Editing Murad II (section)

==Reign==
===Accession and first reign===
[[File:Hunername 138a.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Sultan Murad II at archery practice (miniature painting from 1584)]]

Murad's reign was troubled by insurrection early on. The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor, [[Manuel II Palaiologos|Manuel II]], released the 'pretender'<ref>Finkel, C., ''Osman's Dream:The History of the Ottoman Empire'', Osman 2005, p. 43, Basic Books</ref> [[Mustafa Çelebi]] (known as Düzmece Mustafa) from confinement and acknowledged him as the legitimate heir to the throne of [[Bayezid I]] (1389–1402). The Byzantine Emperor had first secured a stipulation that Mustafa should, if successful, repay him for his liberation by giving up a large number of important cities. The pretender was landed by the [[Byzantine]] galleys in the European dominion of the sultan and for a time made rapid progress. Many Ottoman soldiers joined him, and he defeated and killed the veteran general [[Bayazid Pasha]], whom Murad had sent to fight him. Mustafa defeated Murad's army and declared himself Sultan of [[Adrianople]] ([[Edirne]]). He then crossed the [[Dardanelles]] to Asia with a large army but Murad out-manoeuvered Mustafa. Mustafa's force passed over in large numbers to Murad II. Mustafa took refuge in the city of [[Gallipoli]], but the sultan, who was greatly aided by a [[Genoa|Genoese]] commander named Adorno, besieged him there and stormed the place. Mustafa was taken and put to death by the sultan, who then turned his arms against the Roman emperor and declared his resolution to punish the [[Palaiologos]] for their unprovoked enmity by the capture of [[Constantinople]].

[[File:Murad II and Władysław III of Poland.jpg|thumb|Murad II and slain [[Władysław III of Poland]]]]

Murad II then formed a new army called [[Azeb]] in 1421 and marched through the Byzantine Empire and [[Siege of Constantinople (1422)|laid siege to Constantinople]]. While Murad was besieging the city, the Byzantines, in league with some independent [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] [[Anatolia]]n states, sent the sultan's younger brother [[Küçük Mustafa]] (who was only 13 years old) to rebel against the sultan and besiege [[Bursa]]. Murad had to abandon the siege of Constantinople in order to deal with his rebellious brother. He caught Prince Mustafa and executed him. The Anatolian states that had been constantly plotting against him &mdash; [[Aydinids]], [[Germiyanids]], [[Menteshe]] and [[Beylik of Teke|Teke]] &mdash; were annexed and henceforth became part of the [[Ottoman Sultanate]].

Murad II then declared war against [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], the [[Karamanid]] Emirate, [[Serbia]] and [[Hungary]]. The Karamanids were defeated in 1428 and [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] withdrew in 1432 following the defeat at the second [[Siege of Thessalonica (1422–1430)|Siege of Thessalonica]] in 1430. In the 1430s Murad captured vast territories in the [[Balkans]] and succeeded in annexing Serbia in 1439. In 1441 the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and [[Poland]] joined the [[Serbia]]n-Hungarian coalition. Murad II won the [[Crusade of Varna]] in 1444 against [[John Hunyadi]].

===Abdication and second reign===
Murad II relinquished his throne<ref name="britannica">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Murad-II|title=Murad II {{!}} Ottoman sultan|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> in 1444 to his son [[Mehmed II]], but a [[Janissary]] revolt<ref>Kafadar, Cemal, ''Between Two Worlds'', University of California Press, 1996, p. xix. {{ISBN|0-520-20600-2}}</ref> in the Empire forced him to return.

In 1448 he defeated the Christian coalition at the [[Second Battle of Kosovo]] (the [[Battle of Kosovo|first one]] took place in 1389).<ref>Mesut Uyar and Edward J. Erickson, ''A Military History of the Ottomans: From Osman to Atatürk'', (ABC-CLIO, 2009), 29. {{ISBN?}}</ref> When the [[Balkan]] front was secured, Murad II turned east to defeat [[Timur]]'s son, [[Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)|Shah Rokh]], and the emirates of [[Karamanid]] and Çorum-Amasya.{{fact|date=July 2023}} In 1450 Murad II led his army into [[Albania]] and unsuccessfully [[Siege of Krujë (1450)|besieged]] the [[Castle of Krujë]] in an effort to defeat the resistance led by [[Skanderbeg]]. In the winter of 1450&ndash;1451, Murad II fell ill, and died in [[Edirne]]. He was succeeded by his son Mehmed II (1451&ndash;1481).

===As ghazi sultan===
[[File:II._Murat.jpg|thumb|Sultan Murad II as portrayed by [[Konstantin Kapıdağlı]]]]
When Murad ascended the throne, he sought to regain lost Ottoman territories that had reverted to autonomy following his grandfather [[Bayezid I]]'s defeat at the [[Battle of Ankara]] in 1402 at the hands of [[Timur]]. He needed the support of both the public and the nobles "who would enable him to exercise his rule", and utilized the old and potent Islamic trope of the ''ghazi king''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Osman's Dream|last=Finkel|first=Caroline|publisher=Basic Books|year=2007|location=New York and London|pages=39, 41, 46}}</ref>

In order to gain popular international support for his conquests, Murad II modeled himself after the legendary ''Ghazi'' kings of old. The Ottomans already presented themselves as [[Ghazi (warrior)|''ghazis'']], painting their origins as rising from the [[Gaza thesis|''ghazas'' of Osman, the founder of the dynasty]]. For them, ''ghaza'' was the noble championing of Islam and justice against non-Muslims and Muslims alike, if they were cruel; for example, Bayezid I labeled Timur Lang, also a Muslim, an apostate prior to the Battle of Ankara because of the violence his troops had committed upon innocent civilians and because "all you do is to break promises and vows, shed blood, and violate the honor of women."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Ghazi Sultans and the Frontiers of Islam|last=Anooshahr|first=Ali|publisher=Routledge|year=2009|location=New York and London|pages=123, 142–143, 150–151, 164}}</ref>  Murad II only had to capitalize on this dynastic inheritance of doing ''ghaza'', which he did by actively crafting the public image of Ghazi Sultan.

After his accession, there was a flurry of translating and compiling activity where old Persian, Arab, and Anatolian epics were translated into Turkish so Murad II could uncover the ''ghazi king'' legends.<ref name=":1" />  He drew from the noble behavior of the nameless [[Caliphate|Caliphs]] in the ''Battalname'', an epic about a fictional Arab warrior who fought against the Byzantines, and modelled his actions on theirs.<ref name=":1" />  He was careful to embody the simplicity, piety, and noble sense of justice that was part of the ''ghazi king'' persona.

For example, the Caliph in ''Battalname'' saw the battle turning in his enemy's favor, and got down from his horse and prayed, after which the battle ended in a victory for him. In the [[Battle of Varna]] in 1444, Murad II saw the Hungarians gaining the upper hand, and he got down from his horse and prayed just like the Caliph. The tide soon turned in the Ottoman's favor and [[Władysław III of Poland]], [[King of Hungary]], was killed in a charge.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />  Similarly, the Caliph in the epic roused his warriors by saying "Those of you who die will be martyrs. Those of you who kill will be ghazis"; before the Battle of Varna, Murad II repeated these words to his army, saying "Those of us who kill will be ghazis; those of us who die will be martyrs."<ref name=":1" />  In another instance, since the ''ghazi king'' is meant to be just and fair, when Murad took [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]] in the [[Balkans]], he took care to keep the troops in check and prevented widespread looting.<ref name=":0" />  Finally, just as the fictional Caliph's ghazas were immortalized in ''Battalname'', Murad II's battles and victories were also compiled and given the title "The ''Ghazas'' of Sultan Murad" (''Gazavat- i Sultan Murad)''.<ref name=":1" />

Murad II successfully painted himself as a simple soldier who did not partake in royal excesses, and as a noble ghazi sultan who sought to consolidate Muslim power against non-Muslims such as the Venetians and Hungarians. Through this self-presentation, he got the support of the Muslim population of not only the Ottoman territories, for both himself and his extensive, expensive campaigns, but also the greater Muslim populations in the [[Divisions of the world in Islam|Dar-al-Islam]] – such as the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluks]] and the Muslim [[Delhi Sultanate]]s of India. Murad II was basically presenting himself not only as "a ''ghazi king'' who fights caffres [non-muslims], but also serves as protector and master of lesser ''ghazis''."<ref name=":1" />

===Economy===
Murad II's reign saw a period of great economic development, with an increase in trade and a considerable expansion of Ottoman cities. In 1432, the traveller [[Bertrandon de la Broquière]] noted that Ottoman annual revenue had increased to 2,500,000 [[ducats]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600|author=Halil İnalcık|year=1973|pages=21–22|language=en}}</ref>