III. The Postclassical Period, 500–1500 > B. The Middle East and North Africa, 500–1500 > 2. The Muslim Middle East and North Africa, c. 945–1500 > d. The Ottoman Empire > 2. Defeat, Recovery, and Imperial Expansion > 1461
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  The Encyclopedia of World History.  2001.
 
 
1461
 
The Ottomans conquered the Jandarid principality in Kastamonu and the last Byzantine possession around Trebizond (Trabzon), thus gaining virtual control of the Black Sea coastline of Anatolia.  1
 
1463
 
Ottoman conquest of Bosnia.  2
 
1463–70
 
Construction of the Mosque of Mehmed the Conqueror in Istanbul.  3
 
1463–79
 
The long war with Venice (See 1463–79). Ottoman expansion into Greece and Bosnia made Venice apprehensive about the future of its outposts on the Aegean and Adriatic coasts, and led it to initiate a war to roll back Ottoman advances. In 1463 the Venetians seized much of the Morea while their Hungarian allies retook Bosnia, but an Ottoman counteroffensive reversed these early successes (1464). Mehmed proceeded to occupy parts of Albania (1466–68) and then the island of Negroponte (Euboea), the main Venetian naval base in the Aegean (July 1470). Uzun Hasan, leader of the Aq-Qoyunlu Turkoman state based in Tabriz, allied with Venice and marched with a large army into central Anatolia, but was defeated decisively by the Ottomans (Aug. 11, 1473) and withdrew from the war. In 1477–78 the Ottomans expanded their control over virtually all of Albania and took southern Montenegro, leaving the Venetians outflanked and ready for a settlement. The peace treaty (signed Jan. 25, 1479) recognized Ottoman rule in Albania as well as Ottoman conquests of the Aegean islands, and restored Venetian commercial privileges in the Ottoman Empire in return for an annual tribute of 10,000 ducats.  4
 
1465
 
Completion of the main part of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Known as the New Palace (Yeni Saray), it replaced the Old Palace (Eski Saray) built in the city center in 1455, and remained the official imperial residence until the 19th century. Continuous construction and renovation work made the palace (spread over grounds some 700,000 square meters in area) a mirror of four centuries of Ottoman architectural and decorative styles.  5
 
1468
 
Ottoman conquest of the principality of Karaman in central Anatolia. The area remained for many years the source of periodic Turkoman revolts around pretenders to the throne of Karaman.  6
 
1475
 
The Ottomans established formal suzerainty over the Crimea.  7
 
1479
 
The Italian artist Gentile Bellini visited Istanbul and painted his famous portrait of Mehmed II (now in the National Gallery in London).  8
 
1480, May–Aug
 
The Ottoman siege of Rhodes, the only major Aegean island not under Ottoman control. The Knights of St. John organized an effective defense, forcing the Ottoman forces to withdraw with heavy losses.  9
 
Aug. 11
 
An Ottoman force occupied Otranto in southern Italy, but a year later lost this bridgehead into what could have become a new area of Ottoman expansion in the wake of Sultan Mehmed's sudden death (May 3, 1481) and the subsequent power struggle in Istanbul.  10
 
 
 
The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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