Selim I,
Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan,
Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain (Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina) (
Ottoman TurkishThe 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...
: سليم اوّل,
Modern TurkishTurkish 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,...
:
I.Selim), nicknamed
Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" (October 10, 1465/1466/1470 – September 22, 1520), was the Sultan of the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from 1512 to 1520. His reign is notable for the enormous expansion of the Empire, particularly his conquest between 1516-1517 of the entire
Mamluk Sultanate of EgyptThe Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
, which included all of
ShamThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
,
Hejazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
, and
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
itself. With the heart of the
Arab WorldThe Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
now under their control, the Ottomans became the dominant power in the region, and in the Islamic world. Upon conquering Egypt, Selim took the title of
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
of
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, being the first Ottoman sultan to so do. He was also granted the title of "Khâdim ül Haramain ish Sharifain"
(Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina), by the Sharif of Mecca on 1517.
Selim's reign represented a sudden change in the
expansion policy of the empireThe Growth of the Ottoman Empire is the period followed after the Rise of the Ottoman Empire in which the Ottoman state reached the Pax Ottomana. In this period, the Ottoman Empire expanded southwestwards into North Africa and battled with the re-emergent Persian Shi'ia Safavid Empire to the east...
, which was working mostly against the
WestThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and the
Beyliksthumb|350px|Anatolian Turkish Beyliks map.Anatolian beyliks, Turkish beyliks or Turkmen beyliks were small Turkish Muslim emirates or principalities governed by Beys, which were founded across Anatolia at the end of the 11th century in a first period, and more extensively during the decline of the...
before his reign. On the eve of his death in 1520, the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
spanned almost 1 billion acres (trebling during Selim's reign).
Life
Born in
Amasya- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...
, Selim dethroned his father
Bayezid IIBayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
(1481–1512) in 1512. Bayezid’s death followed immediately thereafter. Like his grandfather
Mehmed IIMehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
(1451–81), Selim put his brothers (
Şehzade AhmetŞehzade 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...
and
Şehzade KorkutŞehzade Korkut was an Ottoman prince who was a short time regent for the Ottoman throne.- Early years :He was born in Amasya in 1467. His father was Beyazıt II. There is no consensus on the name of his mother. She was either a certain Nigar Khatun or Gülbahar Sultan. If the later is true, he was...
) and nephews to death upon his accession in order to eliminate potential pretenders to the throne. This fratricidal policy was motivated by bouts of civil strife that had been sparked by the antagonism between Selim’s father Beyazid and his uncle
CemPrince 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...
, and between Selim himself and his brother
AhmetŞehzade 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...
. His biological mother was
Gül-Bahār KhātûnKül-Bahār Sultan , was the wife of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II and the mother of Selim I. Little is known of her family background, apart from the fact that an Ottoman inscription describes her as Khātun binti Abd-us-Samed , which implied that her father had possibly converted to Islam Kül-Bahār...
, who had never acquired the title of
Valide Khātûn since she had died before Selim’s accession to the Ottoman throne. According to another theory, Selim was the biological son of
A’ishā (Ayşe) Khātûn I who died at Trebizond on 1505 and was the daughter of
Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey, the eleventh ruler of the Dulkadirids centered around
ElbistanElbistan is a district in Kahramanmaraş Province in southern Turkey. Elbistan city center's population is 85,642 ....
in
Kahramanmaraş-Industry:Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city...
.
Selim was described as being tall, having very broad shoulders and a long mustache. He was skilled in politics and was said to be fond of fighting.
Safavid Empire
For Selim, one of the first challenges as Sultan was the growing tension between himself and
Shah IsmailIsmail 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 had recently brought the Safavids to power and had switched the state religion from Sunni Islam to the adherence of the Twelever Shi'i
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. By 1510, Ismail had conquered the whole of Iran and was of a great threat to his Sunni Muslim neighbors to the west. In 1514, Selim I attacked Ismā'il's kingdom to stop the spread of Shiism into Ottoman dominions. Selim and Ismā'il had been exchanging a series of belligerent letters prior to the attack. Selim I defeated Ismā'il at the
Battle of ChaldiranThe Battle of Chaldiran or Chaldoran occurred on 23 August 1514 and ended with a victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire of Persia . As a result, the Ottomans gained immediate control over eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq...
in 1514. Ismā'il's army was more mobile and their soldiers were better prepared but the Ottomans prevailed due in large part to their efficient modern army, and possession of artillery, black powder and muskets. Ismā'il was wounded and almost captured in battle, and Selim I entered the Iranian capital of
TabrizTabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
in triumph on September 5, but did not linger. A mutiny among his troops fearing a counter attack and entrapment by the fresh Safavid forces called in from the interior, forced the triumphant Ottomans to withdraw prematurely. This allowed Ismā'il to recover quickly. The Battle of Chaldiran, was of historical significance, in which the reluctancy showed by Shah Ismail to accept the advantages of modern firearms and the importance of artillery was decisive. After the battle, Selim referring to Ismail stated that his adversary was: "Always drunk to the point of losing his mind and totally neglectful of the affairs of the state.
Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula
Selim then conquered the
Mamluk Sultanate of EgyptThe Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
, defeating the Mamluk Egyptians first at the
Battle of Marj DabiqThe battle of Marj Dābiq was a decisive military clash in Middle Eastern history, fought on 24 August 1516, 44 km north of Halab , Syria.- Battle preparations :...
, and then at the
Battle of RidaniehThe Battle of Ridaniya was fought on 22 January 1517 in Egypt. The Ottoman forces of Selim I defeated the Mamluk forces under Al-Ashraf Tuman bay II. The Mameluks attempted to halt the Ottoman advance using a fortified position equipped with cannon. The Ottomans outshot the Mameluk gunners while...
. This led to the Ottoman annexation of the entire sultanate, from
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in
ShamThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, to
Hejazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
in the
Arabian PeninsulaThe Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, and ultimately
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
itself. This permitted him to extended Ottoman power to the Muslim holy cities of
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and
MedinaMedina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, hitherto under Egyptian rule. Rather than style himself the
Hakim ul Haremeyn, or
The Ruler of The Two Holy Shrines, he accepted the more pious title
Khadim ul Haremeyn, or
The Servant of The Two Holy Shrines.
After the conquest of Egypt and the Holy Cities in 1517, Selim induced
Al-Mutawakkil IIIAl-Mutawakkil III was caliph from 1508 to 1516, and again in 1517. He was the last caliph of the later, Egyptian-based period of the Abbasid dynasty...
(1509–17), the last in the line of Abbasid caliphs who resided in Cairo since 1261 as nominal rulers legitimizing the
de facto rule of the Mamluk sultans over the
Mamluk SultanateThe Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
, to formally surrender the title of
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
and its emblems, the sword and the mantle of
MuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. These are kept in the
Topkapı Palace MuseumThe Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
at Istanbul, Turkey.
Death
After his return from his Egyptian campaign, Selim began to prepare for an expedition which is believed to be against
HungariaHungaria may refer to:*Kingdom of Hungary*Hungary, a European country*Hungaria , a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt*Hungaria, a former New Zealand association football team, now part of Wellington United*434 Hungaria, an asteroid...
. This campaign was cut short when he was overwhelmed by sickness and subsequently died in the ninth year of his reign. He was about fifty-five years of age. It is said that Selim succumbed to sirpence, a skin infection which he developed during his long campaigns on horseback. (Sirpence was an
anthraxAnthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
infection sometimes seen among leatherworkers and others who worked with livestock). Some historians claim that he was poisoned by the doctor tending to his infection and some historians claim that the disease he suffered from was
skin cancerSkin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...
. He died at Corlu,
TekirdağTekirdağ , the ancient Bisanthi , is a city in Eastern Thrace, in the European part of Turkey. Tekirdağ is the capital of Tekirdağ Province, felt by the local people to be a quieter and more pleasant town than the industrial centre of Çorlu, which it administers. The city population as of 2009 was...
.
Titles
After claiming the Caliphate, Selim assumed the title
Malik ul-Barreyn, wa Khakan ul-Bahrayn, wa Kasir ul-Jayshayn, wa Khadim ul-Haramayn - that is,
King of the Two Lands (continents Europe and Asia), KhaganKhagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
of the Two Seas (Mediterranean and Indian Seas), Conqueror of the Two Armies (European and Safavid armies), and Servant of the Two Holy Shrines (MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and MedinaMedina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
). This title alludes to his dominions in Africa and Asia (namely, Egypt, Anatolia, and much of the Fertile Crescent), his control over the Mediterranean and Black seas, his defeat of both the Mamluk and Safavid armies, and his guardianship of the shrines of Mecca and Medina.
Personality
By most accounts, Selim had a fiery temper. He seems to have had high expectations of his subordinates, and executed many of his own viziers.
Selim was an amazing ruler, he was full of energy and was hard-working. Accordingly, his court was dynamic, with the rewards as great as the risks. He was very energetic and effective. During his eight year of ruling he didn't have time to rest. Although he was a leader, he was also very humble and modest. His reign was short, but may have prepared the Ottoman empire for its zenith under the achievements of his son. A popular legend has it that Selim had filled the royal treasury to the brink and locked it with his own seal. He decreed that "he who will fill the treasury more than this, may use his seal to lock it." The treasury remained locked with Selim's seal until the collapse of the Empire 400 years later.
Selim was also a distinguished poet who wrote both Turkish and Persian verse under the nickname
mahlas Selimi; collections of his Persian poetry are extant today. In one of his poems, he wrote;
Relations with the Shah
While marching into Persia in 1514, Selim's troops suffered from the scorched-earth tactics of Shah Ismail. The Sultan hoped to lure Ismail into an open battle before his troops starved to death, and began writing insulting letters to the Shah, accusing him of cowardice:
Ismail responded to Selim's third message, quoted above, by sending an envoy to deliver a letter accompanied by a box of opium. The Shah's letter insultingly implied that Selim's prose must have been the work of an unqualified writer on drugs. Selim was known to occasionally use opium, and grew enraged by the Shah's denigration of his literary talent. He ordered the Persian envoy to be torn to pieces.
External links