Poems from the Fatih’s Dīwān: Calligraphy Works of Students 2011/2012 - 2016/2017

Abstract

Fatih Sultan Mehmed Han ascended the throne at the age of 19 and, in the second year of his reign, conquered Istanbul, thereby attaining the glad tidings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). By bringing an end to one era and ushering in another, he secured his place in history as a great ruler. Having consigned two empires and numerous principalities to history and established unity across the lands stretching from Anatolia to the Balkans, Fatih also became, in a sense, the founder of the Ottoman World State, which would be further developed and exalted by the sultans who followed in his footsteps on the path from principality to empire. Among the chain of immense efforts that made the glorious conquest possible, alongside the determination of the soldiers and the insight and courage of the commanders, were the cannons that battered the walls of Istanbul—walls that had until then proved impregnable—and to whose engineering calculations Fatih himself contributed. Through his resolute and determined conduct, as well as his command and leadership during the stages of the siege and assault, he earned the title Ni‘me’l-amir, while his army was given the title Ni‘me’l-jaysh. This sultan, who spoke seven languages, was also a poet who possessed a diwān.