The ‘Humanist Dream’ between Alfonsine Naples and Constantinople under Mehmed the Conqueror

Abstract

 This article explores, from an Ottomanist perspective, several surprising points of overlap between the humanistic production sponsored by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror and by Alfonso the Magnanimous of Naples. It focuses specifically on the connections between Ptolemaic astronomy, Aristotelianism, and the figure of Alexander the Great, as well as on each sovereign’s ambition to found a «New Rome» that would incorporate the territory of the other. To this end, the article first presents an overview of the humanistic intellectual patronage practiced at the Ottoman court following the conquest of Constantinople, and then turns to Alfonso’s court in Naples. It concludes with an examination of the relevant writings of George of Trebizond, a unique figure who was employed at Alfonso’s court when he first learned of the fall of Constantinople, and later traveled to the Ottoman capital in the hopes of securing a position in Mehmed’s service.