TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Event · 1461
When Mehmed II moved to establish his rule over the whole Black Sea region, he took Sinop and its surroundings without a fight in 1461, according to the TDV article on Sinop; he gave the Candarid ruler İsmail Bey a fief and moved him and his cavalry to Rumelia. According to the article on the Candarids, Kızıl Ahmed Bey succeeded İsmail Bey under Ottoman protection, but his rule was nominal; Mehmed II gave him the sanjak of the Morea and annexed the Candarid beylik outright. Under the Ottomans Sinop became the chief naval base on the Black Sea.
| Date | 1461 |
|---|---|
| Location | Sinop and the Kastamonu region |
| Result | Sinop taken without a fight; the Candarid beylik came to an end |
| Belligerents | Ottoman state | Candarid Beylik |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Mehmed II | İsmail Bey of the Candarids |
Took place during the reign of Mehmed II (1451–1481). Mehmed II
The atlas records this territorial change for the year:
By the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 823,000 km² in 1461; at the start of Mehmed II's reign they measured 664,000 km², at its end 1,140,000 km².
During Mehmed II (1451–1481) the atlas records 13 regions gained and 0 regions lost.
Regions gained: Istanbul and the Straits (1453), Moldavia (1455), Athens–Central Greece (1456), Morea (Peloponnese) (1460), Trabzon (Pontus) (1461), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1461), Aegean Islands (Lesbos–Lemnos–Samos) (1462), Bosnia (1463), and 5 more.
The conquest of Constantinople (1453) ended the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), turned the Ottoman state into an empire and moved the centre of the state permanently to Istanbul. By eliminating most of the independent states in the Balkans and Anatolia he consolidated the borders between the Danube and the Euphrates; his first reign was in 1444–1446.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “SİNOP” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Ottoman annexation of Sinop (1461): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/ottoman-annexation-of-sinop/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections