Mehmed the Conqueror between <i>Sulh-i Kull</i> and <i>Prisca Theologia</i>

Abstract This article presents a new interpretation of the reign Ottoman sultan Mehmed Conqueror (r. 1444–46, 1451–81) as refracted through twin historical lenses Mughal South Asia and Renaissance Mediterranean. On one hand, it argues that Mehmed, despite his current reputation conquering hero Islam, in fact aspired to model sovereignty analogous Akbar's Sulh-i Kull , with common point origin conceptual worlds post-Mongol Iran Timurid central Asia. other also draws from historiography Italian interpret Mehmed's cultural politics being simultaneously inspired by particular thread philosophy, Prisca Theologia which many ways served equivalent .