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Istanbul is a holy and important city revealed in the hadiths about the End Times by our Prophet (pbuh ) in terms of both its position in world geography and its historical importance. This month is the 554th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, and thus we will examine information about Istanbul more closely.…

1. Istanbul, which is considered one of the most important cities of the world today, has become the target of many countries due to its importance throughout history. Till 1453, it was occupied by Avars, Arabs, Europeans and Ottomans several times, but the Greek fire (Grejuva-defense weapon used by Byzantines for the first time in history) and the city walls which were considered impassable in that time made this occupation attempt unsuccessful.

2. The foundations of today’s Istanbul began in 7th century BCE. In the 4th century CE, it was re-built by the Emperor Constantine and made the capital city; after that , it served as a capital in Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras for 16 centuries. Furthermore, Istanbul, which became a center of Christianity under Emperor Constantine, became one of the most important cities of Muslims after it was occupied by the Ottomans in 1453.

3. After Fatih Sultan Mehmed became padishah, his greatest goal had been to conquer Istanbul. In that period, the Byzantine Empire, which was coming to the end of its one thousand year old history, had largely fallen into the position of being little more than a city-state confined within the city walls of Istanbul, and getting smaller all the time. However, despite this, the existence of the Byzantine Empire had become an obstacle to Turkish sovereignty in the Balkans and the spread of Islam.

4. Fatih Sultan Mehmed decided to land some ships of the Ottoman fleet in Halic in order to ease the conquest of Istanbul. Fatih Sultan Mehmed, who was determined to take Istanbul no matter what , announced his decision that the general attack would take place on May 29th, after he organized a meeting attended by commanders and scholars and gave an encouraging speech.

5. After four great attacks, on the dates April 19th, May 6th, May 12th and May 29th, Istanbul fell after a total of 53 days. Sultan Mehmed II was given the title “conqueror” and began to be called as Fatih Sultan Mehmed. So ended the Eastern Roman Empire, which was one of the most important countries of antiquity.

6. The conquest of Istanbul is a very important development for both Turkish and world history. With the conquest of Istanbul, there was no force left to prevent the progress of the Ottomans in the Balkans; and thus, the Ottoman state that continued its progress in Europe had become a large empire. The importance of the conquest of Istanbul for the world is that the Middle Ages had ended and the modern era had begun.

7. After the conquest of Istanbul, it became possible to organize many military expeditions to Europe in order to reinforce Ottoman dominance in the West, expand the borders, and spread Islam to even the farthest places.

8. The objects which belonged to our Prophet Hz Mohammad (pbuh) and the Qaaba, and also to Sultan Selim the Stern, one of the Ottoman padishahs, were brought to Istanbul after the conquest of Egypt in 1517; they are now protected and displayed as the “Holy Relics” in the Holy Mantle Room of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

9. The Holy Mantle is a coat made of goat’s hair with large sleeves, which belonged to Hz Mohammad (pbuh ). The keys to the silver arc and the golden shelf where the Holy Mantle was hidden, were only with the padishah himself. The visit to the Holy Mantle, which became a tradition that continued from Selim I and Caliph Abdulmacid, took place every 15th day of the Ramadan month and was made by thepadishah, the grand vizier,the shaykh al-Islamand other state officials.