The Grand Turk: Sultan Mehmet II-Conqueror of Constantinople and Master of an Empire

by John Freely

Sultan Mehmet II, known to his countrymen as 'the Conqueror' and to much of Europe as 'the Terror of the World,' was once Europe's most feared and powerful ruler. Now, Turkey?s most beloved American scholar, John Freely, brings to life this charismatic hero of one of the richest histories in the world. Mehmet was barely twenty-one when he conquered Byzantine Constantinople, which became Istanbul and the capital of his mighty empire. Mehmet reigned for thirty years, during which time his armies extended the borders of his empire halfway across Asia Minor and as far into Europe as Hungary and Italy. Three popes called for crusades against him as Christian Europe came face to face with a new Muslim empire. Revered by the Turks and seen as a brutal tyrant by the West, Mehmet was a brilliant military leader as well as a renaissance prince. His court housed Persian and Turkish poets, Arab and Greek astronomers, and Italian scholars and artists. In the first biography of Mehmet in thirty years, John Freely vividly illuminates the man behind the myths.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Islam, Audiobook, Religion

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

John Freely was born in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrant parents, and spent half of his early childhood in Ireland. He dropped out of high school when he was 17 to join the U. S. Navy, serving for two years, including combat duty with a commando unit in the Pacific, India, Burma and China during the last year of World War II. After the war, he went to college on the G. I. Bill and eventually received a Ph.D. in physics from New York University, followed by a year of post-doctoral study at Oxford in the history of science. He worked as a research physicist for nine years, including five years at Princeton University. In 1960 he went to İstanbul to teach physics at the Robert College, now the Boğaziçi University, and taught there until 1976. He then went on to teach and write in Athens (1976-79), Boston (1979-87), London (1987-88), İstanbul (1988-91) and Venice (1991-93). In 1993 he returned to Boğaziçi University, where he taught a course on the history of science. His first book, co-authored by the late Hilary Sumner-Boyd, was Strolling Through İstanbul (1972). Since then he has published more than forty books.

Reviews

[Ihsan · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Freely, who has written several useful books on Turkey and Turkish history, says his book was necessary because the previous biography of Sultan Mehmed II needed updating. I agree. Unfortunately, Freely's book, though a decent primer on the subject, lacks the depth of a good biography.

There are very few good books on Ottoman Empire that are written for the general reader. For decades there was only one English-language biography of Sultan Mehmed II, despite his being one of the most important rulers in European/Asian history. That book, "Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time" by Franz Babinger, was scholarly and lengthy but also dry and lifeless. And as several scholars have noted, Babinger seems to have disliked and actively disparaged his subject.

Freely's book is certainly an easier read, but as far as I can tell it contains little information that wasn't in Babinger's. Nor does it take real advantage of recent Ottoman scholarship. Instead it relies on well-mined and familiar Byzantine and Western European sources. And unlike Babinger, Freely does not know Turkish or Ottoman Turkish. This is a major problem.

Would you read a biography of a Roman Emperor that relied solely on non-Roman sources? Or a book on a Chinese Emperor that used no Chinese texts? Yet most of the Ottoman History books written for general readers use non-Turkish sources--despite the thousands of documents left behind by the Ottomans. And many of those Western sources were written by enemies of the Ottomans and have a vested interest in distorting them.

Freely does his best to be fair, but his book can do nothing more than tell one side of the story. The issue isn't about making Mehmed II look good or not (he was genuinely ruthless) but about presenting him in the full context of his era and society. Freely is barred from doing this because he doesn't know the language of that society. And so we must continue waiting for a definitive biography of this important and fascinating Sultan.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly impressed, although for the most part, this book is a bio of the warrior side of Sultan Mehmet. The last three chapters were quick overviews of the Ottoman Empire after his death, which does nothing for the biography. Very detailed about certain battles, about the rebuilding of Istanbul and about some of the erpsons important in his life. If viewed as a travel book of the area, it is very good for checking places to see. It is clear the writer loves the topic, the area and Turkey.

[Cristina Dangerfield-Vogt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting subject but book does not do it justice as it focused too much on a array of dry facts! However my pertinent question shall be whether there are other books on Fatih, other than in Osmanli (ottomanish), that could be more fluent and show better the character of this utmost important historical figure both for the East and the West. Last not least I would have appreciated more information about the Millet - Nations judicial regime introduced by Mehmet II - a revolution for his time.

[Feyza Nur · Rating 1 out of 5]

It felt like the book was about the enemies of Mehmet II rather than him. Might be due to the lack of Ottoman references. I was hoping to get an insight to the character of Fatih but the book is lacking so much in storyline regarding his life and society, it is impossible.

Also it reads like it was not edited properly, even I could find some mistakes, some facts repeated themselves over and over, full of typos and some mistranslations.

[Jordan Mc Lean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was a comprehensive history that although featuring many names and dates of things, kept the narrative focused on the sultan and his impact. I liked the little tidbits where more of the ‘lore’ was shared like why certain figures were executed or extracts from contemporaries etc. Overall it was good!

[Metin Yılmaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tam olarak bir biyografi olarak değerlendirmek zor. Tüm yönleri ile alınmamış. Yıldız ile değerlendirmek gerekirse üçten biraz fazla ama dörtten az.

Fatih Sultan Mehmet gibi bir portrenin, bu kadar zamandır detaylı ve çok yönlü bir biyografisi nasıl yazılmamış anlayamıyorum. Dünyaya yön verenler serisinden çıkmasını çok isterdim. Ayrıca dolu bir hükümdar olan Fatih’in sadece yaptığı seferler değil, entellektüel kişiliği, bilime olan merakı ve hayat felsefesinin, yapmak istediği düzenin detayları da verilmeliydi. Bu yönden oldukça zayıf bir biyografi olmuş.

İyi yönü ise, dönemin kısmen detaylı ve tarafsız bir tarihi anlatılmış. Yapılanların sadece kahramanlıklar değil, yenilgilerinin de anlatıldığı bir eser olmuş. Fakat burada da İstanbul fethi zamanının biraz hızlı geçiştirilmiş olduğunu düşünüyorum. Evet, farklı bilgiler aldım, anlatılmayan ya da benim bilmediğim olayları öğrendim. Örneğin, Roma komutanlarından birinin, tek bir adamını kaybetmeden, oldukça çok Osmanlı askerini püskürttüğünü ve bunu bir kaç kez yaptığını öğrendim. Bu tip kısımlar bizim tarihimizde es geçilir.

Özetlemek gerekirse daha detaylı ve derinlemesine inen bir biyografi beklerdim. Fakat bu tip bir çalışma bunca yıldır yapılmamış bundan sonrasında da yazılır mı yazılmaz mı bilemiyorum. Elimizde olan iki üç Fatih portresinden biri olan bu kitaptan alınması gerekenler alınabilir.

İyi okumalar.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hopes for this book as it started out okay. Then I started stumbling across what I passed off as typos, then I realized the author was contradiction himself, saying one person died in 1 year and then the next year they were signing treaties. Times started hoping around, jumping forward and backward in time instead of maintaining a consistent time line, going off in depth on what was happening else where in Europe only vaguely tying it back to what was happening in the Ottoman Empire. It seemed as if he didn't have enough information to write the book on Mehmett II and had to fill it in with other histories, which had many fact misconstrued, the further he got away from his area of expertise.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets a little bogged down in family squabbles and minor trivialities, but as an overall look at a pivotal figure in the history of western civilization, it's solid. What the book does particularly well is capture the consternation, frustration and gobsmacked horror of a European world without any response to the rise of Mehmet II.

[Quân Khuê · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually I have not finished this. I like the subject, but I believe there are flaws in the author's research, which makes the book far from appealing. Moreover, the author just listed facts after facts. He wasn't able to build a cohesive and coherent story. Perhaps one of other days I will have another look at the book, but for now I just want to take a break!

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history. Unintentionally enlightening on the topic of religious and ethnic diversity in the Balkans.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary account of an extraordinary man's life. Mehmed's story will stay on my mind for quite some time now.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author does a very good job outlining the events associated with the rise and eventual decline of the Ottoman Empire but engages in very little analysis of what underlay the quest for empire and the use of cruelties such as impalement to further it. I was surprised to learn that Memet II saw himself and his empire as the successor to Rome; and by how little attention is paid in Western History courses to the Ottomans when it was this pressure from the East that pushed Western Europe into Atlantic exploration to find a way to get to China and India from which it was blocked by the Turks.

[Shaqer Rasheed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivid descriptions of the conquest of Constantinople and the first seige of Rhodes. Mehmet seemed to have a disturbing habit of the violating the promises with which he obtained surrender. But then if Ferdinand and Isabella can be hero of christendom with those vices, why cant Mehmet be a hero of Islam with similar vices. We would have lived in a very different world had he not died at 49. Had his great grandson Suleyman had his ruthlessness, the knights of St John would have perished in 1520 and mediterranean truly would have become an ottoman lake, as Suleyman wished.

[Heather De armas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only if you are very interested in Turkish history. But if you are, this is an in-depth portrayal.

[Faris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have doubt on the character of the Conqueror as portray by the author ...

[Emre Karadeniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reading pleasure from an objective writer

[Nope · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a sea of negative reviews about this book, but I really do not get it. Yes, there is some parts of the book (especially in the early segments) that do make some mistakes on troop numbers, but that's largely because of typos and/or the fact that historiography on that era is particularly thin, so it is hard to truly understand what happened then.

I think this is a good introduction to the military history of Mehmed the Conqueror, as it does go into detail on his reign. The details on events such as Varna or the campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent are thin in the book, but you can read other books on those than this one, and besides, the book is distinctly about *Mehmet,* and not about Suleiman or Murad II.

That being said, the book really did compress a lot of information, and it could've done better to lob off some of its chapters to add more detail to other parts of the book. Freely doesn't appear to have really thought about what matters, as there is a full chapter on the layout of the palaces of Mehmed II in the book. If he had chopped off that chapter, he could've had more room to discuss more battles and campaigns, or elaborated on the earlier statement that Hass Murad Pasha was Mehmed's lover.

For the problems of time compression, I will say that this isn't 5 stars, and I will give it 4 stars for it. Overall, however, the book is good as a basic summary of Mehmed's reign, and in particular the Sieges of Rhodes, Otranto, Constantinople, and Negroponte, along with the long conquest of Albania.

[Patricia Furstenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way this legendary ruler was portrayed in John Freely's "Sultan Mehmet II: The Grand Turk"captivated me.
In addition to being a skilled military commander, Mehmet II—known as "The Conqueror" in the West and Fatih in his native country—was a Renaissance prince who created a vibrant cultural atmosphere at his court. Mehmet's reign is vividly described by Freely, including his capture of Constantinople and his extensive empire that spanned Europe and Asia Minor.
The book examines his love of the arts and sciences as well as his strategic brilliance. Anyone interested in the nuanced legacy of one of the most powerful dictators in history should read it.
Chapters:
Prologue - Portrait of a Sultan
1. The Sons of Osman
2. The Boy Sultan
3. The Conquest of Constantinople
4. Istanbul, Capital of the Ottoman Empire
5 Europe in Terror
6. War with Venice
7. The House of Felicity
8. A Renaissance Court in Istanbul
9. The Conquest of Negroponte
10. Victory Over the White Sheep
11. The Conquest of Crimea and Albania
12. The Siege of Rhodes
13. The Capture of Otranto
14. Death of the Conqueror
15. Sons of the Conqueror
16. The Tide of Conquest Turns
17. The Conqueror's City

[Galuh · Rating 4 out of 5]

tidak semua bab, aku tuntaskan dan selami perlahan, ada bab yg cukup ku baca skimming karena lumayan menguras tenaga hihi. Setelah membaca bukui ini, perlu baca buku juga versi yang lain untuk membuktikan keabsahan sumber, bbrp hal seperti pasukan Utsmaniyah menjarah dan memperkosa warga Konstantin saat pasukan Alfatih berhasil merengsek menembus Konstantinopel dan banyak hal lagi yg membuat "hah? " seperti pembunuhan sesama saudara untuk memuluskan jalan Putra Mahkota, dan masih banyak lagiiiii. Buku ini menceritakan sebelum penaklulan konstantinopel hingga hilangnya kekuasaan keturunan Al-Fatih.

[Mustafa Yagcioglu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yazar, Batı’nın tarihteki en büyük yenilgisine uğramasına vesile olan Fatih Sultan Mehmed’in dönemine, Batı perspektifinden bakıp, daha çok yenilgiyi hazmedemeyen ve kendilerini bu duruma düşüren kişiye kin duyan batılı kaynakları kullanarak objektiflikten uzak bir eser ortaya çıkarmış. Okuma listeme eklediğim Halil İnalcık’ın “Devlet’i ‘Aliyye-Klasik Dönem” kitabında daha doğru ve tutarlı tarih bilgisine erişeceğimi umuyorum.
Ayrıca, Türkçe çevirideki yazım ve tarih hatalarının kitabın kalitesini düşürdüğünü düşünüyorum.

[Gökhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artıları: Osmanlı tarihini yabancı kaynaklardan okumak (özellikle biz Türklerin çok alışık olduğu bir durum değil), dilinin eğlenceli ve kolay okunur olması ve İstanbul'daki Fatih'ten kalan eserlerin anlatımı (belli ki hepsini gezerek aktarmış).
Eksileri: Kaynaklar çok zayıf ve yetersiz ve yorum/çıkarım eksik (olaylar sırasıyla lise tarih kitabı şeklinde verilmiş, çoğu zaman bunları Wikipedia'dan da okuyabilirdim hissine kapıldım.)

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book to learn more about Mehmet II. I did but discovered that only the first half of the book is about him. At first I was disappointed but was pleased to learn that the rest of the book goes on to chronical the continuation of The Ottoman Empire to its end. The last few chapters describe presemt day Istanbul, which I also enjoyed. It met my expectations and delivered welcome unknowns.

[Dina]

In this impressive Biography of Sultan Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire, John Freely goes through multiple influenctial events in great detail. The author starts the story before Mehmet'd birth and continues after his death. He uses multiple personal accounts that helped me better understand the Sultan's character and capability as a leader. I would suggest this book to anyone looking for information regarding Sultan Mehmet II's reign. Overall, it's a great biography.

[Mona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely disappointed to say the least. I was expecting to see a holistic view on Mehmet II, with both Ottoman and Byzantine factual accounts on this important historic figure. Instead, I got only the Byzantine perspective, with majority of the points coming from tertiary sources that were not entirely accurate.

[Sikandar Alizai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful brief history of one of the greatest ottoman sultans. Although i found the writer a little biased towards the western authors’ accounts but still its a good effort for starters to digest the history of the conquerer of Constantinople

[Emmett Fikus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book reads like an outline, simply enumerating the Sultan's actions while providing very little context or analysis. The story is an interesting one, but the significance is somewhat lost in the presentation.

[Ellie Mackin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry and over-detailed in parts, it could have been a few Chapters shorter but still I learnt a lot..

[Ali]

yes

[Drake McCrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly detailed for such a small book and considering the relatively few sources about the Ottomans in English I found it to be a very helpful piece.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really dry.