Bayezid II
Encyclopedia
Bayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî
(December 3, 1447 – May 26, 1512) (Ottoman Turkish
: بايزيد ثانى Bāyezīd-i sānī, Turkish
:II. Bayezid or II. Beyazıt) was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II
, ruling as Sultan
of the Ottoman Empire
from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid II consolidated the Ottoman Empire and thwarted a Safavid
rebellion soon before abdicating his throne to his son, Selim I
.
Palace (now Didymoteicho
) in Thrace
as the son of Mehmed II
(1451–81) and Valide Sultan Mükrime Hatun
, the daughter of Süleyman Bey, the sixth ruler of Dulkadirids, who died in 1492. According to Turkish folk tales, she was a French princess. Bayezid II married Ayşe Hatun, a convert of Greek
ethnicity, who was the mother of Selim I
.
, who claimed the throne and sought military backing from the Mamluks in Egypt. Having been defeated by his brother's armies, Cem sought protection from the Knights of St. John
in Rhodes
. Eventually, the Knights handed Cem over to Pope Innocent VIII
(1484–1492). The Pope thought of using Cem as a tool to drive the Turks out of Europe, but, as the Papal Crusade failed to come to fruition, Cem was left to languish and die in a Neapolitan prison.
possessions in Morea
, accurately defining this region as the key to future Ottoman naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean. The last of these wars ended in 1501 with Bayezid II in control of the whole Peloponnese. Bayezid is also responsible for certain self-inflicted intellectual wounds in Islamic civilization, such as the outlawing of all printing in Arabic and Turkic, a ban lasting in the Islamic world until 1729.
Rebellions in the east, such as that of the Qizilbash, plagued much of Bayezid II's reign and were often backed by the Shah
of Persia
, Ismail
, who was eager to promote Shi'ism
to undermine the authority of the Ottoman state. Ottoman authority in Anatolia
was indeed seriously threatened during this period, and at one point Bayezid II's grand vizier
, Ali Pasha, was killed in battle against rebels.
to Spain in 1492 in order to save the Arabs and Sephardic Jews who were expelled by the Spanish Inquisition
. He sent out proclamations throughout the empire that the refugees were to be welcomed. He granted the refugees the permission to settle in the Ottoman Empire and become Ottoman citizens. He ridiculed the conduct of Ferdinand II of Aragon
and Isabella I of Castile
in expelling a class of people so useful to their subjects. "You venture to call Ferdinand a wise ruler," he said to his courtiers — "he who has impoverished his own country and enriched mine!" Bajazet addressed a firman to all the governors of his European provinces, ordering them not only to refrain from repelling the Spanish refugees, but to give them a friendly and welcome reception. He threatened with death all those who treated the Jews harshly or refused them admission into the empire. Moses Capsali
, who probably helped to arouse the sultan's friendship for the Jews, was most energetic in his assistance to the exiles. He made a tour of the communities, and was instrumental in imposing a tax upon the rich, to ransom the Jewish victims of the persecutions then prevalent.
The Arabs and Jews of Spain contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. The first printing press in Constantinople was established by the Sephardic Jews in 1493. It is reported that under Bajazet's reign, Jews enjoyed a period of cultural flourishing, with the presence of such scholars as the Talmudist and scientist Mordecai Comtino
; astronomer and poet Solomon ben Elijah Sharbiṭ ha-Zahab
; Shabbethai ben Malkiel Cohen, and the liturgical poet Menahem Tamar.
was devastated by an earthquake. Bayezid II's final years saw a succession battle between his sons Selim I
and Ahmet
. Ahmet unexpectedly captured Karaman, an Ottoman city, and began marching to Constantinople to exploit his triumph. Fearing for his safety, Selim staged a revolt in Thrace
but was defeated by Bayezid and forced to flee back to Crimea
. Bayezid II developed fears that Ahmed might in turn kill him to gain the throne and refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople.
Selim returned from Crimea and, with support from the Janissaries
, forced his father to abdicate the throne on April 25, 1512. Beyazid departed for retirement in his native Demotika, but he died on May 26, 1512 at Büyükçekmece
before reaching his destination, and only a month after his abdication. He was buried next to the Bayezid Mosque in Istanbul
.
Veli
Veli is a Turkish and Finnish male given name, meaning guardian and brother in each language respectively.-Given name:* Veli Acar, Turkish footballer* Veli Kavlak, Austrian footballer* Veli Kızılkaya, Turkish footballer...
(December 3, 1447 – May 26, 1512) (Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
: بايزيد ثانى Bāyezīd-i sānī, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
:II. Bayezid or II. Beyazıt) was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
, ruling as Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid II consolidated the Ottoman Empire and thwarted a Safavid
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
rebellion soon before abdicating his throne to his son, Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
.
Early life
Bayezid II was born in DimetokaDidymoteicho
Didymóteicho is a town located in the eastern part of the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town sits on a plain and located south east of Svilengrad, south of Edirne, Turkey and Orestiada, west of Uzunköprü, about 20 km north...
Palace (now Didymoteicho
Didymoteicho
Didymóteicho is a town located in the eastern part of the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town sits on a plain and located south east of Svilengrad, south of Edirne, Turkey and Orestiada, west of Uzunköprü, about 20 km north...
) in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
as the son of Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
(1451–81) and Valide Sultan Mükrime Hatun
Mükrime Hatun
300px|thumb|left|The son of Mükrime Hatun, II. BayezidMûkrîmā Khātûn, , was the third wife of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, the daughter of Süleyman Bey, the sixth ruler of Dulkadir State, and the biological mother of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II...
, the daughter of Süleyman Bey, the sixth ruler of Dulkadirids, who died in 1492. According to Turkish folk tales, she was a French princess. Bayezid II married Ayşe Hatun, a convert of Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
ethnicity, who was the mother of Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
.
Fight for the throne
Bayezid II's overriding concern was the quarrel with his brother CemCem
Prince Cem , December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495) was a pretender to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. He was a son of Mehmed II the Conqueror and younger brother of Sultan Bayezid II. He was banished to Europe, first under the protection of the Knights Hospitaller of St...
, who claimed the throne and sought military backing from the Mamluks in Egypt. Having been defeated by his brother's armies, Cem sought protection from the Knights of St. John
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
in Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
. Eventually, the Knights handed Cem over to Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII , born Giovanni Battista Cybo , was Pope from 1484 until his death.-Early years:Giovanni Battista Cybo was born at Genoa of Greek extraction...
(1484–1492). The Pope thought of using Cem as a tool to drive the Turks out of Europe, but, as the Papal Crusade failed to come to fruition, Cem was left to languish and die in a Neapolitan prison.
Reign
Bayezid II ascended the Ottoman throne in 1481. Like his father, Bayezid II was a patron of western and eastern culture and unlike many other Sultans, worked hard to ensure a smooth running of domestic politics, which earned him the epithet of "the Just". Throughout his reign, Bayezid II engaged in numerous campaigns to conquer the VenetianRepublic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
possessions in Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
, accurately defining this region as the key to future Ottoman naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean. The last of these wars ended in 1501 with Bayezid II in control of the whole Peloponnese. Bayezid is also responsible for certain self-inflicted intellectual wounds in Islamic civilization, such as the outlawing of all printing in Arabic and Turkic, a ban lasting in the Islamic world until 1729.
Rebellions in the east, such as that of the Qizilbash, plagued much of Bayezid II's reign and were often backed by the Shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
of Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Ismail
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
, who was eager to promote Shi'ism
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
to undermine the authority of the Ottoman state. Ottoman authority in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
was indeed seriously threatened during this period, and at one point Bayezid II's grand vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
, Ali Pasha, was killed in battle against rebels.
Jewish and Muslim emigration
Bayezid II also sent out the Ottoman navy under the command of Kemal ReisKemal Reis
Kemal Reis was a Turkish privateer and admiral of the Ottoman Empire. He was also the paternal uncle of the famous Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis who accompanied him in most of his important naval expeditions....
to Spain in 1492 in order to save the Arabs and Sephardic Jews who were expelled by the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
. He sent out proclamations throughout the empire that the refugees were to be welcomed. He granted the refugees the permission to settle in the Ottoman Empire and become Ottoman citizens. He ridiculed the conduct of Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
and Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
in expelling a class of people so useful to their subjects. "You venture to call Ferdinand a wise ruler," he said to his courtiers — "he who has impoverished his own country and enriched mine!" Bajazet addressed a firman to all the governors of his European provinces, ordering them not only to refrain from repelling the Spanish refugees, but to give them a friendly and welcome reception. He threatened with death all those who treated the Jews harshly or refused them admission into the empire. Moses Capsali
Moses Capsali
Moses b. Elijah Capsali was Hakham Bashi of the Ottoman Empire.He was born in Greece in 1420. When a young man he left his native country in order to study at the German yeshivot. He is next mentioned as rabbi of Constantinople about 1450; but he became prominent only during the reign of Sultan...
, who probably helped to arouse the sultan's friendship for the Jews, was most energetic in his assistance to the exiles. He made a tour of the communities, and was instrumental in imposing a tax upon the rich, to ransom the Jewish victims of the persecutions then prevalent.
The Arabs and Jews of Spain contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. The first printing press in Constantinople was established by the Sephardic Jews in 1493. It is reported that under Bajazet's reign, Jews enjoyed a period of cultural flourishing, with the presence of such scholars as the Talmudist and scientist Mordecai Comtino
Mordecai Comtino
Mordecai ben Eliezer Comtino was a Turkish Jewish Talmudist and scientist.The earliest date attached to any of his writings is 1425...
; astronomer and poet Solomon ben Elijah Sharbiṭ ha-Zahab
Solomon ben Elijah Sharbit
Solomon ben Elijah Sharbit Ha-Zahab was a Jewish astronomer, poet, and grammarian; he lived at Salonica and later at Ephesus, in the second half of the fourteenth century....
; Shabbethai ben Malkiel Cohen, and the liturgical poet Menahem Tamar.
Succession
On September 14, 1509, ConstantinopleIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
was devastated by an earthquake. Bayezid II's final years saw a succession battle between his sons Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
and Ahmet
Şehzade Ahmet
Şehzade Ahmet was an Ottoman prince who fought for throne in 1512-3.-Background:Ahmet was the oldest living son of Beyazit II. His mother was Bülbül Hatun. In Ottoman tradition all princes were required to work as provencial governors in Anatolia as a part of their training...
. Ahmet unexpectedly captured Karaman, an Ottoman city, and began marching to Constantinople to exploit his triumph. Fearing for his safety, Selim staged a revolt in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
but was defeated by Bayezid and forced to flee back to Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. Bayezid II developed fears that Ahmed might in turn kill him to gain the throne and refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople.
Selim returned from Crimea and, with support from the Janissaries
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
, forced his father to abdicate the throne on April 25, 1512. Beyazid departed for retirement in his native Demotika, but he died on May 26, 1512 at Büyükçekmece
Büyükçekmece
Büyükçekmece is a district and municipality in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey on the Sea of Marmara coast of the European side, west of the city. It is largely an industrial area with a population of 380,000...
before reaching his destination, and only a month after his abdication. He was buried next to the Bayezid Mosque in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
In popular culture
- Sultan Bayezid II's statesmanship, tolerance, and intellectual abilities are depicted in the historical novel The Sultan's Helmsman, which takes place in the middle years of his reign.
- Sultan Bayezid II and his struggle with his son Selim is a prominent motive in the fictional video game Assassin's Creed: RevelationsAssassin's Creed: RevelationsAssassin's Creed: Revelations is a video game in the Assassin's Creed franchise developed and published by Ubisoft Montreal. The game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011. For Microsoft Windows, the game is delayed until December 2, 2011...
. In the game, due to Bayezid's absence from Constantinople, Byzantines had the opportunity to sneak back into the city, hoping to revive their fallen empire. Near the end of the game, Bayezid surrendered the throne to his son Selim.