Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

The Apogee of Ottoman Power
With the rise of Muhammad II, called ”the Conqueror” (Faith), the Ottomans began a new era of conquest that extended the empire’s rule across the Danube and into central Europe as well as over the lands of the Islamic Caliphates in the Middle East and through much of North Africa.
Upon his accession on February 18, 1451, Muhammad inherited an empire in far better condition than that which his father had come to rule three decades before. He was free to take the initiative without having to satisfy either internal or external pressures. It appears, however, that soon after his accession Muhammad and his principal advisers, Sahabed din Sahin Pasha and Zaganos Pasha, decided that they needed a spectacular victory to fortify their political position against the Turkish nobility, new conquests to build their power. Nothing could be more spectacular than the conquest of Constantinople. Arguing with some justice that Byzantine had sheltered Muslim claimants to the Ottoman throne to foment discord in the empire, Muhammad felt that as long as Byzantine held out, there would always be the possibility of new Crusade efforts to rescue it and complete unification of the empire would be impossible.
Beyond these practical considerations there was the dream of establishing a world empire, with Constantinople as its natural centre. For centuries Muslim hopes of world domination had been associated with the expressed this feeling in his prophecy that the Mahdi, or ”rightly-Guided one” would return to ”renew Islam and cause justice to triumph. He will conquer the Spanish Peninsula and reach Rome and conquer it. He will travel to the East and conquer it.
ersel) I’ I urkish Empire. P 78

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Political and Cultural History of Islam
He will conquer Constantinople, and rule over the whole land will be his.””
The great Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun related a tradition of the Prophet (PBUH) himself stating that: ”He who will destroy the Byzantine emperor and will spend his treasures in God’s behalf will be the expected [Mahdi] when he conquers Constantinople.”3 Constantinople was, indeed, the ”Red Apple” (Kizul Elma) of Muslim tradition.4 Nourishing such dreams, Muhammad busied himself with plans for its conquest almost from the first moment of his accession. There were problems that had to be dealt with before the conquest could be undertaken. Even while acknowledging Muhammad’s suzerainty, his vassals in Constantinople and the Balkans began to take advantage of his presumed inexperience. Karaman did the same in Anatolia, instigating the rise of antiOttoman claimants to power in the vassal Turkoman principalities. Muhammad also knew quite well that the Turkish nobility, led by Candarh Halil, opposed his plans for Constantinople. Muhammad could not yet rid himself of the influential grand wazir, but he could and did remove the key to any deposition the opposition might plan by having his brother, the young prince Kucuk Ahmed, killed. The
act, condoned for reasons of state that is, as a means of avoiding
disputes that might rent the Islamic empire established a
precedent followed by Muhammad II’s successors for over a century. Muhammad exiled his father’s wife Mara back to Serbia along with most of her advisers, replacing them mainly with his own and putting them into key positions as rivals of the Candarh family.
Muhammad then moved to quite his neighbours so that he could concentrate on Constantinople. Murad’s peace treaties with Serbia and Wallachia were renewed. The situation with Karaman was more difficult, since it still ruled a large section of central and eastern Anatolia and most oi Ciiicia and used its influence to foment distrust of the Ottomans. Muhammad tried to eliminate the Karaman threat shortly after his accession, but when his army reached Aksehir, Ibrahim of Karaman agreed to restore the old boundaries, not to raid beyond them, and to give one of his daughters to Muhammad to cement the new relationship. Ishaq Pasha was left as
Quoted in, Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, Vol. II, P 191. ’ibid ’ibid
Ottoman Empire 807
beylerbeyi of Anatolia, with the task of suppressing any revolts that might arise while the sultan was concentrating on Constantinople.
As a final step to solidify his own power, soon after returning to Edirne Muhammad moved boldly to take control of the Janissary corps from Candarh Halil. Lsing as pretest a Janissary uprising and demand for new bonus payments while returning from Anatolia, Muhammad replaced HaliPs men as ’Aga’ (commander) of the corps and as infantry commanders with devsirme men, thus beginning the process by which the latter took over the corps. He then reorganized it to ensure that it would once again perform the function for which it had been originally created: to act as the personal guard and instruments of the sultan against all those who disputed his authority.