Bayezid I

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Bayezid I

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

Reign

16 June, 1389 8 March, 1403

Predecessor

Murad I

Successor

Interregnum

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

Consort

Devlet Hatun
Hafsa Hatun
Despina Hatun

Royal house

House of Osman

Father

Murad I

Mother

Gliek Hatun

Born

1360

Died

8 March, 1403 (aged 43)

Burial

Bursa, Turkey

Religion

Islam

Tughra

Bayezid I (Ottoman Turkish: ; Turkish: 1. Beyazt; nicknamed Yldrm (Ottoman

Turkish: ), "The Lightning"; 1360 8 March 1403) was the Sultan of the Ottoman
Empire from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Gliek Hatun.
[1][2]

Contents
[hide]

1 Biography

2 Legacy

3 Marriages and progeny

o

3.1 Marriages

3.2 Issue

4 In fiction

5 Notes

6 References

7 External links

Biography[edit]

The first major role of Bayezid was as governor of Ktahya, city that was conquered from
theGermiyanids. He was an impetuous soldier, earning the nickname of Lightning in a battle
against the Karamanids.
Bayezid ascended to the throne following the death of his father Murad I, who was killed by
Serbian knight Milo Obili during (15 June), or immediately after (16 June), the Battle of
Kosovo in 1389, by which Serbia became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. Immediately after
obtaining the throne, he had his younger brother strangled to avoid a plot. In 1390, Bayezid
took as a wife Princess Olivera Despina, the daughter of Prince Lazar of Serbia, who also
lost his life in Kosovo. Bayezid recognized Stefan Lazarevi, the son of Lazar, as the new
Serbian leader (later despot), with considerable autonomy.
[3]

A manuscript of theQuran from the reign of Bayezid I.

The upper Serbia resisted the Ottomans until general Pashayigit captured the city of Skopje
in 1391, converting he city in an important base of operations.
Meanwhile, the sultan began unifying Anatolia under his rule. Forcible expansion into Muslim
territories could endanger the Ottoman relationship with the gazis, who were an important
source of warriors for this ruling house on the European frontier. So Bayezid began the
practice to first securefatwas, or legal rulings from Islamic scholars, justifying their wars
against these Muslim states. However he suspected the loyalty of his Muslim Turkoman
followers, for Bayezid relied heavily on his Serbian and Byzantine vassal troops to perform
these conquests.
[4]

In a single campaign over the summer and fall of 1390, Bayezid conquered the beyliks
of Aydin, Saruhan andMentee. His major rival Sulayman, the emir of Karaman, responded
by allying himself with the ruler of Sivas,Kadi Burhan al-Din and the remaining Turkish
beyliks. Nevertheless, Bayezid pushed on and in the fall and winter of 1390 overwhelmed
the remaining beyliks -- Hamid, Teke, and Germiyan -- as well as taking the cities
ofAkehir and Nide, as well as their capital Konya from the Karaman. At this point, Bayezid
accepted peace proposals from Karaman (1391), concerned that further advances would
antagonize his Turkoman followers and lead them to ally with Kadi Burhan al-Din. Once
peace had been made with Karaman, Bayezid moved north against Kastamonu which had
given refuge to many fleeing from his forces, and conquered both that city as well as Sinop.

[5]

From 1389 to 1395 he conquered Bulgaria and northern Greece. In 1394 Bayezid crossed
the River Danube to attack Wallachia, ruled at that time by Mircea the Elder. The Ottomans
were superior in number, but on 10 October 1394 (or 17 May 1395), in the Battle of Rovine,
on forested and swampy terrain, the Wallachians won the fierce battle and prevented
Bayezid's army from advancing beyond the Danube.
[6]

In 1394, Bayezid laid siege to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine

Empire. Anadoluhisar fortress was built between 1393 and 1394 as part of preparations for
the Second Ottoman Siege of Constantinople, which took place in 1395. On the urgings of
the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus a new crusade was organized to defeat him.
This proved unsuccessful: in 1396 the Christian allies, under the leadership of the King
of Hungary and future Holy Roman Emperor (in 1433) Sigismund, were defeated in
the Battle of Nicopolis. Bayezid built the magnificent Ulu Cami in Bursa, to celebrate this
victory.
[7]

Bayezid I, held captive by Timur.

Thus, the siege of Constantinople continued, lasting until 1402. The beleaguered
Byzantines had their reprieve when Bayezid fought the Timurid Empire in the East. At this
time, the empire of Bayezid included Thrace (except Constantinople), Macedonia, Bulgaria,
and parts of Serbia in Europe. In Asia, his domains extended to the Taurus Mountains. His
army was considered one of the best in the Islamic world. In 1400, the Central
Asian warlord Timur succeeded in rousing the local Turkic beyliks that had been vassals of
the Ottomans to join him in his attack on Bayezid, who was also considered one of the most
powerful rulers in the Muslim world during that period. In the fateful Battle of Ankara, on 20
July 1402, Bayezid was captured by Timur and the Ottoman army was defeated. Many
writers claim that Bayezid was mistreated by the Timurids. However, writers and historians
from Timur's own court reported that Bayezid was treated well, and that Timur even mourned
his death. One of Bayezid's sons, Mustafa elebi, was captured with him and held captive
in Samarkand until 1405.
[8]

[9]

Four of Bayezid's sons, specifically Sleyman elebi, sa elebi, Mehmed elebi, and Musa
elebi, however, escaped from the battlefield and later started a civil war for the Ottoman
throne known as the Ottoman Interregnum. After Mehmed's victory, his coronation
asMehmed I, and the death of all four but Mehmed, Bayezid's other son Mustafa
elebi emerged from hiding and began two failed rebellions against his brother Mehmed
and, after Mehmed's death, his nephew Murat II.
[10]

Legacy[edit]
A commando battalion in the Pakistan Army is named Yaldaram Battalion after him. Yildirim
Beyazit University, a state university in Turkey, is also named after him.

Marriages and progeny[edit]

His mother was Valide Sultan Gliek Hatun who was of ethnic Greek descent.

[1][11]

Marriages[edit]

Devlet Hatun (m. 1376), daughter of Prince Sleyman ah elebi of

the Germiyanids and Mutahhare Abide Hatun;
Despina Hatun (m. 1389), daughter of Prince Lazar of Serbia and Princess Miliza;
Hafsa Hatun (m.1390), daughter of Prince Fahreddin Isa Bey of the Aydinids and
Azize Hatun;

Issue[edit]

ehzade Erturul elebi, with Devlet Hatun

ehzade Sleyman elebi (13771411), co-sultan of Rumelia, with Devlet Hatun

ehzade sa elebi (13801406), governor of Anatolia, with Devlet Hatun

ehzade Mehmed elebi (13891421), governor of Anatolia, and later sultan

Mehmed I elebi (14131421), with Devlet Hatun

ehzade Mustafa elebi (13931422), with Devlet Hatun

ehzade Musa elebi (d. 1413), sultan of Rumelia (14101413), with Devlet Hatun

ehzade Kasm elebi - son, sent as a hostage to Constantinople together with his
sister, Sultan Fatma Hatun

ehzade Yusuf elebi - son, converted to Christianity, changed his name to

Demetrios
[12]

Erhondu Hatun - daughter, married to Damat Yakup Bey son of Pars Bey
Hundi Fatma Hatun - daughter, married to Damat Seyyid emseddin Mehmed
Buhari, Emir Sultan
Sultan Fatma Hatun - daughter, married to Damat Sanjak Bey

Oruz Hatun - daughter, married to Abu Bakar Mirza, son of Jalal ud-din Miran Shah
son of Timur

Paa Melek Hatun - daughter, married to Amir Jalal ud-din Islam, son of Shams uddin Muhammad, a General in Timur's service