ABSTRACT

Constantinople had held an important place in eschatological discussions and political ideology since its foundation in the fourth century. Under Byzantine rule, the city flourished and became a cosmopolitan center of trade and intellectual and artistic achievement. on May 29, 1453, ottoman sultan Mehmed II conquered the Byzantine capital. This long-awaited conquest, one of the major aspirations for Muslim rulers since the seventh century, ended not only Byzantine control of the city but also of its empire. A little more than a decade later, in 1466, a Byzantine scholar and philosopher, George Trapezountios, wrote a letter to Pope Paul II. In this letter and other writings, Trapezountios maintained that Mehmed II, who had been called by God to rule the entire world, would soon conquer Rome. But he also predicted that Mehmed’s domains would disintegrate soon thereafter if he did not convert to Christianity: “God will have one universal kingdom, one church, and one faith. If you accept this opportunity and confess the true religion, He will make your progeny eternal and universal autocrats; if not, He will destroy your domination once you have established political unity.”2