How did the Ottomans overcome a Civil War? History of the Ottoman Empire (1400 - 1500)

The start of the 15th century in the Ottoman Empire marked the final years of Bayezid I's reign as sultan. In 1400, major tensions began to rise between the Ottoman leader and the Turco-Mongol warlord by the name of Timur. This once cold war reached a heated climax in 1402 at the Battle of Ankara. While on his way back through Anatolia to confront the threat of his powerful rival, Bayezid was caught off guard by Timur and his troops as they besieged the city of Ankara, withholding the only source of water for the Ottoman troops and forcing them to engage in battle. By the end of the conflict, Timur's army prevailed while Bayezid and his sons attempted to make an escape. Bayezid himself and two of his sons, Musa and Mustafa Çalebi were captured by Timur, though the rest were successful in their getaway. Musa was released in 1403 and Mustafa was held in Samarkand until the death of Timur in 1405, at which point he went into hiding within the territories of some of his allies. Less fortunately, Bayezid had passed away shortly after he was taken into custody. It is debated whether he was treated well by Timur and his men or not, but either way, this was the end of the fourth Ottoman sultan's rule. After Bayezid's downfall, the leadership of the empire was thrown into complete turmoil. The remaining sons of the late sultan now sparked a decade-long civil war, referred to as the Ottoman interregnum. Timur had confirmed Mehmed Çalebi as the new sultan before he had passed, but İsa, Musa, and Suleyman were unhappy with this decision. The brothers all felt that they themselves were entitled to the Ottoman throne, and therefore did not recognize Mehmed's authority. Suleyman had established his capital in Edirne, formerly known as Adrianople, and extended his power throughout all of Thrace and the southeastern reign of Europe, stretching down to northern Greece. Mehmed centered his control in the city of Amasya. Meanwhile, İsa and Musa fought for control over Bursa, eventually leading to İsa obtaining dominion. This rise of power incited a new conflict between İsa and Mehmed. And after multiple defeats, İsa sought refuge in Constantinople, as Mehmed now took command of Bursa. Not long later, another battle between the brothers ensued at Karasi, now sending İsa fleeing to Karaman. It is said that İsa was later killed after being spotted in a public bath by order of Mehmed. Suleyman, who had backed İsa during the strife with Mehmed, now went on to successfully capture Bursa and later Ankara, from the previously victorious brother. For the next few years, an alliance formed and flourished between Mehmed and Musa, the latter being sent across the Black Sea to serve as sultan to the European part of the empire. Suleyman touted an alliance with Manuel II Palaiologos and eventually won over the Serbs by the end of the Battle of Kosmidion in 1410. During this battle, Musa was defeated by Suleyman, though the tide would shortly turn once again. Due to apparent temperamental issues, Suleyman found himself rapidly losing allies and support. Taking advantage of the defections and abandonment on his brother's side, Musa found triumph at Edirne in 1411. Suleyman attempted to escape into Byzantine protection but was murdered on his way, leaving Musa and Mehmed as co-sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Clearly unhappy about the Byzantine Emperor's loyalty to Suleyman, Musa decided to lay siege to Constantinople as retaliation. Emperor Manuel, in turn, requested assistance from Mehmed, who made multiple attempts to defend him in a blatant breach of the agreement made with Musa. Unable to stay in Constantinople for long though, Mehmed had to return to his own territory in order to deal with a mutiny before looking to the Serbian autocrat Stefan Lazarevic for help. Now returning to face his brother with new strength, Mehmed and his army met with Musa and his forces at Chamurlu, resulting in a defeat for Musa and his later capture and murder. Finally freed of the constant looming menace of his brother's attempts to seize his power, Mehmed Şahlebi became Sultan Mehmed I, accepting complete sovereignty over the Empire and uniting those who had been divided during the long-running civil war. Throughout the rest of his reign, Mehmed focused on consolidating power across both Anatolia and the European region. He was faced with several challenges along the way, including a dispute with Mustafa, his remaining brother, who had finally come out of hiding. A theologian and revolutionary by the name of Şişk Bedreddin also posed a threat to Mehmed's authority, sparking a discord that would last four years until the agitator was finally captured and hanged. Mehmed's tumultuous rule finally came to an end with his death in 1421, leaving control of the Empire to his son, Murad II. During the start of Murad's time as Sultan, Manuel II Pellilogos made a deal with Mustafa Şahlebi to free him from the exile he had been forced into before Mehmed I's death. The Byzantine Emperor recognized Mustafa as the true heir to what had once been Bayezid I's throne. But he only found success for a short while before Murad finally ended Mustafa's campaign with his execution. Attention was now directed toward punishing the Byzantines for this unprovoked hostility. In an attempt to do just that, Murad decided to besiege Constantinople, but was recalled back to Bursa after Manuel attempted to utilize Murad's 13-year-old rebellious brother to fight back against him. The boy's revolt was subdued, and Murad was able to refocus his efforts towards fortifying his dominion by re-establishing his authority over the Anatolian vassals and principalities. As well as continued effort to expand further into Europe, conflicts with Venice, Serbia, Hungary, and other non-allies became a regular occurrence near the end of the 1420s. In 1444, Murad faced a Christian coalition of Crusaders at the Battle of Varna, led by John Hanyadi. The Hungarians and their allies were soundly defeated in what could only be deemed an embarrassing retreat. One notable detail of this battle is the fact that Vlad Dracul, the current Wallachian voivode, had sent a small contingent under his eldest son to assist Hanyadi and his Crusaders, despite the fact that Murad was holding Dracul's two youngest sons as hostages to ensure allegiance from Wallachia. Not much came of this situation until later, but it serves as a clear demonstration of the frequent betrayals that plagued the times. Before the Battle of Varna, Murad had actually abdicated his throne to one of his sons, Mehmed II. Displeased with this immense responsibility as merely a child, Mehmed urged his father to return and lead their troops against the Christian forces that aimed to take advantage of a young new sultan. After undertaking the task and trouncing the crusading effort, Murad went back into retirement until he was required to return in order to quell a Janissary revolt. It wasn't long before the elder sultan was once again forced to meet the troops of Christian Europe, this time on the battlefield of Kosovo. Still following the lead of John Hanyadi, a union of Hungarian-Wallachian-Moldavian and other allied troops, attempted to execute a new strike against the Ottomans in an effort to avenge their previous defeat at Varna. Caught off guard by Murad and his troops, who had intercepted the crusaders at the Kosovo pole field, John Hanyadi and his army faced another humiliating loss. Murad was now able to finish out his reign by addressing the issue of Timur's son, Shah Rahk, and gaining command over the leaders of the Churrum Amasya region, in addition to an attempt, though unsuccessful, at defeating the Albanian forces of Skanderbeg at the castle of Kruj. By the end of 1451, Murad had fallen ill and passed away, leaving Mehmed II as sultan once again. Mehmed II later deemed Mehmed the conqueror for the remarkable accomplishments during his reign, immediately looked to complete the task of finally capturing Constantinople, as many of his predecessors had ventured to do. In a ploy to curb any distractions, Mehmed signed peace treaties with both Hungary and Venice while preparing his navy for the future siege of Byzantium's heart. In 1453, with an army of around 80,000 troops or more, over 100 naval ships, and something the previous sultans lacked, cannons, Mehmed began the campaign that would eventually be called the Fall of Constantinople. The siege lasted over 50 days and resulted in a concise victory for the Ottomans, who now declared Constantinople their new capital. Mehmed also styled himself the Caesar of the Roman Empire, a title that was denied to him by the Roman Catholic Church, but accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The young sultan then captured the final remaining Byzantine states and pressed further on into Europe. In a reign marked by drastic government changes, creating a more centralized bureaucracy and appointing only those who could be loyal to him and his agenda to his court, as well as continual back and forths between his empire and the European Christians, one of the most prominent storylines may be the relationship between Mehmed II and Vlad III Dracula. As previously mentioned, two of Vlad Dracul's sons had been held hostage by Murad II. These boys, Radu and Vlad III Dracula, grew up alongside Mehmed and each developed starkly different relationships with him. While Radu would choose to stay within the Ottoman Empire and serve as a lifelong friend and ally to Mehmed, Vlad became a persistent opponent who fought against his contemporaries will until his final breath. While some claim that his long-standing strife with the voivode of the much smaller region and military shows a weakness in Mehmed, it instead gives us a profound look at his personality and mindset. Before ultimately pulling back from his attempts to overpower and defeat Vlad Dracula, Mehmed is recorded to have said that he "...could not take land away from a man who does such marvellous things. And surely a man who had accomplished this is worthy of greater things." These statements from the Sultan himself display not only a level of respect for his adversary, but also his confidence in the Ottoman Empire as a whole during his rule. Mehmed was willing to walk away from a conflict that he saw no near success in because he was head of essentially two empires, having more or less absorbed the Byzantine Empire and knew that his power could not truly be stifled so easily. This tone of tolerance extended past Mehmed himself and can be seen again during the reign of his son Bayezid II, who claimed the throne after his father's death in 1481. The start of Bayezid II's term as sultan is slightly stained by a conflict with his brother, Kem. Once his position was secured, Bayezid began to make some changes to his father's policy and put a strong emphasis on domestic politics throughout both the east and west, establishing a more well-ordered system. Though not remembered entirely for the conflicts he engaged in, Bayezid did put notable effort into conquering new Venetian territories and Balkan lands. Nonetheless, the most remarkable decision under Bayezid II to round out the 15th century may have been his reaction to the expulsion of both Muslims and Jews from Spain in 1492. Bayezid condemned Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella I sending the Ottoman navy over to safely relocate the banished Muslims and Jews to his own territories. He told every leader under his authority that they were to welcome all of the refugees and would be punished by death if they were to treat the Jews any differently than their Muslim counterparts. This extraordinary act led to an increase of new skills, enhancements, and ideas being brought into the empire, which resulted in heightened success for the welcoming sultan. By the end of the 1400s, Bayezid II remained on the Ottoman throne as a well-respected and prosperous leader, earning the epithet of the Just. Bayezid may be one of the more underrated rulers of the empire today. He, just like those throughout the rest of the century, accomplished noteworthy feats that helped to continue the propulsion of the Ottoman Empire and its power into the many, many years to come.