Osman Bey, d Osman, d Orhan, d Murad, d Bayezid “the Thunderbolt,” d Timurid Interregnum, Mehmed I, d Murad II, and Mehmed II “the Conqueror,” and Bayezid II, d Selim, d Suleyman “the Magnificent,” d. 1566

Gentile Bellini, Portrait of Mehmed the Conqueror, 1480

With the collapse of the Pax Mongolica in the 15 th c., the Ottomans served as a vital last link on the silk road

Above: Gate of Salutations, with access to second court and the main palace structure Below: The throne room, in the third court just past the Gate of Felicitations