Mehmed I

About Mehmed I

Mehmed I (1386–1421) was an Ottoman Sultan who played a pivotal role in restoring the empire after the devastating Battle of Ankara in 1402. His reign, often termed the "Ottoman Interregnum," was characterized by his successful effort to reunite the fractured territories and centralize authority following the defeat by Timur. This success in rebuilding the state's structure and continuing the Ottoman expansion firmly places him as a historically significant figure, earning him the #914 rank in MIT's Pantheon index of influential people.

Despite his historical importance, Mehmed I's modern internet attention is relatively modest. In 2025, his Wikipedia pages garnered an annualized total of 225K views. This level of engagement results in an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, suggesting his online visibility generally aligns with his historical ranking. Interestingly, this view count is significantly lower than contemporary politicians like David Ben-Gurion (#986 importance), who drew 938K views, showing a clear digital preference for modern political narratives over figures central to the consolidation of early modern empires.

Year-over-year data for Mehmed I shows a -6.9% decline in Wikipedia views, indicating that even his current level of modest attention is slightly decreasing. Furthermore, his 2025 Momentum shows a 0% change between the first and third quarters, suggesting no recent surge in online curiosity has reversed this subtle trend toward further historical obscurity.