Mehmed the Conqueror

1432 – 1481

Mehmed II, known as Mehmed the Conqueror, was the Ottoman sultan from 1444 to 1446 and again from 1451 to 1481, who at age 21 captured Constantinople on 29 May 1453, ending more than a thousand years of Byzantine rule. The siege culminated in the canonical three days of permitted sack of the city, including widespread rape, killing, and enslavement of its surviving inhabitants. He went on to conquer Serbia, Bosnia, and Albania and to lay the foundation for the Ottoman Empire's three-continent reach.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM