Mehmet II - a bastard son of Murad II

Submitted by Ianus (Poland), Aug 7, 2010 at 05:50

Hi, dhimmi no more !

>Mehmet II was half-Serbian

Oh Darn it I thought that his mama was Armenian. <

And you were right as I mistook his Serbian stepmother Mara for his Armenian mum who was just one of many sex slaves in Murad's huge harem. In the dysfunctional Turkish harem system Mehmet or any other child could have no happy childhood at all. And indeed, his father didn't care about him and he lost his Armenian mother quite early. It is no doubt these cruel early experiences that formed his sadistic propensities that later became so dominant in his behaviour. Yet, he was lucky enough to be taken care of by Mara , a Serbian wife of Murad II, daughter of the Serbian King George Brankovic.

He was even more lucky as far as his career is concerned. Due to his ignoble origin as a bastard son he had hardly any chances to succeed his father. He had two older brothers - Ahmed and Alaeddin - from nobler mothers. But Ahmed died suddenly in Amasia and Alaedinn was murdered under mysterious circumstances. Had either of them survived, Mehmet would have been strangled by one of his elder brothers on accession to the throne as fratricide ( without bloodshed as the Ottoman blood was too precious ;) according to the brutal Ottoman tradition. Well, you can imagine what a younger Ottoman prince felt during his childhood , even playing with his older brother? ... "I am playing with my murderer".

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