title: »These are the narratives of bygone years«: Conquest of a Fortress as a Source of Legitimacy
abstract: In 1502 or 1503 KemÄl paÅa-zÄde (d. 1534), also known as Ibn-i KemÄl, the future ÅeyhâÃ¼l-Ä°slam (chief Muslim judge) under SulaymÄn the Magnificent, described the world of Byzantium which the Ottomans had conquered. There, he reproduced the realia of the Â»fortress pastÂ« of the Ottomans. Ibn-i KemÄl described Byzantium as a commonwealth of fortresses, each headed by a tekvur (Â»emperorÂ«), which was at odds with historical accuracy. This pointed to the period of the second half of the
journal: Medieval Worlds