 Sultan Mehmed II allowed the establishment of the Patriarchate in 1461, just eight years after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.The Patriarch was recognized as the religious and secular leader of all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and carried the title of "milletbaşı" or ethnarch as well as patriarch.75 patriarchs have ruled during the Ottoman period (1461–1908), 4 patriarchs in the Young Turks period (1908–1922) and 5 patriarchs in the current secular Republic of Turkey (1923–present).