Bayezid II

Fight for the throne

Bayezid II's overriding concern was the quarrel with his brother Cem Sultan, who claimed the throne and sought military backing from the Mamluks in Egypt. Karamani Mehmed Pasha, last grand vizier of Mehmed II, informed him of the death of the Sultan and invited Bayezid to ascend the throne. 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 died in Naples.

Reign

Bayezid II ascended the Ottoman throne in 1481. Like his father, Bayezid II was a patron of western and eastern culture. Unlike many other sultans, he 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 Venetian possessions in Morea, accurately defining this region as the key to future Ottoman naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1497, he went to war with Poland and decisively defeated the 80,000 strong Polish army during the Moldavian campaign. The last of these wars ended in 1501 with Bayezid II in control of the whole Peloponnese. 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 Iran, Ismail I, 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 vizier, Hadım Ali Pasha, was killed in battle against the Şahkulu rebellion. Hadım Ali Pasha's death prompted a power vacuum. As a result, many important statesmen secretly pledged allegiance to Kinsman Karabœcu Pasha (Turkish: "Karaböcü Kuzen Paşa") who made his reputation in conducting espionage operations during the Fall of Constantinople in his youth.

Jewish and Muslim immigration

In July 1492, the new state of Spain expelled its Jewish and Muslim populations as part of the Spanish Inquisition. Bayezid II sent out the Ottoman Navy under the command of admiral Kemal Reis to Spain in 1492 in order to evacuate them safely to Ottoman lands. 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!" Bayezid 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 persecution.

The Muslims and Jews of al-Andalus contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. The first printing press in Constantinople (now Istanbul) was established by the Sephardic Jews in 1493. It is reported that under Bayezid'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.

Final years, death and legacy

Forced abdication, succession and death

During Bayezid II's final years, on 14 September 1509, Constantinople was devastated by an earthquake, and a succession battle developed between his sons Selim and Ahmet. Ahmet unexpectedly captured Karaman, 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 Kaffa, on the Crimean peninsula.

Bayezid II developed fears that Ahmet might in turn kill him to gain the throne, so he refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople. Selim returned from Crimea and, with support from the Janissaries, he forced his father to abdicate the throne on 25 April 1512. Bayezid departed for retirement in his native Dimetoka, but he died on 26 May 1512 at Havsa, before reaching his destination and only a month after his abdication. He was buried next to the Bayezid Mosque in Istanbul.

Legacy

Bayezid was praised in a ghazal-style poem of Abdürrezzak Bahşı, a scribe who came to Constantinople from Samarkand in the second half of the 15th century that worked at the courts of Mehmed II and Bayezid II, and wrote in Chagatai with the Old Uyghur alphabet:

I had a pleasant time in your reign my Padishah.

I was without fear of all fears and dangers.

The fame of your justice and fairness reached to China and Hotan.

Thanks to God that there exist a merciful person like my Padishah.

Sultan Bayezid Khan ascended the throne.

This country had been his fate since past eternity.

Any enemy that denied the country of my master:

That enemy's neck had been in rope and gallows.

Your believing servants' faces smile like Bahşı's.

The place of those who walk unbelieving is hellfire.

Bayezid II ordered al-ʿAtufi, the librarian of Topkapı Palace, to prepare a register. The library's diverse holdings reflect a cosmopolitanism that was encyclopaedic in scope.

Family

Consorts

Bayezid had ten known consorts:

• Şirin Hatun, Başkadin, mother of Şehzade Abdullah, Bayezid's eldest son;
• Hüsnüşah Hatun, daughter of Nasuh Bey of Karaman and mother of Şehzade Şehinşah
• Bülbül Hatun, mother of Şehzade Ahmed, Bayezid's favorite son;
• Nigar Hatun, mother of Şehzade Korkut, regent of the Ottoman Empire;
• Gülruh Hatun; mother of Şehzade Alemşah
• Muhtereme Ferahşad Hatun; mother of Şehzade Mehmed
• Ayşe Gülbahar Hatun, the mother of Sultan Selim I, is said to have had one of two possible origins. The most widely accepted view is that she was the daughter of Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey of the Dulkadirid dynasty. A less widely accepted theory suggests that she was a concubine.
• Gülfem Hatun;
• Mühürnaz Hatun.

Sons

Bayezid had at least eight sons:

• Şehzade Abdullah (c. 1465 – 6 November 1483) – son of Şirin Hatun. He was governor of Manisa, Trebizond and Konya. He died of unknown causes and was buried in Bursa. He married his cousin, Nergisşah (or Nergiszade) Ferahşad Sultan, daughter of Şehzade Mustafa, and had with her a son and two daughters.
• Şehzade Ahmed (c. 1466 – 24 March 1513) – son of Bülbül Hatun. Bayezid's favorite son, he was executed by his half-brother Selim I, who became sultan. He had at least seven concubines, seven sons and four daughters.
• Şehzade Korkut (Amasya, 1469 –Manisa, 10 March 1513) – son of Nigar Hatun. Rival of Selim I for the throne, he was first exiled by him and then executed. He had two children who died as infants and two daughters.
• Şehzade Şehinşah (c.1470 – 2 July 1511, buried in his half-brother Ahmed's mausoleum) - with Hüsnüşah Hatun. He was governor of Manisa and Karaman. He had a known consort, Mükrime Hatun (buried in her own mausoleum in Muradiye Complex, Bursa), five sons and a daughter.
• Selim I (Amasya, 10 October 1470 – Çorlu, 22 September 1520) – son with Gülbahar Hatun, he dethroned his father and became Sultan
• Şehzade Mahmud (1475 – 4 November 1507) – unknown motherhood, full-brother of Gevhermülük Sultan. He was governor of Kastamonu and Manisa. He had three sons and two daughters:
  • Şehzade Musa (1490–1512, executed by Selim I).
  • Şehzade Orhan (1494–1512, executed by Selim I).
  • Şehzade Emirhan Süleyman (?–1512, executed by Selim I).
  • Ayşe Hundi Sultan (1495–fl. 1556), married in 1508 to Ferruh Bey with whom she had a daughter:
    • Mihrihan Hanımsultan
  • Hançerli Zeynep Hanzade Fatma Sultan (1496–April 1533). It is believed that she may have educated the future Hürrem Sultan before she was introduced to Suleiman the Magnificent via Hafsa Sultan or Pargali Ibrahim). She married in 1508 to Mehmed Bey with whom she had two sons:
    • Sultanzade Kasim Bey (1511–1531)
    • Sultanzade Mahmud Bey
• Şehzade Alemşah (1477–1502) – son of Gülruh Hatun. Governor of Mentese and Manisa. He died of liver cirrhosis due to the unruly life he led. He had a son and two daughters:
  • Şehzade Osman Şah (1492–1512, executed by Selim I)
  • Ayşe Sultan, married in 1521 to his cousin Sultanzade Mehmed Çelebi, son of Sofu Fatma Sultan
  • Fatma Sultan (1493–1522), buried in the Gülruh's mausoleum, Bursa.
• Şehzade Mehmed (1484 – December 1504) – son of Ferahşad Hatun. Governor of Kefe. He married Ayşe Hatun, a princess of the Giray Khanate of Crimea. After his death, Ayşe married in 1511 his half-brother, Selim I. He had a daughter and two sons by unknown concubines:
  • Fatma Sultan (1500–1556)
  • Şehzade Alemşah
  • Şehzade Mehmed (1505, born posthumously – 1513, killed by Selim I).

Daughters

Bayezid II, once ascended to the throne, granted his daughters and granddaughters in the male line the title of "Sultan" and his granddaughters in the female line that of "Hanımsultan", which replaced the simple honorific "Hatun" in use until then. His grandsons in female line obtained instead the title of "Sultanzade". Bayezid's reform of female titles remains in effect today among the surviving members of the Ottoman dynasty.

Bayezid had at least sixteen daughters:

• Aynışah Sultan (c. 1463 – c. 1514) – daughter of Şirin Hatun. She married twice, she had two daughters and a son. Like her half-sister Ilaldi Sultan, she sent a congratulatory letter to her half-brother Selim when he became sultan.
• Hatice Sultan (c. 1463 – Bursa; 1500) – daughter of Bülbül Hatun. She married firstly in 1479 to Muderis Kara Mustafa Pasha and she was widowed in 1483, when her husband was executed on charges of supporting Şehzade Cem's claim to the throne against Bayezid. Hatice remarried the following year to Faik Pasha (d. 1499). She died in 1500 and was buried in her mausoleum, built by her son, in Bursa. Hatice built a mosque, school and fountain in Edirnekapi, Constantinople. She had two sons and two daughters:
  • Sultanzade Ahmed Bey – with Mustafa Pasha. Governor of Bursa. He built a mausoleum in memory of his mother
  • Hanzade Hanımsultan – with Mustafa Pasha
  • Sultanzade Mehmed Çelebi – with Faik Pasha
  • Ayşe Hanımsultan – with Faik Pasha.
• Hundi Sultan (c. 1464 – 1511) – daughter of Bülbül Hatun. In 1481 she married Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha and had two sons and four daughters:
  • Sultanzade Musa Bey
  • Sultanzade Mustafa Bey
  • Kamerşah Hanımsultan
  • Hümaşah Hanımsultan
  • Aynışah Hanımsultan
  • Mahdümzade Hanımsultan
• Ayşe Sultan (c. 1465 – 1515) – daughter of Nigar Hatun. She was married once and she had two sons and five daughters.
• Hümaşah Sultan (c. 1466 – before 1511). Also called Hüma Sultan, she married firstly in 1482 to Bali Pasha (d. 1495), governor of Antalya. She had a son and four daughters:
  • Sultanzade Hüseyin Şah Bey (d. 1566)
  • Hani Hanımsultan
  • Hüma Hanımsultan
  • Ümmi Hanımsultan, buried in Gebze beside her father
  • Şahzeman Hanımsultan
• Ilaldi Sultan (c. 1469 – c. 1517). She married Hain Ahmed Pasha (ex. 1524), governor of Rumelia, Egypt and Second Vizier. She sent a congratulatory letter to her brother Selim when he ascended the throne. She had a son and a daughter:
  • Sultanzade Koçî Bey; who married his cousin Hanzade Hanımsultan (daughter of Selçuk Sultan, daughter of Bayezid II) and had a son:
    • Ahmed Çelebi
  • Şahzade Aynişah Hanımsultan (? – fl. 1570); who married Abdüsselâm Çelebi. They had a daughter:
    • Ümmîhan Hanım
• Gevherimüluk Sultan (c. 1467 – 20 January 1550) – unknown motherhood, full-sister of Şehzade Mahmud. Married once, she had a son and a daughter.
• Sofu Fatma Sultan, (c. 1468 – after 1520, buried in her half-brother Ahmed's mausoleum) – daughter of Nigar Hatun. She was married firstly in 1479 to Isfendiyaroglu Mirza Mehmed Pasha (son of Kızıl Ahmed Bey), divorced in 1488 (after he remarried with Şahnisa Sultan, niece of Fatma); secondly in 1489 to Mustafa Pasha (son of Koca Davud Pasha), widowed in 1503; thirdly in 1504 to Güzelce Hasan Bey. She had three sons and a daughter:
  • Sultanzade Isfendiyaroglu Mehmed Pasha – with Isfendiyaroglu Mirza Mehmed Pasha. He married his cousin Gevherhan Sultan, daughter of Selim I.
  • Sultanzade Haci Ahmed Çelebi – with Güzelce Hasan Bey.
  • Sultanzade Mehmed Çelebi – with Güzelce Hasan Bey. In 1521 he married his cousin Ayşe Sultan (daughter of Şehzade Alemşah)
  • Fülane Hanımsultan – with Güzelce Hasan Bey. She married her cousin Ahmed Bey, son Ali Bey and Fatma Hanımsultan (daughter of Ayşe Sultan).
• Selçuk Sultan (c. 1469 – 1508). Called also Selçukşah Sultan. She was married firstly in 1484 to Ferhad Bey (d. 1485) with whom she had a son and a daughter. Selçuk Sultan remarried Mehmed Bey in 1487 and had three daughters with him.
  • Sultanzade Gazi Husrev Bey (1484 – 18 June 1541) – with Ferhad Bey
  • Neslişah Hanımsultan (c. 1486 – c. 1550) – with Ferhad Bey. She married Halil Pasha (executed 1540).
  • Hanzade Hanımsultan – with Mehmed Bey. She married his cousin Sultanzade Koçi Bey, son of Ilaldi Sultan and had a son:
    • Ahmed Çelebi
  • Hatice Hanımsultan – with Mehmed Bey; who married a son of Halil Pasha in 1510 and had a daughter:
    • Hanzade Hanım
  • Aslıhan Hanımsultan (c. 1487 – fl. 1529) – with Mehmed Bey; who married Yunus Pasha in 1502 (ex. 1517). She was remarried in 1518 to Defterdar Mehmed Çelebi, who was governor of Egypt and later of Damascus. From the second marriage, she had a daughter but died in childbirth because her age:
    • Selçuk Hanım (born on 21 February 1529)
• Sultanzade Sultan (ante 1470 – ?) – daughter of Hüsnüşah Hatun.
• Şah Sultan, (c. 1474 – fl. 1506). Also called Şahzade Şah Sultan. She was very charitable and built a mosque in 1506. She was buried in Bursa in the mausoleum of her half-sister Hatice Sultan. She married Nasuh Bey in 1490 and had a daughter:
  • Ismihan Hanımsultan
• Kamerşah Sultan (c. 1476 – January 1520, buried in her mother's mausoleum) – with Gülruh Hatun. Also called Kamer Sultan. She married Koca Mustafa Pasha in 1491 and widowed in 1512. After, she married Nişancı Kara Davud Pasha. She had a daughter and a son:
  • Hundi Hanımsultan – with Koca Mustafa Pasha. She married Mesih Bey.
  • Sultanzade Osman Bey – with Koca Mustafa Pasha. Buried in the Gülruh's mausoleum.
• Şahzade Sultan (died in 1520). She married Yahya Pasha and had three sons:
  • Sultanzade Yahyapaşazade Gazi Küçük Bali Pasha (? – 1543), in 1508 he married his cousin Devletşah Hanzade Hanimsultan, daughter of Aynişah Sultan.
  • Sultanzade Gazi Koca Mehmed Pasha (? – March 1548).
  • Sultanzade Gazi Ahmed Bey (? – after 1543).
• Fülane Sultan. She was married in 1489 to Koca Davud Pasha (d. 1498) and had a son:
  • Sultanzade Mehmed Bey, who married his cousin Fatma Sultan, daughter of Şehzade Ahmed.
• Fülane Sultan. She was married in 1498 to Gazi Yakub Pasha (d. 1502), remarried in 1504 to Mesih Bey.
• Fülane Sultan. She was married to Karlizade Mehmed Bey.

In popular culture

• Sultan Bayezid II and his struggle with his son Selim is a prominent subplot in the video game Assassin's Creed: Revelations. In the game, due to Bayezid's absence from Constantinople, the 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. However, Bayezid does not make an actual appearance.
• Bayezid II, prior to becoming Sultan, is depicted by Akin Gazi in the Starz series Da Vinci's Demons. He seeks an audience with Pope Sixtus IV (having been manipulated into believing that peace between Rome and Constantinople is a possibility), only to be ridiculed and humiliated by Sixtus, actions which later serve as a pretext for the Ottoman invasion of Otranto. Sixtus assumes that Bayezid has been overlooked in favor of his brother Cem.
• Bayezid II, prior to becoming Sultan, is depicted by Ediz Cagan Cakiroglu in the docuseries Rise of Empires: Ottoman. He appears on season 02 as a young prince who is motivated and inspired by his father Mehmed the Conqueror and wants to join him in battle despite being a child