Do you know Hasan of Uluabat? the legendary martyr during the Conquest of Constantinople

• Ulubatlı Hasan (sometimes written as Uluabatlı Hasan, in English Hasan of Uluabat) (1428 – May 29, 1453) was a Timarli Sipâhî in the service of Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire who achieved legendary status as a heroic Turkish martyr at the successful Siege of Constantinople.^[1]
• He was born in a small village called Ulubat (near Karacabey) in the province of Bursa ("Ulubatlı Hasan" meaning "Hasan of Ulubat" in Turkish). He must have been a very tall man, as Scottish historian Lord Kinross in his work The Ottoman Centuries reports that he was a "giant."
  
• At the age of 25 he was present at the Siege of Constantinople (April 6, 1453 – May 29, 1453). The Turks had tried to take the grand city and last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire several times before, but this time, under the command of Sultan Mehmed II, who was in his early twenties at the time and already showing potential of being a great military leader, it looked like victory was at hand. But despite several assaults and the severe hammering by the cannons the great double walls of Constantinople held for 53 days.
• On the early morning of the last day of the siege, May 29, after the morning prayers, the Ottoman military band started to play one of their songs and the city was stormed. Ulubatlı Hasan was among the first to climb the walls of Constantinople followed closely by thirty of his friends. He carried only a scimitar, a small shield and the Ottoman Flag.He climbed the wall, under showers of arrows, stones, spears and bullets. He reached the top and he placed the flag, which he defended until his 12 remaining friends arrived. After that he collapsed with 27 arrows still in his body. Seeing the Ottoman flag inspired the Ottoman troops and kept their spirits up until they had conquered Constantinople.

Do you know Admiral Sulaiman? the admiral of the Turkish fleet during the conquest of Istanbul

Baltoghlu Suleiman was an Ottoman admiral in the 15th century. He led the Turkish fleet against the Byzantines in 1453 during the final siege of Constantinople. Famous for the naval battle in which four Christian ships took on his entire fleet and managed to win and escape. Sultan Mehmed II was so angered during the defeat that he rode his horse into the sea screaming at Baltoghlu. Then, Hamza Bey replaced him. When the battle ended, Baltoghlu was brought in front of Mehmed who promptly ordered that he be executed. Only after the pleading of his subordinates who told of Baltoghlu's great bravery during the battle in which he had even been wounded in the eye did Mehmed spare his life. However, he was stripped of titles, land, and wealth. He died in obscurity and poverty.^[1] Some even believe that he became a simple sailor in the fleet.

MISTERI PETA KUNO AMERIKA

Pada tahun 1929, sekumpulan pengkaji sejarah telah membuat penyelidikan di istana Topkapi yang terletak di Konstantinopel, Turki. Di dalam istana itu, mereka telah menemui segulung peta yang berusia ratusan tahun, yang diperbuat dari kulit rusa berukuran 90 x 65 cm. Peta tersebut bertarikh Muharam 919 bersamaan 9 Mac-7 April 1513.

Di atas peta itu, mereka telah menemui beberapa perkara yang aneh dan menakjubkan. Peta tersebut memaparkan outline pantai Amerika Utara dan Selatan dengan pengukuran yang amat tepat. Peta itu juga memuatkan maklumat yang sangat terperinci mengenai Amerika, Lautan Atlantik, Eropah dan pantai-pantai Afrika yang belum dijelajah oleh penjelajah Eropah pada masanya! Satu lagi perkara yang menghairankan para pengkaji tersebut, ia juga memaparkan benua Antartika, padahal wilayah itu belum pernah ditemui sehingga tahun 1818.

Kemudian mereka terus membuat kajian mendalam lagi, mereka membuat perbandingan antara jarak pantai timur Amerika dengan pantai barat Afrika pada peta kuno itu dengan jarak yang sama pada peta yang termoden sekali. Sekali lagi mereka tercengang kerana ia adalah sangat tepat dan ini mustahil dibuat oleh pelaut zaman itu kerana kelengkapan dan teknologi mereka umumnya diketahui sangat terhad untuk membuat kerja-kerja kartografi dan pemetaan. Adakah ini mencukupi untuk mengatakan peta kuno ini benar-benar menakjubkan? Tidak. Sebenarnya ada lagi perkara lain yang begitu aneh dan tersangat luar biasa. Tersangat luar biasa bagi sebuah peta kuno yang diperbuat daripada kulit rusa.

Peta aneh tersebut dipersembahkan kepada Arlington T. Mallerey iaitu seorang pakar peta kuno. Setelah beberapa lama membuat kajian, beliau akhirnya merasa bingung dengan peta aneh tersebut. Mengapa? Ini adalah kerana data geografi pada peta tersebut tidak berada dalam posisi yang tepat.

Orang-orang disekelilingnya mula ‘lega’ kerana akhirnya peta tersebut mempunyai kelemahannya. Kononnya sudah pasti ada kelemahan kerana peta itu dibuat oleh pelaut-pelaut kuno yang dikatakan hanya mengenali kompas dan bintang-bintang! Jadi apa nak dihairankan, walaupun mereka sedar persoalan bagaimana peta tersebut boleh memaparkan Antartika masih menjadi misteri. Tetapi Mallerey masih sangsi dengan peta itu. Beliau merasakan ada yang tidak kena dengan peta itu. Seakan-akan ada sesuatu yang lebih luar biasa yang ingin diberitahukan oleh helaian kulit rusa yang berbau hamis itu.

Akhirnya dengan bantuan US Navy Hydrographic Bureau, Mallerey membuat sebuah grid dan memindahkan peta itu ke dalam sebuah glob. Betapa terkejutnya Mallerey kerana peta tersebut didapati ternyata sangat TEPAT.

Kajian demi kajian terus dilakukan ke atas peta yang menghairankan ramai cendekiawan itu.

Kajian lanjutan dilakukan oleh Professor Charles H Hapgood dan Richard W Strachan. Mereka telah mengkaji peta ini berkali-kali dan akhirnya menjumpai satu aspek yang tidak diketahui para pengkaji sebelum mereka. Suatu perkara yang benar-benar mustahil dan luar biasa. Mereka menemukan bahawa peta kuno itu berkemungkinan merupakan gambar aerial yang difotokan dari suatu ketinggian tertentu. Sungai, lembah, pegunungan, pulau dan padang pasir, digambarkan dengan ketepatan fotografi yang amat tinggi. Dan tahap fotografi yang tinggi ini hanya dapat dicapai dengan menggunakan satelit .

Siapakah yang membuat peta yang menakjubkan itu? Bagaimana beliau dapat membuat peta yang begitu tepat dan canggih, yang pada masa kini hanya dapat dilakukan dengan menggunakan satelit? Adakah beliau berasal dari puak Viking, yang terkenal sebagai pelaut yang handal? Atau setidak-tidaknya penjelajah Sepanyol atau Portugis yang mendabik dada kononnya merekalah orang pertama yang mengelilingi dunia? (walaupun sebenarnya Ferdinand Magellan tidak pernah menghabiskan pelayarannya kerana terbunuh di Filipina, tetapi dihabiskan oleh Henry The Black atau Enrique dalam dialek Sepanyol yang nama sebenarnya Hitam berasal dari kepulauan Melayu dan sememangnya orang Melayu!)

Tidak, si pembuat peta ini bukanlah dari kalangan orang Eropah yang kononnya amat pandai dari semua bidang.

Peta itu adalah karya Muhiddin Piri Reis. Beliau ialah seorang pelaut, laksamana angkatan tentera laut Turki dan kartografer Muslim terkemuka dari abad ke-16!

SUMBER: myberita.com

Do you know Urban, the supergun master to al-Fatih?

• Orban, also known as Urban (died 1453), was an iron founder and engineer from Brassó, Kingdom of Hungary (today Braşov, Romania) who cast superguns for the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453.
• Orban was Hungarian according to the majority of sources, while some scholars also mention his potential German^[6] ancestry. Alternative theories suggest his Wallachian roots and he was described by Laonikos Chalkokondyles with the unclear term "Dacian".
• In 1452 he originally offered his services to the Byzantines, but emperor Constantine XI could not afford his high salary nor did he possess the materials necessary for constructing such a large siege cannon. Orban then left Constantinople and approached the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II who was in preparations to siege the city, claiming that his weapon could blast 'the walls of Babylon itself'. Given abundant funds and materials, the engineer built the gun within three months at Adrianople, from which it was dragged by sixty oxen to Constantinople. In the meantime, Orban also produced other cannon instrumental for the Turkish siege forces.^[11]
• The bombard technology which mostly German technicians^[12] drew at first for the Hungarian Army had been established between 1400 and 1450 all over the Western Europe, transforming the siege warfare, with some pieces like the Faule Mette, Dulle Griet, Mons Meg and the Pumhart von Steyr still extant from the period. Urban, along with an entire crew, likely was killed during the siege when one of his superguns exploded, then not an unusual occurrence. A modern author speculated that "he could have been German too" based on other gun founders serving in the Royal Hungarian Court.

Do you know Halil Pasha, al-Fatih grand vizier?

• Çandarlı (Chandarly) Halil Pasha was a highly influential Ottoman grand vizier under the Sultans Murat II and, for the first years of his reign, under Mehmet II (from 1439 to 1 June 1453 precisely).^[1] 
• He was a member of the Çandarlı Family, considered to have contributed nearly as much as the ruling Ottoman dynasty to laying the foundations of the Ottoman Empire. He is not to be confused with his grandfather who was a namesake (Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha) and who had served under Murat I.
• Twice during the reign of Murat II, the sovereign, a religious and artistic mind not very keen on holding power himself, retired to the city of Manisa and Çandarlı Halil Pasha held the effective helm in the capital Edirne with Mehmet II, then still a child, as the nominal sultan. On both occasions, upon the dangers presented by allied European armies attacking Ottoman territories, Çandarlı called back Murat II and deposed Mehmet II to replace him with his father. 
• These two incidents led to lasting resentment by Mehmet II towards Çandarlı. The Çandarlı family having become extremely rich, possibly richer than the Ottomans, did not help ease the tension either.
• When Mehmed II became sultan, the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX send a messenger to the Ottomans asking for an increase of the annuity of Orhan or otherwise to release him.^[2]Orhan was an distant Ottoman family member and could claim himself as pretender for the throne and start a civil war.^[3] This method was used by the Byzantines several times before.^[4] Halil Pasha was appalled by the ineptitude of Constantine's threats and suggestions. He lost his temper with the messengers.
• In 1453, one of the first acts committed by the (then fully reigning) Mehmet II immediately after the conquest of Constantinople was to execute Çandarlı Halil Pasha and confiscate his property. It is interesting to note that the city had been taken on 29 May 1453 and this execution took place on 1 June 1453, suggesting a design conceived by the sultan for a long time.
• Mehmet II has thus ended the period called Çandarlı era in the Ottoman Empire, and the later members of family, whose descendants came to our day, became no more than provincial notables based in İznik, although they were to give yet another, short-term, grand vizier to the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 15th century (Halil's son Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha).
• Çandarlı Halil Pasha was, as such, the first Ottoman grand vizier to be executed.

Do you know Halil Pasha?

• Çandarlı (Chandarly) Halil Pasha was a highly influential Ottoman grand vizier under the Sultans Murat II and, for the first years of his reign, under Mehmet II (from 1439 to 1 June 1453 precisely).^[1] He was a member of the Çandarlı Family, considered to have contributed nearly as much as the ruling Ottoman dynasty to laying the foundations of the Ottoman Empire. He is not to be confused with his grandfather who was a namesake (Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha) and who had served under Murat I.
• Twice during the reign of Murat II, the sovereign, a religious and artistic mind not very keen on holding power himself, retired to the city of Manisa and Çandarlı Halil Pasha held the effective helm in the capital Edirne with Mehmet II, then still a child, as the nominal sultan. On both occasions, upon the dangers presented by allied European armies attacking Ottoman territories, Çandarlı called back Murat II and deposed Mehmet II to replace him with his father. These two incidents led to lasting resentment by Mehmet II towards Çandarlı. The Çandarlı family having become extremely rich, possibly richer than the Ottomans, did not help ease the tension either.
• When Mehmed II became sultan the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX send a messenger to the Ottomans asking for an increase of the annuity of Orhan or otherwise to release him.^[2]Orhan was an distant Ottoman family member and could claim himself as pretender for the throne and start a civil war.^[3] This method was used by the Byzantines several times before.^[4] Halil pasha was appalled by the ineptitude of Constantine's threats and suggestions.
• In 1453, one of the first acts committed by the (then fully reigning) Mehmet II immediately after the conquest of Constantinople was to execute Çandarlı Halil Pasha and confiscate his property. It is interesting to note that the city had been taken on 29 May 1453 and this execution took place on 1 June 1453, suggesting a design conceived by the sultan for a long time.
• Mehmet II has thus ended the period called Çandarlı era in the Ottoman Empire, and the later members of family, whose descendants came to our day, became no more than provincial notables based in İznik, although they were to give yet another, short-term, grand vizier to the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 15th century (Halil's son Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha).
• Çandarlı Halil Pasha was, as such, the first Ottoman grand vizier to be executed.

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·       مسجد أيوب سلطان
مسجد  عثماني قديم موجود في منطقة أيوب في الجانب الأوروبي من مدينة إسطنبول، بالقرب من منطقة القرن الذهبي، خارج أسوار القسطنطينية، بني عام 1458، وهو أول مسجد بناه العثمانيون في إسطنبول بعد فتح القسطنطينية عام 1453.

·       يقع مسجد أيوب سلطان بالقرب من قبر الصحابي الجليل أبي أيوب الأنصاري رضوان الله عليه، الذي دفن هناك عند محاولة المسلمين فتح القسطنطينية عام 52 للهجرة، ولكنهم لم ينجحوا في ذلك. ويقوم كثير من المسلمين بزيارة مقامه احتراماً له، كما توجد بعض من مقتنيات النبي محمدفي ذلك المقام.

·       وأبو أيوب الأنصاري هو خالد بن زيد بن كليب، أبو أيوب الأنصاري الخزرجي، شهد بدراً والعقبة والمشاهد كلها، وشهد مع علي رضيَ الله عنه قتال الخوارج، وفي داره كان نزول رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم، حين قدم المدينة مهاجراً من مكة فأقام عنده شهراً حتى بنى المسجد ومساكنه حوله، ثم تحوَّل إليها، وكانت وفاته ببلاد الروم قريباً من سور قسطنطينية، وكان في جيش يزيد بن معاوية وإليه أوصى وهو الذي صلى عليه.^[1]

·       في سنة تسع وأربعين من الهجرة غزا يزيد بن معاوية بلاد الروم حتى بلغ القسطنطينية، ومعه جماعات من سادات الصحابة منهم ابن عمر وابن عباس وابن الزبير وأبو أيوب الأنصاري.^[34][35] وقد ثبت في صحيح البخاري أن الرسولَ محمداً قال: «أول جيش من أمتي يغزون مدينة قيصر مغفور لهم»،^[36] فكان هذا الجيش أول من غزاها، وما وصلوا إليها حتى بلغوا الجهد.

·       فعندما كان أبو أيوب الأنصاري في الجيش مَرِض، فدخل عليه يزيدٌ يعوده فقال: "ما حاجتك؟"، قال: "حاجتي إذا أنا مت فاركب، ثم سغ في أرض العدو ما وجدت مساغاً، فإذا لم تجد مساغاً فادفني ثم ارجع"،

·       وقد جاء في رواية: أغزى أبو أيوب فمرض، فقال: إذا متُّ فاحملوني، فإذا صافقتم العدوَّ، فارموني تحت أقدامكم، أما إني سأحدثكم بحديث سمعته من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم، يقول: من مات لا يشرك بالله شيئاً دخل الجنة.

·       فتوفي أبو أيوب، ففعل الجيش ذلك، ودفنوه عند سور القسطنطينية ، وأمر يزيد بالخيل فجعلت تقبل وتدبر على قبره، حتى عفا أثرَ القبر، وقبره هنالك كان الروم يستسقون به إذا قحطوا.

·       وبعد مجيء الدولة العثمانية وفتح القسطنطينية أصبحت مكانة أبي أيوب الأنصاري عظيمة في الثقافة العثمانية، وبنوا على قبر أبي أيوب الأنصاري مسجداً، وذلك في عام 1458، وسمَّوا ذلك المسجد مسجد أيوب سلطان نسبة لأبي أيوب الأنصاري.^[39]

·       فقد درج السلاطين العثمانيون يوم يتربعون على الملك أن يقيموا حفلاً دينياً في مسجد أبي أيوب، حيث يتقلدون سيفاً للرمز إلى السلطة التي أفضت إليهم، وكان لأبي أيوب رضي الله عنه عند الترك خواصهم وعوامهم رتبة ولي الله الذي تهوي إليه القلوب المؤمنة وينظرون إليه كونه مضيف رسول الله، فقد أكرمه وأعانه وقت العسرة كما أنه له مكانة مرموقة بين المجاهدين، واعتبروها ضيافته لرسول الله وجهاده في سبيل الله أعظم مناقبه وأظهر مآثره.

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