Medal: Sultan Mehmed II 1481

This bronze medal of Sultan Mehmed II was created by Costanzo da Ferrara, likely in the late 15th century. It commemorates Mehmed's conquest of Constantinople in 1453, a pivotal event that marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. The medal presents a profile of Mehmed, emphasizing his authority through the inscription, which translates to "Mehmed, Grand Sultan, Emperor of the Romans and Byzantium". As a portable object, the medal would have functioned as a diplomatic gift, and as a symbolic marker of territory and power for the expanding Ottoman Empire. The very act of creating such a medal, in the Renaissance style, indicates cross-cultural exchange and the appropriation of European artistic conventions for Ottoman purposes. The use of visual codes derived from Roman Imperial portraiture is particularly interesting: it reflects Mehmed II’s ambition to portray himself as a world leader and legitimate successor to both the Roman and Byzantine Empires. By studying these objects and their histories we can trace the complex dynamics of power, cultural exchange, and artistic patronage in the early modern world.