Mehmed II, called the Conqueror, had set his target on other campaigns after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453.

In Anatolia, the Greek Trebizond is still resisting the Ottomans, and to the East the White Sheep Turkomans of Uzun Hasan, together with other smaller states, threaten the Sublime Porte, a metonym for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.

In the West, Skanderbeg in Albania continues to trouble the Sultan, while Bosnia is sometimes reluctant in paying tribute.

Wallachia controls her side of the Danube and Mehmed wants to have control over the river, as naval attacks could be launched against his empire all the way from the Holy Roman Empire.

To counter the power of the Turkish aristocracy, Mehmed has continued his father's policy of expanding the Janissary infantry corps, composed of young Christians recruited through the "devshirme" system, who are given salaries rather than fiefdoms to keep them loyal to and dependent on the sultan.

Mehmed authorizes autonomous religious communities to give his subjects religious freedom and gain the support of their religious leaders.

He creates equitable tax and administrative systems, and emphasizes justice for all.