Constantinople as an Imperial Capital: Mehmed II and the Making of the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

When Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453, the city was merely
a shell of what it had been during its height. While Mehmed II seemed to
understand the importance that Constantinople could play for the emerging
Ottoman Empire, the city still resembled a Byzantine capital. Mehmed
II aimed to transform the city into the seat of his new empire through
policies he would implement. Canonical historical views argue that the
Ottoman Empire was formed immediately after the siege of Constantinople.
However, this paper claims that the Ottoman Empire was not
formed overnight, but rather through a series of policies implemented by
Mehmed II that helped shape the empire. Some of these policies would
affect the architectural landscape of Constantinople, making it more
recognizably Ottoman while allowing for remnants of Byzantine idioms
to remain. Other policies would transform the role of the sultan, affecting
the bureaucratic hierarchy and the power the Ottoman Grand Viziers had.