Academics Feliz Barin Akman and Bayazid Akman have discovered an epic poem written in Latin dating back to the Renaissance era, comprising nearly 5,000 stanzas, written by an Italian poet in honor of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (1429-1481).

The unearthed poem is titled "The Prince: The Life and Conquests of the Turkish Emperor Mehmed II" (Amyris, de vita et gestis Mahometi Turcorum imperatoris), and was signed by the Italian writer, poet, and historian Gian Mario Filelfo in 1475.

The Aqman reporter Anatolia on the importance of this discovery, and the epic poem and features, especially as they have not yet been translated, not subject to any review of the Academy.

new sources

Academic writer Akman said that he and his wife, Feliz, are working on studying the perception that existed in the West towards the Turks and Islam during the Renaissance, which lasted roughly from the 14-17th century AD.

He added: We were constantly trying to find new sources that dealt with this perception.

We have seen in our research several indications of the existence of this epic poem through the presence of quotations from this work, but we were not able to find the poem at that time, and we did not come across studies explaining it fully.

The two researchers reported that the epic poem has not yet been translated and has not been subject to any academic review (Anatolia).

He indicated that he and his wife later managed to find a copy of the poem translated into Italian, before reaching the original poem written in Latin in the Geneva Library in Switzerland.

He continued: We were drawn to the quality of this poem's translation into Italian.

It should have been translated into many languages, among them Turkish, and academic studies should have been carried out on this important work.

He said: Can you imagine that an Italian wrote a work of 5,000 shards on Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror in the 15th century, and this work was not translated into any language.

This work has remained as if it were a secret hidden in the bellies of libraries.

The manuscript of the Italian poem discovered by the two researchers (Anatolia)

He continued, "If this work had been written about a Christian emperor, and not about a Muslim ruler, it would have topped the classic epics such as Homer's Iliad and the poem Aeneid by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. They were satisfied with imprisoning this important work in the archives of national libraries."

Aqman noted that Orientalist history had a great influence in turning a blind eye to this work and turning it into a book that lies in oblivion.

intercultural dialogue

He said: We first want to translate this work into Turkish and English, and analyze it academically.

This work is no less important than the painting of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror by the Italian painter Gentile Bellini (1429-1507).

Portrait of the Conqueror by Gentile Bellini (websites)

For her part, the academic at Ankara University, Dr. Velez, said that the epic poem of the Italian poet consists of 4 chapters.

Regarding the motive behind the writing of the poem by the Italian poet, Akman said: Lilo Ferducci, the son-in-law of a Venetian merchant residing in the city of Çanakkale, was one of those captured when Constantinople (Istanbul) was conquered.

She continued: The merchant residing in Canakkale sent a letter to the Sultan requesting the release of his relative.

He agreed without ransom or return.

The Italian merchant Lello Ferducci was influenced by this polite attitude of the Conqueror, which prompted him to add the name Osman, the founder of the Ottoman Empire to his name, so that his name was changed to Osman Lilo Ferducci.

She added: This event was considered at the time as an indication of the rapprochement between Turkish and European cultures.

Aqman said: Ferducci asked his friend, "Gian Mario Filelvo", one of the most prominent poets of the Renaissance in Europe, born in the "Pira" (Beyoğlu) region of Istanbul in 1426, to write an epic poem about Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, describing his achievements, conquests, good treatment and gentleness of character. As a token of thanks to the Sultan for his humanitarian stances.

Filiz concluded by noting that the Turkish and English translations of the work on the Latin original will be ready in a few months, and after completion and revision, they will be presented to readers, accompanied by explanations, detailed literary readings and interpretations of the historical context.

Sultan the Conqueror

From the first moment of the conquest of Constantinople “Istanbul” in 1453 AD / 857 AH, the young Sultan Muhammad II “The Conqueror” proceeded to implement his vision for his new Ottoman capital, and he did not want it only as a Turkish or Islamic city, but was keen to reflect the enormous ethnic and cultural diversity of his expanding empire, According to a previous report by Al Jazeera Net.

The Patriarch of Constantinople George Gennadios Scholarios with the Conqueror in a mosaic panel at the Patriarchate headquarters (communication sites)

The Conqueror Sultan himself was of mixed race, and he was related to his stepmother, the Serbian Princess Mara Despina Brankovic Khatun, who later ruled her country and allied with him, and some historians go to the fact that the mother of the Conqueror Sultan “Khadija is Khatun” of Serbian origin as well. God” because she converted to Islam, as the name Abdullah was given to new Muslims.

With his knowledge of Latin and Greek languages, Orthodox culture, and Christianity, the Sultan loved to see diversity in his kingdom, and not only encouraged Greeks and Armenians to settle in Constantinople after its conquest, but sometimes forced them to do so, according to the book of British historian Philip Mansell “Constantinople.. The City the World Coveted, 1453-1924.

Mansell, who worked as a professor at several British universities and wrote books on the history of the Ottomans and France, says that the successor of Sultan al-Fatih Bayezid II followed the path of his father in observing religious diversity, even sending ships to transport Jews to his capital from Andalusia, from which they were expelled at the end of the 15th century and bestowed upon them his protection From Christian attacks targeting them, so words such as massacre, ghetto and the Inquisition had no meaning in Ottoman Constantinople, according to the British historian.

Rather than imposing monotheism on everyone, the Ottomans took pride in the fact that their empire provided shelter for dozens of peoples, races, and races, and made use of their diverse talents.

The British historian cites the case of Mimar Sinan, the Christian architect who built the greatest architectural masterpieces of the Ottomans.