 Complete the following phrase:  Upon making Constantinople present-day Istanbul the new capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1453, Mehmed II assumed the title of Kayser-i Rûm literally Caesar Romanus, i.e. Roman Emperor. In order to consolidate this claim, he would launch a campaign to conquer Rome, the western capital of the former Roman Empire. To this aim he spent many years securing positions on the Adriatic Sea, such as in Albania Veneta, and then continued with the 