Mehmed II Dies

May 3, 1481

The fifty-year-old sultan, preparing another major campaign possibly against Rhodes or Egypt, died in his camp in Anatolia of unclear causes, perhaps poisoning by Venetian agents. His death triggered civil war between his sons Bayezid II and Cem. Italy exhaled. Otranto's Ottoman garrison, abandoned, would soon surrender. The succession struggle was exploited by Europeans for decades, with the losing prince Cem held hostage at the papal court.