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In 1453, this Ottoman sultan ended Christian rule in Constantinople. But was he a good Muslim?

On May 29, 1453, the Ottoman army under Sultan Mehmet II broke through the walls of Constantinople, conquering the capital and last major holdout of the Byzantine Empire. In much of the world, 1453 has since been filed alongside 1066 in the pantheon of red-letter dates in history whose significance no one is quite sure of.

But in Turkey, not surprisingly, the Ottoman conquest of the country’s largest city still resonates, so much so that ideological arguments continue to rage over how — and exactly what — to celebrate on May 29. Just as Americans of different political persuasions argue about whether this or that Founding Father was a devout Christian or an atheist, Turks have projected conflicting identities onto the heroic figure of Mehmet.

Anyone following Turkish politics lately is familiar with the Islamicized version of Ottoman history promoted by the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which celebrates Sultan Mehmet II as an embodiment of Muslim piety. A recent movie titled “Conquest 1453” exemplifies this view. It opens with a famous quote from the prophet Muhammad — “One day Constantinople will be conquered. Great is the commander who will conquer it. Great are his soldiers.” — then goes on to show Mehmet and his soldiers praying together before their assault on the city while Byzantine priests within cry out for Muslim blood.

Read entire article at The Washington Post