body to reach Ottoman lands and be buried in Bursa. (The illustration shows his tomb alongside siblings.)

We are not done with Pope Innocent, however, and tomorrow we'll see the statement he made about a different campaign...against witchcraft.

Cem's Offer

When Bayezid II became sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1481, he had a rival: his half-brother Cem (22 December 1459 - 25 February 1495). Cem was the third son of Sultan Mehmed II, who conquered Constantinople and then died without choosing a successor. Cem and Bayezid each ruled provinces, and each believed himself ready and able to become the next sultan.

The Grand Vizier tried to arrange things so that Cem could arrive at his father's funeral before Bayezid and claim the throne at Constantinople. Bayezid, however, already had several important pashas and the Janissaries in his corner. The Janissaries entered the palace, lynched the Grand Vizier, and Bayezid was urged to reach Constantinople as soon as possible.

Cem fled west with an army loyal to him, declaring himself Sultan of Anatolia and proposing that the empire be split; Bayezid could have the western half. Bayezid disagreed, and sent his army after Cem. A battle ensued in which Cem's side lost, and Cem fled to Cairo.

While in Cairo, he received a letter from Bayezid, offering him 1,000,000 akçes (a silver coin that was the standard unit of Ottoman currency) to give up his claim. Instead, Cem tried to conquer the city of Konya in Turkey, but failed. He then fled to Rhodes and asked for the protection of the Knights of St. John, also known as the Hospitallers.

Cem's offer to them was to create a perpetual peace between the Ottoman Empire and Christianity if they would help him overthrow Bayezid. The grand master of the Knights, Pierre d'Aubusson, knew a war with Bayezid could be disastrous, so when he had a message from Bayezid making a counter-offer, he accepted it. 

The counter-offer was simple: Bayezid would make an annual payment in gold to the Knights if they would take and keep Cem captive. He was sent to France under the saintly King Louis IX (who did not like having a Muslim in his lands), and kept for a year in the Duchy of Savoy, and then five years at Pierre d'Aubusson's birthplace, Limousin. (The illustration shows the tower built specially to hold him in comfort.) After Charles VIII came to the throne, Bayezid asks that Cem be transferred back to Rhodes. His value as a hostage meant several leaders wanted to "host" him, but ultimately Pope Innocent VIII won out.

In March 1489, Cem was transported to Rome and the custody of Pope Innocent VIII. Whenever word came that Bayezid was about to launch an offensive against Christians, Innocent would send a message to Bayezid, threatening to release Cem from captivity and giving the Ottomans an alternative sultan around whom they could form an insurrection.

Bayezid ultimately sent Innocent 120,000 crowns, a relic of the Holy Lance (stored in Constantinople), and an annual fee of 45,000 ducats for Cem's "room and board." Bayezid sent spies to ensure that Cem was kept under lock and key, and even tried to assassinate him.

...and then Innocent wanted a Crusade against the Ottomans. I'll continue that story—and Cem's end—tomorrow.

Guillaume Caoursin

Yesterday's post on Mesih Pasha mentions the Siege of Rhodes in 1480, when a small garrison of Knights Hospitallers at Rhodes withstood an attack by the Ottomans. The garrison was led by Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson. The vice-chancellor of the order was Guillaume Caoursin, who wrote (among other things) an account of the event.

Caoursin was born in 1430 in Douai in northern France, and joined the Order of Saint John (also know as the Hospitallers) as a young man. By 1462 he was vice-chancellor of the Order in Rhodes, and in 1462 he accompanied the Grand Master Piero Raimondo Zacosta to Rome for the holding of a general chapter under the guidance of Pope Paul II.

While in Rome, Zacosta died (he was in his 60s), and Giovanni Battista Orsini succeeded him. Caoursin went back to Rhodes with the new Grand Master, but was sent back to Rome in 1470 to request help from the pope for dealing with the Turks. Orsini died in 1476, and Caoursin now worked under Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson.

In 1480, Mesih Pasha led an Ottoman force of 160 ships and 70,000 men against Rhodes. While the Turks bombarded the walls, the citizens dug a new moat and new fortification within the city walls near the Jewish quarter in case the bombardment breached the walls.

On 27 July the Janissaries managed to enter the city. d'Aubusson led the fighting, though wounded in five places. A three-hour battle forced the Turks back, and the Knights pursued all the way back to the Ottoman tents, taking booty and the holy standard of Islam. Caoursin reported that between three and four thousand Turks were slain that day. The Ottomans gave up on 17 August.

Caoursin married shortly after 1480. He was rewarded by d'Aubusson with 1000 gold florins for his services to the Order. His "next act" came in 1484, when he became ambassador to Pope Innocent VIII. Innocent was so impressed by Caoursin that he made him his apostolic secretary. Caoursin remained there, writing about his Order and about Rhodes.

Innocent VIII might also have kept Caoursin close because of his knowledge of the Ottomans and the Siege of Rhodes, of which I will have more to say tomorrow.

The Mesih End

Mesih Pasha was chosen from obscurity—we don't even know his original name before Mehmed II forced him to convert to Islam and made him a member of the Ottoman administration after the Conquest of Constantinople—and rose to great heights, but sultans can be fickle.

Mesih was Grand Admiral of the Ottoman navy and had great successes. He negotiated (successfully) with the rebelling Janissaries when they occupied the palace, angry at the sultan's imprisoning of one of their favorites. He negotiated a compromise with Sultan Bayezid II's rival half-brother, Cem, who had teamed up with the Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes against Bayezid. (The illustration shows Mesih at Rhodes.)

For some reason, however, he fell out of favor with Bayezid in 1485 and was dismissed from his position as vizier at court, being made simply governor of Filibe (once called Philippopolis, now Plovdiv, the second-largest city in Bulgaria). He was shortly exiled (essentially) to Kaffa, on the northern coast of the Black Sea.

His exile did not last forever. In 1497 he was made sanjak bey, military and administrative leader of the port city Akkerman (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in southern Ukraine). While there he halted a Poolish invasion of Moldavia, sending several Polish nobles to Bayezid as tribute.

In 1499 he went on pilgrimage to Mecca, an excuse for leaving his position which gave him a reason to visit Constantinople and try to get back to a position at court. Fortunately, the Venetians were fighting the Ottomans again, and his previous naval experience against the Venetians led to being re-named vizier, and then in 1501 Grand Vizier.

Things were looking up again, but that same year the Venetians attacked Lesbos to get it back from the Ottomans. Bayezid, unhappy that the Venetians felt able to make such a bold move against him, in a fit of pique struck Mesih. We don't know how serious the injury may have been, but soon after, after supervising putting out a fire in a Constantinople suburb, Mesih was supposedly injured. He died in November 1501. He was buried in the Murat Pasha Mosque in Constantinople, begun by his brother Hass Murad Pasha and completed by Mesih himself.

Now for something completely different. The illustration above, a painting of Mesih addressing Rhodes, was painted by an eyewitness of that negotiation! His name was Guillaume Caoursin, and we're going to talk about him next.

The Brothers Murad and Mesih

After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II, he took two young male potential Byzantine heirs, converted them to Islam, and made them important figures in the new administration.

We don't know their original names, or their exact parentage (they were reported by some Ottoman historians to be nephews of the deposed Byzantine Emperor Constantine), but they were converted to Islam and renamed Hass Murad Pasha and Mesih Pasha. Both had powerful career positions.

Hass—a title meaning "private" or "personal"—was also very wealthy. He had accrued a significant amount of wealth by 1465/66 when he began the construction of a new mosque, called the Murat Pasha Mosque in Istanbul (still in use; see illustration).

In 1468, the current Grand Vizier and beylerbey ("lord of lords") was dismissed, and Hass replaced him as beylerbey, the commander-in-chief of the Balkans. Life in the Balkans was not peaceful. In 1473, he led a troop of 20,000 against an uprising. When the enemy retreated, Hass Murad intended to follow.

One of the men under his command, Mahmud Pasha, warned him that this particular enemy employed the tactic of "feigned retreats": pretending to flee in disarray and yet prepared to turn and fight when pursued. Murad did not listen. He crossed the Euphrates, his army was ambushed and many captured, and Hass Murad Pasha was killed.

The other brother, Mesih Pasha, was first mentioned in the records as military and administrative commander of Gelibolu (Gallipoli). Gallipoli was a chief Ottoman naval base, and so Mesih had control of a large part of the navy. There was an Ottoman-Venetian War in 1463 - 1479 in which Mesih conquered Euboea, the second-largest Greek island. 

Venetian records of the time claim that Mesih was willing to surrender Gallipoli to Venice for 40,000 gold ducats, but this arrangement never came to fruition, so may have been a Venetian plan to stir up unrest among the Ottomans, and discredit a successful enemy leader.

A new sultan came to the throne, Bayezid II (1481 - 1512). There were some problems with a rival claim, and when Bayezid imprisoned the Grand Vizier who was sympathetic to Bayezid's rival, the Janissaries revolted and invaded the palace (the Grand Vizier, like the Janissaries, was a devşirme). Mesih was sent to negotiate, which he did successfully.

In January 1485 he fell out of favor with Beyazid. This was not the end of his story, however. I'll continue it next time.

After the Conquest

Once Mehmed II had taken Constantinople in 1453, absorbing it into the Ottoman Empire, he declared himself Roman Caesar. His thinking was that Constantinople had been the seat of the emperors of Rome since 330CE, and therefore whomever sat on that throne was in charge. Western Europe and the Popes did not support this claim, but thinking was different in the East. 

Contemporary Byzantine scholar George of Trebizond (1395 - 1486) supported this view. Another who aligned with the new Caesar was Gennadius Scholarius, whom Mehmed chose as the new Patriarch of Constantinople.

Note that Mehmed did not declare Eastern Orthodoxy heretical. He was actually quite magnanimous to his potential opposition. For example, when he then turned his attention to the royal family, he did not simply execute anyone who might have provided the nucleus of an insurrection and coup.

The defeated Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos, who had died during the siege, had no heirs. He had nephews of a deceased brother who would have been next in line. As was mentioned in the post on the Janissaries, a Muslim practice called devşirme (the "ş" is pronounced like "sh") took children of conquered peoples and converted them, training them to be loyal Muslims.

Mehmed took at least two boys who were purportedly related to Constantine, converted them to Islam and renamed them Hass Murad Pasha and Mesih Pasha. Hass—a title meaning "private" or "personal"—became beylerbey ("lord of lords"), the commander-in-chief of the Balkans in 1468. (The illustration shows his signature.) Mesih (1443 - 1501) became Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy.

We do not know the parentage of the two young men who rose so high in the sultan's favor. Contemporary Ottoman chronicles claim they were nephews of Constantine, but offer different names for their father. Still, Murad and Mesih were lucky that Constantine was succeeded by Mehmed and not another prominent Greek noble, who might have followed the Byzantine tradition of eliminating all possible opposition through incarceration, execution, or blinding.

It would be nice to think that the two boys had not only good lives but peaceful ends. That was not to be the case, however. I'll give you the rundown on their careers tomorrow.

The Conquest of Constantinople

In 1451, Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, chose as his first self-imposed task that he would conquer Constantinople. To prepare, he built up his naval force, then built a huge castle on the western side of the Bosphorus Straits, north of his target and on the shore of the Black Sea. The fortress was called Rumelihisarı. It can still be viewed today (see illustration).

Paired with a castle built on the eastern side of the strait by a previous sultan, the two were able to prevent any possible aid reaching Constantinople from the Black Sea. Mehmed used his position there to extort tolls from ships passing through. A Venetian ship that ignored the command to stop was turned into an example for others: a single shot from a cannon sank the ship, the captain was impaled, and the surviving sailors were all beheaded.

Mehmed was ready in 1453 with an army of over 80,000 soldiers, 320 ships, and dozens of artillery pieces. The siege began in April, surrounding the city by sea as well as land. The harbor into the city, the Golden Horn, was blocked by raising a chain that prevented ships from sailing in. The walls were very thick, reinforced after the attack in 1204 during the 4th Crusade.

Mehmed was undaunted. He had a mile-long road of wood built that would portage some of the ships and equipment over land and into the northern shore of the Golden Horn. It took less than two months from the start of the siege to its conclusion, on 29 May.

Mehmed made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital and declared himself caesar of the Roman Empire. The Catholic Church, Western Europe, and the rest of Christendom never accepted the Ottoman sultan as the head of the Roman Empire. He appointed an anti-Rome philosopher and theologian, Gennadius Scholarius, as Patriarch of Constantinople with all the rights of previous patriarchs, and so Gennadius accepted Mehmed publicly as the rightful successor to the throne.

Mehmed also co-opted the remains of the royal family, rather than eliminate alternate claimants. I'll tell you about the aftermath of the conquest tomorrow.

Mehmed II

Mehmed II, also called Mehmed the Conqueror, accomplished one of the most damaging counters to Christianity and Europe and conquered an enormous number of kingdoms. He also succeeded his father as sultan, for all practical purposes returned it to him, and succeeded his father a second time. All this happened before the age of 50!

Born in 1432 to Murad II, he was sent at 11 years old to Amasya in northern Turkey with his mother (supposedly a low-born woman), teachers, and advisors to learn how to govern. He also had a particular mentor, Molla Gürâni, who was a scholar, philosopher, and jurist who had a high position in Murad's and Mehmed's administrations. Another influence was Akshamsaddin, a Sunni Muslim scholar, poet, and mystic.

When Mehmed was 12, his father abdicated, leaving Mehmed in charge. Why would he do this? It was June 1444, and Murad had just made peace with Hungary after defeating the Crusade of Varna, an attempt by several European Christian countries to check the growing power of the Ottomans. He had several other victories under his belt, and perhaps wanted a life of leisure.

Hungary under John Hunyadi broke the treaty a few months later—the papal legate, Julian Cesarini, had convinced Hunyadi that breaking a truce with Muslims was not a sin–and Mehmed prepared to fight.

There was a problem: the Janissaries. Although loyal to the sultan, they were uncertain of this pre-teen who was now their commander. Their unrest caused Mehmed to ask his 40-year-old father to return and lead the armies. Murad's response was "You are the sultan; you lead the army." Mehmed's reply: "If you are the sultan, come and lead your armies. If I am the sultan, I hereby order you to come and lead my armies."

Mehmed retained the title of sultan and continued to govern, but Murad returned as commander of the military, defeating Hunyadi (again) and retaining authority until his death in 1451, when Mehmed became sole ruler for the second time. He was almost 20 years old, however, had much more experience, and was ready to take on the world.

His first goal? Constantinople. See you tomorrow.

The Later Ottomans

The Ottoman Empire, begun by Osman Ghazi, lasted until the 19th century, but we will confine ourselves to an earlier century or two. The initial motivation of Osman—to expand his realm to an empire—never stopped, and this naturally brought the Ottomans into contact with several other subjects of this blog.

Władysław III of Poland broke a ten-year truce with the Ottomans to make himself look good by starting a holy Crusade against the Turks, destroying his 20,000-man army when they faced 60,000 Turks at the Battle of Varna on 10 November 1444. Władysław was killed in that encounter. Had he lived another 20 years, he might have taken satisfaction by the news coming out of Wallachia.

Vlad "Dracula" Tsepes of Wallachia had help from the Ottomans in the 1400s, but when the sultan demanded homage in exchange (after Vlad had been elevated to Voivode of Wallachia), Vlad had the Ottoman envoys impaled, then invaded Ottoman territory and impaled many thousands. This was supported by Pope Pius II.

Medieval Chechnya converted to Sunni Islam in order to gain the help of the Ottomans against Russian invasions.

Histories of the Ottoman Empire were written by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim and Ibn Khaldun.

The biggest event in Ottoman history that is significant for Western Europe, I would say, is the conquest of Constantinople. That was under the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, a reformer of both the military and his government. I'll tell you about him tomorrow.

The Janissaries

Although Alaeddin's idea to create a group ready to be called up to military service at a moment's notice failed due to their lack of training, the Ottoman Empire a generation later tried again, but this time with trained men. They were called the Janissaries—a Turkish term meaning "new soldier"—elite infantry who were part of the sultan's personal guard. They were also the first infantry in history to be equipped with firearms (but that did not take place until the 15th century).

They were established in 1363, a mere 30 years after Alaeddin's death and owing nothing to his original plans. As a standing army, they obviously could not be involved in their own careers, nor were they allowed to marry before they were 40 years old. Consequently, they were salaried. They were to have no attachments to anything other than protection and support of the sultan.

Rather than entice citizens away from their chosen professions, members of the Janissaries were drawn from other sources, and that is where the story becomes extremely uncomfortable. The Muslim world happily employed slavery, and the first Janissaries were prisoners, and prisoners of war. A sultan would take a customary one-fifth of the spoils of any conquest, and would often take it "in kind," so he would take a section of the captured population as slaves.

In fact, the Ottomans had a practice called devşirme, defined literally as "collecting"; historically, it is referred to as "blood tax" or "child levy." This was the Ottoman policy of taking children as young as seven years old—usually from the Balkan Christians they subjugated—converting them to Islam (which meant forced circumcision), and turning them into soldiers. This gave the sultan an army loyal to him and not connected to any other Turkish noble family that might have designs on the throne. (The illustration is a 16th-century painting that shows a tribute of Christian boys being presented to the sultan.)

In later centuries, free-born Muslims were allowed to join the Janissaries. This had two advantages: for the army, it allowed faster recruitment and training, and no need for religious conversion and education; for the citizens, the salary and the prestige that came with being part of an elite force was a desirable career path.

The Ottoman Empire lasted for centuries, but we will go back and see their actions in the Late Middle Ages and a few links to other posts in this blog. See you tomorrow.

The Real Aladdin

Well, not the "real" Aladdin in the sense that he was a man with a magic lamp, but a man who did perform "wonders" in this context.

When Osman Ghazi died in 1323, he left two sons, one of whom would take on the role of continuing Osman's work in creating the Ottoman Empire. There are plenty of examples of princes fighting with each other over the succession, but that did not happen in this case. Prince Orhan became the natural leader, but his brother provided valuable aid.

Alaeddin Erden Ali Pasha (c 1281 - 1331) not only did not clash with Orhan (some scholars think Alaeddin may even have been the elder of the two), but he supported his brother with ideas and projects that advanced the cause of the Ottomans in ways that mere military conquest would not.

There are three innovations for which Alaeddin gets credit during this period, while Orhan led the military and held the title of sultan. It was after a particular conquest in 1328 that Alaeddin visited his brother to congratulate him and to make three suggestions.

The first was to establish their own monetary system to enhance trade and add an air of legitimacy and independence to the Ottomans. Silver coins dating to that year have Orhan's name on one side and "May Allah make his reign eternal" on the other (see illustration).

His next suggestion was to distinguish Orhan's Ottomans from other Turks and Muslims by developing distinctive style of dress. Inspired by the Byzantines, Ottoman government and military officials took on specific clothing styles. Also, based on an Arabic saying that 'the best garment is a white one,' everyday wear was suggested to include a simple white cap to distinguish followers from non-Ottomans.

Alaeddin's most significant contribution may have been in Orhan's wheelhouse: the military. Rather than the previous method of a leader trying to maneuver a vast array of men to do his bidding, the army was divided into separate contingents, each with its own leader who would report to and gain orders from higher up. This hierarchical style of military affairs is so efficient and common that it is difficult to believe that it was not always the case, but charismatic and successful (and unsuccessful) leaders did not always delegate.

Part of the military re-organization involved designating citizens as foot soldiers who could be called up when necessary. Since they had no formal training, however, they were ineffective. Decades after Alaeddin's failed idea, however, something vaguely similar was proposed. Tomorrow I'll tell you the horrifying story of the Janissaries.

The Ottoman Empire

Begun by (and named for) Osman Ghazi (c.1254 - 1323/4), and inspired (perhaps) by a dream, the Ottoman Empire grew to encompass an enormous territory that continued to expand well after the Middle Ages. The illustration shows in dark green what they controlled up to the 17th century, and the lighter green shows territory that considered the Ottomans their overlords.

Osman was succeeded by capable men. His son, Orhan Ghazi (fl.1324 - 1362), was a competent leader of the clan and continued his father's goal of expansion. The conquest of the important Byzantine fortified city of Bursa in Anatolia was completed by Orhan—Osman was suffering from gout by this time, and left battle to others; he died shortly after—who made Bursa the new Ottoman capital.

The defeat of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire was an important step to increasing the Ottoman territory and power. A period known as the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars began in 1299 and culminated in the taking of Constantinople in 1453, a year and event that I have written about before.

Orhan captured several areas, including Gallipoli in 13543 (at the time called Kallipolis), getting closer to the European mainland. A three-year siege brought Nicaea under Orhan's control in 1331, and Nicomedia in 1337.

Then Orhan made a bold move: he turned his attention to Karesi (now Balıkesir, in the Marmara region of Turkey). Its ruler had died and the deceased's two sons were fighting over the succession. Orhan claimed he was coming in as a bringer of peace. This sounded good, but Karesi was Muslim, and attacking fellow Muslims was not acceptable.

There was, however, no one strong enough to oppose him. One brother was killed in the fighting, the other was captured, and Orhan took over a large Turkish area. This was the start of expansion to the East.

Fighting between brothers over succession was quite common in the Turkish world (and elsewhere, to be fair). In fact, Orhan had a brother whom some scholars think might even have been older. Rather than being a rival, however, he provided valuable help to Orhan. Tomorrow I want to tell you about Alaeddin Erden Ali Pasha, who (we are told) probably contributed as much to the success of the growing Ottoman Empire as Orhan's military choices.

Osman's Dream

Osman I (c.1254 - 1323), emir of his Turkish clan, married Rabia Bala Hatun (died 1324), daughter of Sheikh Edebali, a religious leader. According to a 15th-century chronicle, Osman had a dream while staying in the house of his father-in-law.

He saw that a moon arose from the holy man's breast and came to sink in his own breast. A tree then sprouted from his navel and its shade compassed the world. Beneath this shade there were mountains, and streams flowed forth from the foot of each mountain. Some people drank from these running waters, others watered gardens, while yet others caused fountains to flow. When Osman awoke he told the story to the holy man, who said 'Osman, my son, congratulations, for God has given the imperial office to you and your descendants and my daughter shall be your wife.

This story was probably created to establish a divine origin for the Ottoman Empire, named after Osman. In order to establish this empire, Osman did not always have to fight—though he was not opposed to doing so. He made alliances with his neighbors regardless of religious or political differences. The group with which he was not about to ally himself was the Mongols. 

After the Battle of Bapheus in c.1301—in which Osman defeated a force of 2000 soldiers—Byzantines started to move out of Anatolia, making Ottoman expansion easier. He expanded north and southwest. taking the city of Bursa in northwestern Turkey after a prolonged siege. Bursa turned into a staging ground for the eventual attack on Constantinople.

The illustration shows the imperial expansion, but in Osman's lifetime only the darkest red area was under his control. Osman died shortly after the conquest of Bursa, but the idea of empire lived on. We'll continue the expansion tomorrow.

Osman I

Osman Ghazi is one of those many figures in history whose impact was large but whose life's details are not well known. We are not even certain of his name, though it gave rise to the name of the empire he founded: Ottoman. Scholars think his name was originally Turkish, something like Atman or Ataman, and was Arabicized to 'Osmān later. A contemporary Byzantine historian refers to him as Atouman.

His birthdate is unknown, but a date of 1254/55 was offered by a 16th-century Ottoman historian. He was said to be born in a town called Söğüt, the capital city of his father's emirate. He would have been raised as any Turkish noble's son was raised: learning archery and falconry, horsemanship and sword fighting. He would have been taught about Islam. His father died in 1280, and Osman's uncle succeeded him as head of the clan.

With Söğüt as his base, he started at some point attacking his Byzantine neighbors, but not challenging any of the other Turkish clans. He defeated a Byzantine force of 2000 soldiers c.1301 at the Battle of Bapheus. Following Bapheus, Osman was able to conquer several towns and fortresses, taking control from the Byzantine Empire.

A Byzantine governor sent a message to the Seljuk sultan, complaining about this young Turk who was upsetting the peaceful balance in the region. The sultan had Osman's uncle arrest Osman and have him brought before the sultan, but he liked what he saw in the dynamic and courageous young man. He sent Osman to a Sufi mystic to wait while the sultan thought about what to do about him. The mystic saw a great future for Osman, put a turban on him, and sent him back to the sultan with the request to make Osman emir and the head of his clan.

As he expanded his borders, not all contact with Byzantines was hostile. As the Turks's major occupation was still shepherding, they needed grazing land. Osman arranged with Byzantine governors that the herds would be allowed to move safely through Byzantine lands. Turks could leave some of their permanent possessions safely stored at a Byzantine fortress, and when the herds came back through later, the Byzantine guardians would receive gifts of dairy products.

Osman showed promise as as a leader, designing administrative systems that transformed the clan from a nomadic to an urban lifestyle. Söğüt was not only an easily defended capital (being on a hill), it was a main route to Constantinople and was along the Silk Road. It was also far enough westward from the Mongol threat that Osman could concentrate on his Turkish neighbors, in many cases absorbing them through treaties or political marriages.

Then came the dream, the dream of empire. According to legend (written in a chronicle long after Osman's death) Osman had a dream that would lead to the forging of the empire named for him. I'll share that story next time.

The Fall of Trebizond

The Trebizond Empire (the orange slice on the southern shore of the Black Sea illustration), founded in 1204 on the shores of the Black Sea by the brothers Alexios and David Comnenos, existed until 1461. When news came of the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the Fourth Crusade, the brothers considered themselves the likeliest successors to rule the Byzantine Empire. Styling themselves "Megas Comnenos" ("Great Comnenos"), they hoped to restore the Comnenos dynasty to the throne.

This put them into conflict with two other "Byzantine offshoots" that had been formed: the Empire of Nicaea in western Anatolia, ruled by Theodore I Laskaris, and the Despotate of Epirus in Greece, ruled by Michael Comnenos Doukas.

Trebizond also had continual concerns about the Turks, first the Seljuks and then the Ottomans, as well as Constantinople—wanting to bring Trebizond back under its wing—and the Republic of Genoa, who wanted more control of trade on the Black Sea. One of the ways to deal with potential (and actual) hostility was for the emperors of Trebizond to make marital alliances by matching their daughters with foreign nobles. Emperor Alexios IV (1417 - 1429) married two daughters off to two khans of neighboring Muslim empires, and an another daughter to Byzantine Emperor John VIII Paleologos. John II of Trebizond married Eudokia Paleologina, daughter of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Paleologos to keep friendly with Constantinople.

The Turkish threat never ended, however, and increased when Osman I of Anatolia and his successors consolidated their people into what became known as the Ottoman Empire. This empire rapidly encompassed the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea countries, and more. When they conquered Constantinople on 29 May 1453, Byzantine culture was overwhelmed. Trebizond realized it would not long last if the Byzantine Empire had been conquered. The penultimate Trebizond emperor, John IV (1429 - 1459), saw the writing on the wall. He sent a message to Florence, offering a union of Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches to forge an alliance that would provide him aid, but it did not help. He gave his daughter to another khan to try to gain military aid. He asked Georgia for help. None of this would be sufficient.

John's brother David Megas Comnenos came to power in 1459. Trebizond fell completely to the Ottomans in 1461. He and his family were taken to Constantinople, the new Ottoman capital. He and all male members of the family were executed in 1463.

So who were the Ottomans who conquered so much of the world and threatened Western Europe? Let's find out tomorrow.

Enemies of Poland

The unifying of Poland and Lithuania after the marriage of Jadwiga of Poland and Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, did not resolve all problems. Jadwiga's older sister, Mary, was passed over for rule of Poland when she was married to Sigismund, now King of Hungary.

Sigismund no doubt felt he had some rights to Poland through his bride, and in 1392 began talking to the Teutonic Knights about allying to partition Poland and incorporate part of it into Hungary. Hungary was being assailed on its southern border by Ottomans, however, which slowed the process of marching on Poland.

Sigismund did invade Moldavia (the purple region below the red of Poland in the illustration), and forced its ruler, Prince Stephen I, to swear allegiance to Hungary instead of Poland. Immediately after Sigismund's forces left Moldavia, however, Stephen went to Jogaila and Jadwiga, telling them he wanted to join them against Hungary and the Ottomans and the Teutonic Order.

Mary and Jadwiga's mother, Elizabeth, had been a sharp negotiator on behalf of her daughters. When Mary died on 17 May 1395, by agreement her heir was Jadwiga: Mary had no children (and neither did Jadwiga, for that matter, an issue that for years bothered her husband). A vassal of Hungary, Vlad I of Wallachia, acknowledged Jadwiga as the legitimate successor, for which he was driven out of Wallachia by a close supporter of Sigismund. Poland prepared to march on Hungary, but they were prevented by the archbishop of Hungary.

Konrad von Jungingen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, convinced the Holy Roman Empire that bringing Hungary as well as Poland and Lithuania under Jogaila's influence would be a bad idea for Christendom (Jogaila's recent conversion to Christianity obviously did not engender confidence in the Church of his future actions). Sigismund was away fighting the Ottomans, and his court would not agree to any major changes in government in his absence. Negotiations by them with Poland to create peace led to Jadwiga being named "heir to Hungary" but without any real claim.

In 1396, Jadwiga and Jogaila invited Konrad von Jungingen to Poland to talk. Konrad was still claiming his efforts were a Christian Crusade, so Poland made sure that many aldermen were replaced with Christians. Things were not going well, however, until a surprising twist when a former enemy turned up and offered to smooth things over with the Teutonic Knights. That story, and the next stage in Jadwiga and Jogaila's union—finally having children—will wrap up in tomorrow's post.

The Order of the Dragon

Sigismund, King of Hungary, had an awkward relationship to that title. He only became king because of his marriage to Queen Mary of Hungary. But let me go back a bit.

Mary was born in 1371, and with the death of her father, Louis I the Great, in 1382, she was crowned "King"; her mother, Elizabeth of Bosnia, managed her regency. A female king did not sit well with the nobles, who would rather have had the throne go to Mary's distant cousin, Charles III of Naples. Charles agreed.

Charles decided he should rule Hungary, and took steps to that end, arriving in Dalmatia September 1385. Meanwhile, Sigismund of Luxembourg invaded Upper Hungary (now Slovakia) in 1385, forcing Elizabeth to give him Mary in marriage. Charles' stronger claim meant he was crowned king on 31 December 1385, but the queen mother Elizabeth managed to get Charles killed in February of 1386. Mary was restored to the throne, giving Sigismund the chance to become king. Charles' supporters captured Elizabeth and Mary that July. Elizabeth was killed in January 1387, but Mary was released in June. During their captivity, Sigismund had been crowned by the nobility, and so was in a position to have his bride freed. Mary died in her early twenties in 1395, falling from a horse on a hunting trip while pregnant. (This is leading to the titular topic, never fear.)

This left Sigismund as King of Hungary under circumstances that seemed very tenuous, especially after Mary's death. He needed a way to elevate his importance in the eyes of Hungary and its neighbors and allies. An example of his status was when, in the 1396 Battle of Nicopolis that attempted to help liberate Bulgaria from the Ottomans, Sigismund's leadership was ignored by the French leader John of Nevers. It was small consolation that John was overwhelmed and Sigismund was one of the few survivors.

In December 1408 he founded a new chivalric order. The primary purpose was to unite leaders in the fight against the Ottomans; its secondary purpose (which could not have escaped notice) was to unite leaders under the founder. He did not give it a name: members wore a badge (the illustration is a recreation based on what remnants exist in museums); since the badge was clearly a dragon, it was referred to by names that were variations on "Order of the Dragon."

It lasted until the 16th century, and included many nobles and princes from that part of the world, including Vlad II Dracul and his son Vlad III Dracul, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. There were few members from Western Europe; some of them declared themselves allies because they believed in the anti-Ottoman cause, but did not take the oath and wear the badge. One of these was, like Dracula, also the subject of a work of fiction, this time by Shakespeare (and others, to be honest). Tomorrow I'll talk a little about Henry V of England.

Vlad the Father

Vlad III Dracul was the son of Vlad II Dracul. Vlad the father was an illegitimate son of Mircea I of Wallachia, voivode (military leader) of Wallachia, who died in 1418. Under Mircea, Wallachia controlled the largest territory in its history. After his death, succession passed through a few of his sons before it got to Vlad II.

We know little about Vlad II's early life, but he must have been born prior to 1395 because historians agree that by that date he was sent to Hungary as a hostage to King Sigismund. Vlad spent some time there: Sigismund claimed that Vlad had been educated at his court.

When Vlad's father died (and the succession was fought over by various sons, both legitimate and otherwise), Vlad stayed in Hungary and other parts of the Holy Roman Empire. Sigismund treated him well, inducting him into the chivalric Order of the Dragon (the inspiration for Vlad and his son to add Dracul "Dragon" as an epithet). He was even asked to be the official receiver when the Emperor of Constantinople, John VIII Paleologos, visited to ask for help against the Ottomans in 1423.

Vlad hoped some day to return to Wallachia as its leader, but while waiting for that day he settled in Transylvania. While there he lived in Sighișoara, in a house where there is now a plaque commemorating his time. The plaque claims that his son Vlad II was born there. Vlad the elder also had coins minted there.  Sighișoara is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is the model of a small medieval fortified town.

Vlad ruled Wallachia twice. The first time was 1436-1442 after his brother Alexander I. In 1442, after being accused of treachery by the Ottomans (long story), he was summoned by the Ottoman governor of Bulgaria to show loyalty. He left his eldest son Mircea in charge. Vlad was captured by the Ottomans. released later, he returned to Wallachia and became voivode again from 1443-1447, after which he was dethroned by the governor of Hungary who put his nephew Vladislav in place. Vlad II was executed.

Sigismund of Hungary had created the Order of the Dragon ostensibly to fight the Ottoman Empire. Let's see how that worked out for him next time.

Dracula versus the Turks

Long before he engaged in the bloodthirsty military tactics that made him the historical inspiration for a vampire count, Vlad Tsepes (a young teen) and his brother Radu (12; called "the handsome") were hostages of the Ottoman Empire to ensure the loyalty of their father, Vlad II "The Dragon," Voivode (Prince, military leader) of Wallachia.

Vlad's father and eldest brother were killed when a governor of Hungary invaded Wallachia in 1447 and installed Vlad's cousin Vladislav, but then Hungary tried to attack the Ottomans with Vladislav along. The Ottomans decided the best counter was to invade Wallachia with Vlad Tsepes along. It was successful, but when Vladislav re-invaded within a year, Vlad had to return to the Ottoman Empire for safety.

Later, Vladislav's alliance with Hungary deteriorated, and Hungary threw its influence in with Vlad, so he invaded Wallachia, and after some bloody exchanges including starting the practice of impaling enemies (and earning the nickname "Vlad the Impaler"), he installed himself as voivode in 1460.

Because he had been freed and had help from the Ottomans, Sultan Mehmed II sent two envoys to Vlad to demand homage; Vlad had them impaled (of course). In February 1462 he invaded Ottoman territory, impaling (of course) tens of thousands of Turks. Mehmed decided that revenge was best served by replacing Vlad in Wallachia with his younger brother Radu. Vlad decided an alliance with the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus, was his next best option for help. Mehmed learned that Vlad was heading to see Corvinus, and had his men ambush Vlad. Vlad managed to escape the ambush.

His next move is known as the Night Attack at Târgoviște. That, and the end of Dracula, will be presented tomorrow.

1453-The End

Historic periods rarely have well-defined dates, unless they can point to a specific event that created definitive change. One can say there's an "Atomic Age" that started with the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, for instance. Human history is divided into three periods: Classical Antiquity, The Middle Ages, and Modern History. There is, of course, "pre-history" where we have evidence of human beings but no written records (we are ignoring cave paintings).

The Middle Ages itself spans such a long time that it is convenient to split it into Early (late 5th century to 10th century), High (1000 CE to 1300s), and Late Middle Ages (about 1250 CE to 1500). You can't help noticing that High and Late overlap by at least 100 years.

For me, the Middle Ages ends in 1453. That year is not quite as arbitrary as the "official" year of 1500, picked (I assume) because it was a nice round number. I like 1453 because there are events—two specific and one approximate—that make large enough changes politically and culturally that it seems to me things in Europe will never be the same.

The first is the final end of the Hundred Years War. The economies and cultures of England and France were dominant through much of the previous centuries; their political alliances and hostilities affected several other countries, their trade partners as well helped create a "global" economy. With the French victory at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, a long period of instability that had started in 1066 came to and end. (Yes, there were military conflicts between France and Great Britain afterward, but no large or sustained campaigns. They are sometimes referred to as "The Second Hundred Years War." In fact, there was a period of 1159-1259 referred to as "The First Hundred Years War." [sigh])

The second specific event is the final Fall of Constantinople. (I feel obligated to designate it "final" because of the disastrous Fourth Crusade, which for some reason I have avoided discussing. Some day...) The result of a 53-day siege by the Ottoman Empire, it not only altered the history of one of the constants of history—Constantinople had never lost its reputation the way Rome did after the Goths—but it also marked a change in siege warfare. Until then, strong walls/ramparts had prove effective against siege warfare, and Constantinople had very strong ramparts. They were defeated, however, by the use of gunpowder. Defeating a well-defended city became easier. Constantinople became the new capital of the empire. There was a secondary result of this conquest: an influx of new (and classical) learning through Greek texts brought to Western Europe by scholar fleeing Constantinople. The Renaissance had already started in Italy and elsewhere, and now would be enhanced by the new scholars and scholarship.

My third (and the "approximate" event) was a development brought about by a German named Johannes Gensfleisch, whose expertise with metal work helped him perfect a process that had actually been around for 200 years—just not in Europe. We know him now as Johannes Gutenberg. The famous Gutenberg Bible took about two years to set and print, and was completed in 1454. We are certain his press was in operation as early as 1450. The cultural sea-change brought about by the relatively easy method of providing the world with books without fear of scribal errors cannot be calculated. There were fears that learning would not be appreciated properly or used wisely—once you let just anyone have a book, the less-educated could misinterpret it and spread misinformation. It is likely that an elite class would oppose widespread dissemination of learning in order to maintain their elite status (which is why movable type did not become widespread two centuries earlier). The cat was out of the bag, however. It is likely that the choice of printing an impressive Bible helped some see the beauty and utility of mass-produced books.

...and that, for me, is why post-1453 would never be the same in Europe and the very-near East. Now, as much as I want to talk about that "First" Hundred Years War, you may be sick of that topic and the petty fighting between England and France. For a change, let's look at the "failure" of movable type to catch on in the 13th century, and for that we have to turn to a country never before mentioned in this blog: Korea.