Murad II

Murad II Kodja or Amurathes II (June 1404, Amasya – 3 February 1451, Edirne) (Ottoman Turkish: مراد ثانى Murād-ı sānī, Turkish:II. Murat) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1451 (except for a period from 1444 to 1446 when his son Mehmed II reigned).

Murad II's reign was marked by the long war he fought against the Christian feudal lords of the Balkans and the Turkish emirates in Anatolia, a conflict that lasted 25 years. He was brought up in Amasya, and ascended the throne on the death of his father Mehmed I. His mother was Valide Sultan Emine Hatun (daughter of Suleyman Bey, ruler of Dulkadirids), his father's third consort. Their marriage served as an alliance between the Ottomans and this buffer state.

Biography

Murad II (Murat), when called from his vice-royalty in Asia Minor to become the sovereign of the Ottoman Empire, was only sixteen years of age. He was solemnly recognized as sultan, girded with the sabre of Osman at Bursa and the troops and officers of the state willing paid homage to him as their sovereign.