MOHAMMED, th3 name of four sultans of Turkey, of whom the most noted is MOHAMMED II., surnamed BlOuk or THE GREAT, the conqueror of Constantinople. He was born at Adriancp2e in 1430, and succeeded his father Anntrath II., in 1450. His first acts were the murder of his two brothers, and the suppression of a rebellion in Karaman. Having thus secured himself on the throne, lie bent all his energies to the accomplishment of the great project which had always been kept prominently in view by his predecessors—the capture of Constantinople. This city was now the sole remnant of the once mighty empire of the Caesars; and after more than a year spent in preparations, Mohammed commenced the siege April 6, 1453, with an army of 25S,000 men, and a fleet of 320 vessels, The Greeks, aided 1)y a gallant band, of 2,000 strangers, under Gian Justinian', a noble Genoese, long maintained an obstinate resistance. On the morning of May 29, a combined attack was made by land and sea without success; but the retire ment from the ramparts of Justiniani, who had been severely wounded, and despaired of a successful defense, caused a panic among his followers, and the simultaneous charge of a chosen body of janizaries, with Mahommed himself at their bead, was irresistible. Constantine III. died in the breach, and the Turks poured in over his corpse to plunder Ind devastate his capital. Mohammed now transferred the scat of his government to Constantinople, and sought to win back the inhabitants by promising them the free exercise of their religion. He next reduced the kingdoms of Morea and Trebizond, offshoots of the Greek empire, obtained possession of Servia on the death of its last prince, and made formidable preparations for the invasion of Hungary-. Belgrade was the first point of attack; and with 100,000 men, supported by a fleet of 200 ships on the Danube, Mohammed sat down before its walls. The enormous ordnance which had done such good service at Constantinople, were employed to batter the ramparts; but the valor, skill, and activity of the defenders foiled his utmost efforts. John Hunyady (q.v.),
who, with 5,000 chosen troops, had re-enforced the garrison, destroyed or captured all his vessels, and soon after, by a sudden sally, defeated his army, and carried off the train, compelling him to raise the siege, Aug. 6, 1456. His next enterprise was the invasion of Epirus, w here Scanderberg had hitherto successfully defied the sultan's power. Three Turkish armies were destroyed in rapid succession, and a fourth and fifth under Mohammed himself met with no greater success; but the death of the gallant Epirote, in 1467, removed the only obstacle to the success of the sultan's plans, and Epirus was forthwith annexed to Turkey. The latter half of Mohammed's reign was also fruitful in important achievements, but our space will permit only a cursory notice of them. Ile reduced the khan of the Crimea to the condition of a vassal, deprived the Genoese of Caffa, and the Venetians of Friuli, Istria, Negropont, and Lemnos; but the knights of St. John repelled him from Rhodes, and the Venetians from Scodra. He carried his arms into Italy, and took Otranto, but died in 1481 at tiicomedia, while on the way to join his son Bajazet, who was warring with the Persians and Egyptians. His frequent contests with the former of these nations bad always interfered very much with the successful prosecution of his designs of conquest in Europe. Mohammed was pos sessed of great abilities; lie was brave, enterprising, and sagacious; nor was he deficient in learning, for he spoke four languages fluently, was well versed in geography, ancient history, and the natural sciences, and was practically acquainted with the fine arts. But the brilliancy of his career, and the occasional generosity and even magnanhnity which he showed. cannot obliterate the recollection of those acts of cruelty and treachery which have justly branded him as the most ruthless tyrant of the house of Osman. As the founder of the Turkish power in Europe, his memory has always been revered by the Turks.