TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Siege · 1394
According to the TDV article on Bayezid I, Bayezid, who had kept Constantinople under blockade for seven years, placed it under close siege again in the spring of 1394. In 1396, while making a great effort to take the city, he learned that King Sigismund of Hungary's crusading army was besieging Nicopolis; he raised the siege and routed the crusaders. Emperor Manuel then had to accept the founding of a Turkish quarter in Constantinople, with a mosque and a judge. The siege went on despite the small relief force Boucicaut brought; just as the city's fall seemed imminent, Timur appeared in the east, and the defeat at Ankara (1402) ended the siege.
| Date | Spring 1394 – 1402 |
|---|---|
| Location | Constantinople |
| Result | The city was not taken; the siege ended after the battle of Ankara |
| Belligerents | Ottoman state | Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Bayezid I | Manuel II |
Took place during the reign of Bayezid I (1389–1402). Bayezid I
The atlas records this territorial change for the year:
By the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 548,000 km² in 1394; at the start of Bayezid I's reign they measured 284,000 km², at its end 340,000 km².
During Bayezid I (1389–1402) the atlas records 11 regions gained and 13 regions lost.
Regions gained: Aydın–Saruhan–Menteşe (1390), Teke–Hamid (Antalya–Isparta–Burdur) (1390), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1392), Kosovo (1392), Thessaly (Larissa–Trikala–Arta) (1393), Southern and Central Albania (Vlorë–Berat–Elbasan) (1394), Northern Albania (Krujë–Shkodër) (1394), Wallachia (1395), and 3 more.
Regions lost: Aydın–Saruhan–Menteşe (1402), Karesi (Balıkesir–Çanakkale) (1402), Germiyan (Kütahya–Afyon–Uşak) (1402), Teke–Hamid (Antalya–Isparta–Burdur) (1402), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1402), Karaman–Konya–Kayseri (1402), Canik (Samsun–Ordu) (1402), Wallachia (1402), and 5 more.
In thirteen years he carried the state to its height and lost it in a single battle. The Battle of Ankara broke the unity of Anatolia, restored the principalities and began the eleven-year Interregnum — the sharpest break in Ottoman history.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “BAYEZİD I” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Siege of Constantinople (1394–1402): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/siege-of-constantinople-1394-1402/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections