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?

• 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.

The Great Conquest of Constantinople

Constantinople

• Ever since  Constantine the Great moved his capital from Rome to the old  Greek city   of Byzantium   and   named   it   after   himself,   Constantinople   had   been   coveted   by enemies.  Russians  and Arabs,  Magyars and Bulgars, Vikings and Seljuk Turks had  all besieged  it.   It   had   resisted   them   all.
•  On   the   north   of the   city   a   wall   studded   with   towers  ran   along   the   shore   of the Golden Horn ,  then   around  the point   and  down   along the  Sea of Marmara,  south of the town .  
• To the west of the city,  on dry land,  were  Constantinople's famous double walls.   
• Actually,   there   were   three   walls,   because   the   inner   face   of the   water   ditch   in front   of the   walls—a   moat   60   feet   wide   and   15     feet   deep—was   built   high   enough above the surface of the ground to act as a breastwork . Behind the moat was a 25-foot wall   with   towers   less   than   a   bowshot   apart .   Twenty   yards   behind   that   wall   was   a 45-foot wall with  112 towers, each 60 feet high .   
• The native Greeks (Greek Orthodox)    hated   the   "Latins "    (Roman   Catholics) .   The   Latins   returned   the   feeling.   The town of Galata,  across the  Golden Horn , had  been settled  by Genoese, who declared their   neutrality   in   the   coming   battle   with   the   Turks .  
• To   gain   help   from   the   West, Emperor   John   VI ,   the   predecessor   of Constantine   XI,   agreed   to   accept   the   leadership   of the   Pope .   This  outraged   his   own   people .  
• When   Constantine   accepted  Latin help,  an   Orthodox priest named   Gennadius  roused  a   mob ,  which rioted  outside  the Emperor's palace shouting  "Death to the excommunicated! "   (the Latins). 
• Of 25,000   men   of military   age   in   the   city,   Constantine   could   find   only        5,000 willing  to  fight   the  Turks .   The   Pope   sent 20 0   men   under   a   Cardinal   Isidore,  and   a number   of Latin       (mostly   Italian)   volunteers   and   mercenaries   joined   the   defenders.
•  In   response,   the   Orthodox   priests   announced   that   they   would   refuse   absolution   to anyone who had any dealings with the Latins .  Altogether,  Constantine could oppose Mohammed's  200,000   men with   about   8,000 .
• Mohammed's          army,    however,      looked    more     formidable     than    it  was.   Of   the 200,000,  according to  a Florentine soldier named Tedaldi,  only   140,000 were effective  soldiers.   The   rest  were   "thieves,  plunderers,   hawkers,   and  others  following  the army for gain and  booty. "  
• But   12,000 of the soldiers were Janissaries, the best infantry   of any   European   nation .The rest were Bashi-bazouks,  Turkish feudal cavalry,  and peasant militia from Anatolia.
• The   most   impressive part   of the   Turkish   army was   its  artillery.   Mohammed   had more   guns   and   bigger   guns   than   any  prince  in   Europe   or Asia.   He   has   been   called
  "the world's first great artilleryman. "   
• If cannons were Mohammed' s greatest asset, Constantine's greatest asset was two men,  both foreigners and Latins :  Giovanni Giustiani of Genoa,  a famous commander who arrived with 700 soldiers in two large galleys, and Johann Grant, a German military  engineer.   Constantine  appointed   Giustiani  commander-in-chief of his  forces.       
• Mohammed   took   a   few   Byzantine   outposts ,  in   one   case,   driving  out   the   garrison with a   gas  attack,  using   burning sulfur.  He  then impaled  the  garrisons.   Next,  he
  brought up   his  heavy   guns .   The   guns moved at   a   snail's pace .   To  drag one  of these guns took   50   yoke  of oxen and 45 0  men .  It took about two hours to load each gun ,
  and the guns could fire only seven or eight shots a day.  
• Constantine and Giustiani had plenty   of warning   about where   the   attack would   take  place.   That was  a   good   thing , because   Constantine   had   only   one  man  for   each   18-foot  section   of wall   if he  spread them   evenly.  As  it was,  in the  sections  of the  wall  not   directly threatened ,   Giustiani reduced  the defenders  of the  towers  to  squads  of three   or four men .
  
  The assault
  
        On   April    12 ,   Mohammed   began   the   world's  first  organized   artillery   bombard-
  ment .  There were  a   dozen   great  bombards ,  enormous  cannons  that fired stone   balls
  weighing   more   than       1,400   pound s   and   56   smaller   guns .   Firing   went   on   night   and
  day,  but at first without noticeable effect.  Then the Turkish gunners concentrated on
  a  single   spot  on   the  wall.   Eventually,  the  outer wall  crumbled ,   but  the  Turks  found
  that their enemies had  built a new wall  behind it.
        On April   18 ,  the  impatient  Mohammed   ordered   a   general   attack.   Giustiani  had
  no artillery like Mohammed's , but he defended the wall with small cannons, catapults,
  muskets, crossbows, and "wall guns, " small, portable cannons that fired five lead balls
  with each shot .  He mowed the Turks down in heaps .  Mohammed was so enraged by
  the   failure   of his   infantry,  he   thought   about   loading  their   bodies   into   the   bombards
  and  shooting them  over the walls  of Constantinople .
       At   the   same   time   the   Turkish   fleet   tried   to   break   the   chain   across   the   Golden
  Horn ,   as   the   Venetians   had   done   three   centuries   before.       But   the   chain   remained
  unbroken .      The   Turkish   navy   was   not   the   Venetian   navy.      It   proved   that   two   days
  later.
        Three     Genoese     warships     loaded    with   soldiers    and   munitions      approached      the
  harbor,   escorting   an   East   Roman   grain   ship.   The   Turkish   admiral,   a   renegade   Bul-
  garian   named   Baltoglu,   led      145   Turkish   galleys   out   to   capture   the   Christian   ships.
  The   Genoese   smashed   through   the   Turkish   fleet,  ramming   some   galleys   and   snap-
  ping   banks   of oars   off others .   The   Constantinople   garrison   lowered  the   chain   to   let
  the   Christian   ships   in,   then   raised   it   again.   Mohammed   again flew into   a   rage   and ordered   Baltoglu   to   be   impaled.   His   officers,  fearing  the  precedent   that   executing   a
  commanding officer would set, talked him out of that . So Mohammed had four slaves
  spread-eagle   Baltoglu   on   the   ground   while   he   beat   the   unfortunate   admiral   with   a
  heavy stick.
        The sultan sent an envoy to the Emperor with a proposal :  that Constantine move
  to the Pelopennesus in Greece and rule from there  but let Mohammed have the city.
  Constantine   refused.
        Because      he  could    not   break   the   chain   across    the  Golden      Horn ,   Mohammed
  decided   to   go   around   it.   He   sent   workers  to   level  the   mile   of dry   land   between   the
  Bosphorus and a stream called The Springs.  They built a wooden runway, greased it,
  and dragged  70  ships over it .  Next,  he  built a floating bridge over the  Golden Horn .
  Now he could concentrate his forces anywhere he wanted .
        On   May   7,  Mohammed  launched   another assault on the walls.   Giustiani  and  his
  men beat it back with heavy losses.  Mohammed tried  again May   12  and suffered even
  heavier losses.  The sultan, however, was constantly getting reinforcements .  The East
  Romans  were  not .
        The  Turks  on   May   18   rolled   a   siege   tower up   to   the  moat .   Gunners  on   its  top
  could shoot down on the walls to clear them of defenders. As the attackers attempted
  to get the tower across the moat ,  Giustiani rolled barrels of gunpowder into the ditch
  and  blew it up .
        "What  I   would  not  give  to  win   that man over to  my side, "  Mohammed  said.  He
  attempted to bribe the Genoese,  but Giustiani would not be tempted .
        Above-ground         assaults   having   failed,   Mohammed   tried   mining .          Johann    Grant
  half-buried  drums  behind  the  walls.   The vibrations  of the  drums  showed   him   where
  the enemy was digging .  Then he dug counter mines .  He  blew up some Turkish tun-
  nels  and filled others  with poisonous  sulfur   dioxide   from fire pots .   He  flooded   other
  tunnels or sent infantry through his countermines to kill the Turkish diggers .
        Mohammed   was   growing   worried .   He   feared   that   if he   didn't   take   Constanti-
  nople  soon,  the  Christian nations would unite  and send relief.   He ordered an assault
  on   all   of the  walls  to   begin   May   29 .   It   would   continue   night   and   day   until   the  city
  was  taken .   The   defenders   had   to   extend   themselves  to   the   breaking  point ,   but   they
  continued  to   beat  off the waves  of Turkish   attackers.
        At the north end  of the land   walls, where  they joined the wall   along the  Golden
  Horn ,  the  Turks  got  a   break.  From   ancient  times  there  had  been  a tiny postern  gate
  in the ditch .  Emperor Isaac Angelus had blocked it up during the crusader troubles in
   1204,  but it had  recently  been reopened—and  forgotten .   Some  Janissaries  found  the
  undefended   gate   and   rushed   in.   Their   greed   almost   destroyed   this   golden   opportu-
  nity.  They were plundering the palaces when defenders led  by  the Bocchiardi  broth-
  ers,   who   were   Latin volunteers,   closed   the  postern   passage   and   cut   off their retreat .
  Driven out of the palace, the Turks ran south ,  inside the inner wall.
        Meanwhile,   Giustiani   was   fatally   wounded ,   causing   some   confusion   among   his
  troops .  Then , the Turkish fugitives hit them in the flank . The main Turkish army   got
  over   the   wall,   Constantine   led   a   countercharge   and   was  killed,   and   Constantinople
  became a Turkish city.
        There   was   a   massacre,   of course,   but   Mohammed   stopped   it.   He   had   no   wish
  to   rule  a   desert .   He  gave  the   Christians  in the  city freedom   to worship   in their own
  way and  appointed  the  Latin-hating  Gennadius patriarch .   Constantinople has  been a
  Turkish city ever since.
  

   

KENALI RUMELI HISARI

Rumeli Hisari dari Selat Bosforus

A. INTRODUCTION

• Rumelihisarı (Rumelian Castle) is a fortress located in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey, on a hill at the European side of the Bosphorus. It gives the name of the quarter around it. It was built by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II between 1451 and 1452, before he conquered Constantinople. The three great towers were named after three of Mehmed II's viziers, Sadrazam Çandarlı Halil Pasha, who built the big tower next to the gate, Zağanos Pasha, who built the south tower, and Sarıca Pasha, who built the north tower.

Rumeli Hisari dari Bosforus

B. CONSTRUCTION

• Rumelihisarı is situated at the narrowest point with 660 meters of the Bosphorus strait, just opposite of Anadoluhisarı (Anatolian Castle) on the Anatolian side, which is another Ottoman fortress that was built between 1393 and 1394 by Sultan Bayezid I.
• Rumelihisarı was built by Sultan Mehmed II between 1451 and 1452 in order to control the sea traffic on the Bosphorus strait and prevent aid from the Black Sea to reach Constantinople during the Turkish siege of the city in 1453, particularly from the Genoese colonies such as Caffa, Sinop and Amasra. 
• In a previous Ottoman attempt to conquer the city, Sultan Murad II (1404–1451) had encountered difficulties due to a blockade of the Bosphorus by the Byzantine fleet. The necessity of a fortress opposite of Anadoluhisarı was thus well known to the Ottomans. 
• On the location of Rumelihisarı, there had been a Roman fortification in the past, which was used as a prison by the Byzantines and Genoese. Later on, a monastery was built there.
• In preparation for the conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed II (1432–1481), son of Murad II, started to realize the construction of the fortress immediately following his second ascent to the throne in 1451. He refused the plea for peace of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI (1404–1453), who understood the intention of the Sultan. 
• The construction began on 15 April 1452. Each one of the three main towers was named after the Pashas who supervised their construction. The Sultan personally inspected the activities on the site. With the help of thousands of masons and workers, the fortress was completed in a record time of 4 months and 16 days on 31 August 1452.
• The sultan wanted to cheer up the builders so he allegedly ordered them to build the castle in the shape of the name of Muhammad the Muslim prophet, which can be seen from above. Muhammad and Mehmed share the same Arabic spelling (محمد), and so he may have also made the fortress as an homage to himself.

 

Peta Rumeli Hisari

C.ARCHITECTURE 

• The Rumelihisarı fortification has one small tower, three main towers, and thirteen small watchtowers placed on the walls connecting the main towers. One watchtower is in the form of a quadrangular prism, six watchtowers are shaped as prisms with multiple corners and six others are cylindrical. 
• The main tower in the north, the Saruca Pasha Tower, is in cylindrical form with its 9 stories and height of 28 m (92 ft), has a diameter of 23.30 m (76.4 ft) and its walls are 7 m (23 ft) thick. Today, this tower is called the Fatih (Conqueror) Tower after Sultan Mehmed II. 
• Halil Pasha Tower, a dodecagon prism, which stands at the waterfront in the middle of the fortress, has also 9 stories. It is 22 m (72 ft) high with a 23.30 m (76.4 ft) diameter and the walls are 6.50 m (21.3 ft) thick. 
• The main tower in the south, the Zağanos Pasha Tower, has only 8 stories. The cylindrical tower is 21 m (69 ft) high, has a 26.70 m (87.6 ft) diameter with 5.70 m (18.7 ft) thick walls. 
• The space within each tower was divided up with wooden floors, each equipped with a furnace. Conical wooden roofs covered with lead crowned the towers. The outer curtain walls of the fortress are from north to south 250 m (820 ft) long and from east to west varying between 50 and 125 m (164 and 410 ft) long. Its total area is 31,250 m² (336,372 sq ft).
• The fortress had three main gates next to the main towers, one side gate and two secret gates for the arsenal and food cellars next to the southern tower. 
• There were wooden houses for the soldiers and a small mosque, endowed by the Sultan at the time of construction. Only the minaret shaft remains of the original mosque, while the small masjid added in the mid-16th century has not survived. 
• Water was supplied to the fortress from a large cistern underneath the mosque and distributed through three wall-fountains, of which only one has remained. Two inscriptive plaques are found attached on the walls.
• The fortress, designed by architect Müslihiddin, was initially called "Boğazkesen", literally meaning "The Strait Cutter", referring to the Bosporus Strait. The name carries a secondary and more macabre meaning; as boğaz not only means strait but also "throat" in Turkish.
• It was later renamed as Rumelihisarı, which means "Fortress on the Land of the Romans", i.e. Byzantine Europe, or the Balkan peninsula.

 

Pemandangan dari Rumeli Hisari

D. USAGES

• A battalion of 400 Janissaries were stationed in the fortress, and large cannons were placed in the Halil Pasha Tower, the main tower on the waterfront. A Venetian ship coming from the Black Sea which ignored the order to halt by the commander of the fortress, Firuz Ağa, was bombarded and sunk, and its surviving crewmen were impaled as a warning to any who might attempt the same. 
• These cannons were later used until the second half of the 19th century to greet the sultan when he passed by sea.
• After the fall of Constantinople, the fortress served as a customs checkpoint. Rumelihisarı, which was designated to control the passage of ships through the strait, eventually lost its strategic importance when a second pair of fortresses was built further up the Bosphorus, where the strait meets the Black Sea. 
• In the 17th century, it was used as a prison, primarily for foreign prisoners of war. Rumelihisarı was partly destroyed by an earthquake in 1509, but was repaired soon after. 
• In 1746, a fire destroyed all the wooden parts in two of the main towers. The fortress was repaired by Sultan Selim III (1761–1807). However, a new residential neighborhood was formed inside the fortress after it was abandoned in the 19th century.

 sumber: wikipedia.org

 

Pembukaan Istanbul (Pembukaan Agung)

• Kota Constantinople pada era Byzantine
  
  
  
  
   Peta wilayah timur Mediterranean pada 1450
  
  
  
   Peta wilayah timur Mediterranean pada 1450 (versi Arab)
• Sultan Muhammad 2 telah membina sebuah kubu (dikenali sebagai "Rumeli Hisari") di Selat Bosforus untuk menghalang bekalan-bekalan sampai ke Konstantinapol dari kerajaan Trabzon. 
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  Peta Rumeli Hisari
  
  
  
  
  Pemandangan Selat Bosforus dari Rumeli Hisari
  
  
  
   Pemandangan Rumeli Hisari dari Selat Bosforus
  
  
  
   Pemandangan Rumeli Hisari dari Selat Bosforus dari jarak dekat. Kelihatan Menara Halil Pasha
  
  
  
   Pemandangan bahagian Asia dari Turki dari Rumeli Hisari. Kelihatan Menara Halil Pasha dan Jambatan al-Fatih.
  
  
• Apabila hal ini sampai kepada Maharaja Baizantin, Constantine XI(60) Palaiologos, dia telah menghantar utusan kepada baginda bagi mengajukan kesediaannya membayar jizyah kepada baginda dengan syarat baginda tidak membina kubu tersebut.
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  Kepungan al-Fatih dan bala tenteranya terhadap kota Constantinople. Pasukan tentera infantri terdiri daripada pasukan utama yang dipimpin sendiri oleh al-Fatih dan pasukan kedua oleh Zaganos Pasha, manakala pasukan armada laut diketuai oleh Hamza Bey.
  
  
  
  • Sultan Muhammad 2 telah mengepung bandar tersebut pada tahun 1453 dari arah  daratan dengan kekuatan tentera mencecah 250,000 orang tentera manakala dari arah laut, satu armada kapal perang daripada 180 buah kapal.
  • Baginda juga telah meletakkan sekitar bandar tersebut, 14 buah pencucuh artileri yang diletakkan padanya meriam gergasi sepanjang 80 hasta (36.576m) yang mampu melancarkan batu seberat sepuluh paun (25 kg) dengan jarak satu batu. 
  • Salah seorang ahli sejarah Rom Timur menyatakan bahawa berat batu 300 kg dan jarak tembakan lebih dari 1 batu dan menggerakkannya memerlukan 700 orang lelaki.
  
   Bola batu seberat 300 kg
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Meriam Dardanelles: adalah senjata pengepungan sejak sejurus selepas kejatuhan Constantinople pada 1453. Ia dicetak dalam gangsa dan telah dibuat dalam dua bahagian: laras yang memegang tembakan dan ruang yang memegang pembakaran. Dua bahagian skru bersama-sama dan terdapat cincin soket di hujung setiap bahagian, ini diambil tuil untuk memudahkan 2 bahagian ini dipasang dan dibuka. .
  
  Panjang keseluruhan adalah 5.2 m dan ia berat 16,8 tan metrik. Ia menembak bola batu kira-kira 300 kg beberapa 1600 m. Kadar kebakaran adalah sangat perlahan - kira-kira 15 pusingan setiap hari.
• Maharaja Constantine XI Palaiologos berasa terancam dan meminta bantuan daripada raja-raja Eropah. Mereka menghantar armada laut kepadanya bagi memecahkan kepungan dari kota Constantinople kerana mereka mengetahui bahawa kota itu mempunyai 3 lapis tembok yang tidak mungkin ditembusi kecuali daripada sebelah teluk di mana ia mempunyai hanya satu lapis tembok. 
• Armada laut bantuan kepada Rom Timur dari Genoa, Itali di bawah Komander Justiniani yang datang dari arah laut dan cuba untuk memasuki pelabuhan Constantinople maka ia telah ditentang oleh kapal-kapal laut Usmaniyyah dan telah berlaku peperangan sengit antara mereka pada 11.4.857 hijrah bersamaan 21.4.1453.
• Ia berakhir dengan kemenangan Justiniani dan pasukannya memasuki kota selepas tentera Constantinople menaikkan rantai besi yang dipasang untuk menghalang kapal-kapal Usmaniyyah daripada sampai kepada mereka, kemudian rantai itu dikembalikan seperti asal selepas Justiniani dan pasukannya melepasinya.
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• Selepas itu, Sultan memikirkan jalan memasukkan kapal-kapalnya ke pelabuhan Constantinople untuk menyempurnakan kepungan darat dan laut maka terlintas di fikirannya idea ganjil iaitu memindahkan kapal-kapal laut di atas daratan untuk melepasi rantai besi yang dipasang untuk menghalang mereka. 
• Idea ganjil ini disempurnakan dengan membuka jalan di atas darat, yang telah berbeza pendapat tentang jaraknya dan pendapat yang kuat mengatakan jaraknya adalah 2 farsakh (6 batu) dan timbunan kayu dicurahkan minyak dan lemak supaya memudahkan gelongsor kapal-kapal di atasnya.
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  Gambaran pelukis bagaimana al-Fatih memantau usaha penarikan kapal-kapal perangnya
• Dengan cara ini, dapatlah dipindahkan sebanyak 70 buah kapal pada satu malam sehingga ketika siang menjelma dan orang yang terkepung melihatnya, mereka berasa yakin tidak dapat dielakkan kemenangan tentera Usmaniyyah ke atas mereka tetapi ia tidak melemahkan semangat mereka bahkan telah menambah sifat agresif dan berazam untuk mempertahankan tanahair mereka hingga mati.
• Pada tanggal 15.5.857 Hijrah bersamaan 24 Mei 1453, Sultan Muhammad telah menghantar (wakil) kepada Maharaja Rom Constantine XI Palaiologos memberitahunya bahawasanya jika dia menyerahkan negara itu kepadanya secara sukarela, baginda berjanji kepadanya dengan tidak mengusik kebebasan ahlinya atau harta benda mereka dan akan memberinya Kepulauan Crete tetapi dia tidak menerima usul itu bahkan memilih kematian ke atas penyerahan kota.
• Ketika itu, Sultan memberi peringatan kepada tenteranya agar bersiap sedia untuk serangan besar-besaran pada 20 Jamadil Awwal 857 hijrah bersamaan 29 Mei 1453 dan baginda telah menjanjikan kepada tenteranya dengan ganjaran apabila kemenangan telah disempurnakan dan membahagikan mereka tanah yang banyak.
• Pada malam sebelum hari dijanjikan (serangan), tentera Usmaniyyah telah menyalakan lampu di depan khemah-khemah mereka untuk meraikan kemenangan yang pasti bagi mereka dan berterusan sepanjang malam mereka bertahlil dan bertakbir sehingga apabila menjelang fajar, telah dikeluarkan kepada mereka arahan menyerang.

Pedang al-Fatih

• Maka 150 ribu orang tentera telah menyerang dan memanjat tembok kota sehingga memasuki bandar dari segenap penjuru dan menghunus pedang pada sesiapa yang menentang mereka.

Tembok kota yang telah diperbaiki

• Mereka telah memasuki Gereja St. Sophia di mana Ketua Paderi sedang berdoa dan bersama-samanya sebilangan besar penduduk kota.
  

Keratan rentas Gereja St. Sophia

• Ketua Paderi keluar dari gereja dan dia menyempurnakan doanya yang terputus ketika tentera Usmaniyyah memasukinya ketika pembukaan. Telah mencatat sebahagian mereka kemenangan nyata ini  (negara yang baik) pada tahun 857 Hijrah dan dinamakan bandar sebagai “Islambul” iaitu di bawah Islam atau bandar Islam.
• Adapun Maharaja Rom telah berperang sehingga terbunuh dalam mempertahankan tanahairnya dan selepas dibuka , ia dijadikan sebagai ibu negara dan akan kekal begitu.
• Perlu diperingatkan bahawa tentera Islam telah mengepung kota ini sebanyak 11 kali sebelum ini, 7 daripadanya ketika 2 kurun Islam yang pertama.
• Kemudian sempurna kemasukan Sultan ke dalam bandar pada waktu Zohor maka baginda dapati tentera sibuk dengan rampasan dan penggeledahan dan lain-lain maka baginda telah mengeluarkan perintah menghalang segala kekerasan, maka keamanan menguasai serta merta.

Gambaran pelukis suasana ketika al-Fatih memasuki kota Constantinople

• Kemudian baginda memenziarahi Gereja St. Sophia dan mengizinkan solat di dalamnya secara warta dengan menjadikannya sebagai masjid besar bagi umat Islam.

Hadis Nabi saw yang memberitahu pembukaan kota  Constantinople di pasang pada dinding Masjid Aya Sophia

• Maka selepas sempurna pembukaan, baginda telah mengumumkan pada segenap penjuru bahawasanya tidak dihalang mendirikan syiar agama Nasrani bahkan dijamin bagi mereka kebebasan beragama dan keselamatan harta mereka. Maka pulanglah sebahagian mereka yang telah berpindah dan memberikan mereka separuh ruang gereja dan menjadikan separuh lain sebagai masjid.
• Kemudian baginda mengumpulkan ketua-ketua agama nasrani untuk memilih ketua paderi. Maka mereka telah memilih George Scolaris.
• Sultan telah berpegang dengan keputusan pemilihan ini dan menjadikannya ketua bagi minoriti Rom dan meraikan perlantikannya dengan kemegahan dan peraturan yang sama sebagaimana yang diamalkan oleh paderi-paderi pada zaman Maharaja Rom Nasrani.
• Sultan telah memberinya pengawal dari Unit Janissari dan memberinya hak penghakiman dalam kes-kes sivil dan jenayah dengan semua jenisnya yang berkaitan dengan orang Rom dan telah dilantik juga bersamanya sebuah majlis yang terdiri daripada pegawai-pegawai utama gereja dan hak ini telah diberikan di wilayah kepada para paderi. Sebagai balasan pemberian ini, mereka perlu membayar kharaj terkecuali ketua-ketua agama sahaja.
• Semasa peperangan, para pejuang telah menemui kubur sahabat besar Abu Ayyub al-Ansari yang telah syahid pada 52 hijrah ketika mengepung Constantinople di zaman Khalifah Muawiyyah Abu Sufian r.a.
• Selepas pembukaan, Sultan telah membina sebuah masjid di sekitar kuburnya dan menjadikan tradisi Usmaniyyah bahawa semua sultan ketika perlantikannya membawa pedang “al-Ghazi” Usman 1 di masjid ini dan kekal tradisi ini sehingga berakhir Daulah Usmaniyyah.