TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · 4 / 38 · sultan
Bayezid I
Yıldırım (“the Thunderbolt”)
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.
Open the reign of Bayezid I on the mapFamily
| Father | Murad I |
|---|---|
| Mother | Gülçiçek Hatun |
| Consorts | Devlet Hatun, Despina (Olivera) Hatun (Serbian princess), Devletşah Hatun (Germiyan), Hafsa Hatun (Aydınid) |
| Children | Süleyman Çelebi, İsa Çelebi, Musa Çelebi, Mustafa Çelebi, Mehmed I (Çelebi), Kasım, Fatma Hatun, Hundi Hatun |
Major achievements
- Anatolian principalities united under one rule (Aydın, Saruhan, Menteşe, Karaman, Candar, Rum)
- Victory at Nicopolis (1396) — rout of a great crusader army
- First serious siege of Constantinople and construction of Anadoluhisarı
- Investiture as ‘Sultan of the Land of Rum’ from the Abbasid caliph
- Construction of the Great Mosque of Bursa
- Earned the name ‘Thunderbolt’ for his speed of movement
Treaties
- Truce with Hungary (1398)
Grand viziers
| Name | From | To | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Çandarlı Ali Pasha (term 2) | June 16, 1389 | July 20, 1402 | 13 years, 34 days |
Battles and treaties
| Year | Event | Result / parties |
|---|---|---|
| 1389 | Battle: First Battle of Kosovo | Inconclusive |
| 1395 | Battle: Rovine | Disputed |
| 1396 | Battle: Nicopolis | Ottoman victory |
| 1398 | Treaty: Truce with Hungary | |
| 1402 | Battle: Battle of Ankara | Timurid victory |
Full infoboxes are in the site’s “Battles and Treaties” tab; source: English Wikipedia.
Death
Captured by Timur at the Battle of Ankara (1402), he died in captivity in 1403. He is said to have died of grief; there is also a tradition that he took his own life.
Territorial change
The lands that changed hands in this period, and the battles or treaties that brought the changes, can be seen on the map: map of the reign of Bayezid I.