Turkish president marks Istanbul's conquest anniversary

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday marked the 567th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, which happened on May 29, 1453.

"I congratulate the 567th anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul, one of the most spectacular victories in history, which closed one era and started another era. I commemorate all of our heroes, who have made this land home to us, especially Fatih Sultan Mehmed Han [Mehmed the Conqueror], with mercy, gratitude and respect," Erdogan said on Twitter.

Erdogan also shared a photo with a Hadith -- sayings of Prophet Muhammad -- which hails the commander and the army which would conquer Istanbul.

Mehmed II, the Ottoman emperor who had the honor of conquering Istanbul and thus earning the title “conqueror”, was only 21 years old when he sent the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire to the dusty pages of history and leveled up a Turkish state into an empire that would rule regions in multiple continents for centuries to come.

The conquest of Istanbul is the best-known victory of Mehmed the Conqueror, but in subsequent years he also ensured Ottoman control over Serbia, Morea, Trebizond (modern Trabzon) in the northern region of modern Turkey, as well as Bosnia, Albania, and some Anatolian (central Turkish) territories.

In over two dozen military campaigns during his reign, the emperor managed to conquer large swathes of territories, increasing Ottoman control to over 2.2 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles).