The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 July 1402 at the
Çubuk plain near
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid I
Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...
and the Emir of the Timurid Empire,
Timur
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to the
Ottoman Interregnum
The Ottoman Interregnum, or the Ottoman Civil War ( 20 July 1402 – 5 July 1413; tr, Fetret Devri, , Interregnum Period), was a civil war in the Ottoman Empire between the sons of Sultan Bayezid I following the defeat of their father at the B ...
.
Background
Timur, a
Turco-Mongol
The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventually ...
from
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
(now Uzbekistan), had built an empire in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
over the years, and became the most powerful ruler in Central Asia since
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
. He sought to rebuild the once great Mongol Empire. In the 1380s and 1390s, he invaded and conquered parts of Persia (including
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
and
Upper Mesopotamia
Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, ...
), ravaged southern Russia and Ukraine (1395–96), and invaded India (1398). Although there had been tensions between the Ottomans and Mongols, nothing would warrant a war, until Bayezid demanded tribute from an emir loyal to Timur, which he understood to be a personal affront and a reason for war. In 1400–01 Timur took
Sivas
Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province.
The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...
from the Ottomans, parts of Syria from the
Mamluks
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
, and next directed towards Anatolia.
Meanwhile, in 1402, the Ottomans had been campaigning in Europe. Bayezid broke off the
blockade of Constantinople and marched to Ankara after Timur again moved his army to the southeast in the summer of 1402.
Troops
It is estimated that the Timurid army counted 140,000,
[ ] mostly cavalry, and also 32 war elephants. Bayezid's army numbered 85,000.
[ Historical sources exaggerated the number of troops to unrealistic proportions: ]Ahmad ibn Arabshah
Abu Muhammad Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim also known as Muhammad ibn Arabshah () (1389–1450), was an Arab writer and traveller who lived under the reign of Timur (1370–1405).AKA, ISMAIL. 1996. “THE AGRICULTURAL ...
claimed 800,000 Timurid troops, while a German witness claimed 1.6 million, for instance.[Edward Gibbon; Henry Hart Milman (1899) ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' Vol. 6, Peter Fenelon New York: Collier; p. 263 ]
The Ottoman force included contingents under his sons, Ghazis
A ''ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raiding. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by the Islamic prophe ...
, Janissaries
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
, Anatolian Muslim vassals, and various European (Balkan Christian) vassals. Among Serbian vassals participating were Stefan Lazarević
Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall ( sr, Стефан Високи / ''Stefan Visoki''), was the ruler of Serbia as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427), ...
, Vuk Lazarević
Vuk Lazarević ( sr, Вук Лазаревић) (c. 1380 – 6 July 1410) was a Serbian Prince and the younger son of Prince Lazar of Serbia and Princess Milica of Serbia, Princess Milica Nemanjić. He was executed on 6 July 1410.
He was born some ...
, Đurađ Branković
Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...
and his brother Grgur Branković, and among Albanian were Koja Zakarija
Koja Zaharia or Koja Zakaria ( it, Coia Zaccaria) (? – before 1442) was an Albanian nobleman and a member of the Zaharia family.
Name
In Ragusan documents he is referred to as Kojčin or Gojčin. Because of that, many scholars like Nicolae ...
, Demetrius Jonima, Gjon Kastrioti
Gjon Kastrioti (1375/80 – 4 May 1437), was a member of the Albanian nobility, from the House of Kastrioti, and the father of future Albanian leader Gjergj Kastrioti (better known as Skanderbeg). He governed the territory between the Cape of ...
, and probably Tanush Major Dukagjin Tanush is the Albanian variant of the Greek given name Athanasius, loaned from Latin. Where the fricative /θ/ becomes the stop /t/, this shows that the name passed through Latin before entering Albanian; the Greek-derived equivalent is the name an ...
. Christian vassals that did not participate include Zetan Konstantin Balšić
Konstantin Balšić ( sr-cyr, Константин Балшић) or Konstantin Balsha ( sq, Konstantin Balsha) ( 1378–died 1402), was a lord of the Balšić family, who ruled over lands in northern Albania.
Life
Konstantin was the son of Đur ...
. A quarter of the Ottoman troops were recently conquered Tatars.
Battle positioning
Bayezid reluctantly withdrew his forces from the blockade of Constantinople and marched them through the midsummer heat. When they arrived, they were tired and thirsty, but were allowed no time to rest or recuperate. Bayezid was advised by his generals to take up defensive positions and, when Timur's forces pushed back the Ottomans, to withdraw into the mountains and force Timur to break ranks and attempt to hunt the Ottomans in their own terrain during the midsummer heat. Bayezid instead chose to take an offensive stance and marched eastward. Advancing Ottoman scouts found no traces of the Timurids, who secretly marched southwest, rested, and were situated to the rear of the Ottomans. The Timurids encamped in the same locations that the Ottomans had previously occupied, making use of abandoned tents and water sources.
In the Timurid army, Timur commanded the centre, his sons Miran and Rukh the right and left, respectively, and his grandsons the vanguard.
In the Ottoman army, Bayezid commanded the centre with Janissaries, his son Suleyman the left flank with the best troops, Stefan Lazarević the right with the Balkan troops, and his son Mehmed the rear guard.
Battle
The battle began with a large-scale attack from the Ottomans, countered by swarms of arrows from the Timurid horse archers
A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, f ...
. Several thousand were killed and many surrendered to Timur. Stefan Lazarević and his knights successfully fought off the Timurid assaults and cut through the Mongol ranks three times. Each time Stefan advised Bayezid to break out with him, Bayezid declined to do so. But the Serbians managed to save one of Bayezid's sons and the treasury from the Mongols and made their way to Constantinople. The Serbian troops wore heavy black plate armour which was very effective against the Timurid arrows. Timur admired the Serbian troops who according to him "fight like lions". During the battle the main water supply of both armies, Çubuk creek, was diverted to an off-stream reservoir near the town of Çubuk by Timur, which left the Ottoman army with no water. The final battle took place at Catal hill, dominating the Çubuk valley. The Ottoman army, both thirsty and tired, was defeated, though Bayezid managed to escape to the nearby mountains with a few hundred horsemen. However, Timur had the mountains surrounded and, heavily outnumbering Bayezid, soon captured him. He died in captivity three months later. Already heavily outnumbered, the Ottoman army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
was further weakened by the desertion of the Black Tatars and the Sipahis
''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial ''Timariots, timarli s ...
from the Anatolian beyliks
Anatolian beyliks ( tr, Anadolu beylikleri, Ottoman Turkish: ''Tavâif-i mülûk'', ''Beylik'' ) were small principalities (or petty kingdoms) in Anatolia governed by beys, the first of which were founded at the end of the 11th century. A secon ...
, who left Bayezid's side and joined Timur's forces.
Aftermath
After the battle, Timur moved through western Anatolia to the Aegean coast, where he besieged and took the city of Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
, a stronghold of the Christian Knights Hospitalers
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
.
The battle was catastrophic for the Ottoman state, fracturing what remained and bringing almost total collapse of the empire. This resulted in a civil war among Bayezid's sons. The Ottoman civil war continued for another 11 years (1413) following the Battle of Ankara.
The battle is also significant in Ottoman history as being the only time a Sultan was captured in person.
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
"Ankara, Battle of"
in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 423.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankara 1402
Battles involving the Ottoman Empire
Battles of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars
Battles involving Albania
Battles involving Serbia in the Middle Ages
Battles in medieval Anatolia
Conflicts in 1402
1402 in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Interregnum
Battles of Timur
History of Ankara Province