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The Medieval Church · c. 1467
History of Mehmed the Conqueror
Michael Kritovoulos · c. 1410–c. 1470
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What it is
A Greek Christian writes an admiring history of the sultan who took his city, presenting Mehmed as a legitimate heir to the Roman emperors.
Why it lasted
The strangest document of 1453 — a conquered people's historian arguing for the conqueror's legitimacy, dedicated to the sultan himself.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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