İsa Çelebi (1380 – 1406) was an Ottoman prince ( tr, şehzade) and a co-ruler of the empire during 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 ...

Background

İsa was one of the sons of Beyazid I, the Ottoman sultan. His mother was

Devletşah Hatun Devletşah Hatun ( ota, سلطان خاتون), was the daughter of Süleyman Şah Bey, the ruler of the Germiyanids. She was a consort of Sultan Bayezid I of the Ottoman Empire. Family Devletşah Hatun was born to an Anatolian prince, Süleyma ...

, the daughter of Süleyman Şah of

Germiyanids The Germiyanids ( tr, Germiyanoğulları Beyliği or ''Germiyan Beyliği'') was a prominent Anatolian beylik established by the Oghuz Turkish tribes (probably the Afshar tribe) after the decline of Sultanate of Rûm. However, while the beyl ...

and Mutahhara Abide Hatun, daughter of Sultan Veled. İsa worked as a

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

governor in

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

and fought in the

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 July 1402 at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and the Emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to the ...

in 1402 with his father. The Ottoman army was defeated, Beyazid I was captured by Timurlane, and İsa escaped to west Anatolia.

Ottoman Interregnum

In 1403, after learning about his father's death in captivity, he began to struggle for the vacant throne against his brothers Mehmet Çelebi, Musa Çelebi, and

Süleyman Çelebi Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman; d. 17 February 1411) was an Ottoman prince () and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire for several years during the Ottoman Interregnum. There is a tradition of western origin, according to which Suleiman th ...

. He fought against Musa to gain control of

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, the Anatolian capital of the empire. He defeated Musa and won control of a part of Anatolian territory of the empire. But the European territory, Rumeli, was under the control of Süleyman and the east part of Anatolian territory was under the control of Mehmet (the future

Mehmet I Mehmed I ( 1386 – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi ( ota, چلبی محمد, "the noble-born") or Kirişçi ( el, Κυριτζής, Kyritzis, "lord's son"), was the Ottoman sultan from 1413 to 1421. The fourth son of Sultan Bayez ...

). Feeling his lands to be fragile situated between his brothers' on both sides, he signed a treaty of friendship with the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and refused Mehmet's suggestion to partition the Anatolian part of the empire with him, on the grounds that he was the elder brother and was entitled the entirety of the territory. But following this refusal, he was defeated by Mehmet in the

Battle of Ulubad The Battle of Ulubad was fought sometime between 9 March and early May 1403 at Ulubad between the rival sons of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, Mehmed Çelebi and İsa Çelebi, during the first stages of the civil war known as the Ottoman Interreg ...

in 1405. In this battle, he also lost his

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

Timurtaş, who was an experienced statesman. He escaped to Rumeli over Byzantine territories. He met with Süleyman, who supported his cause in Anatolia. With fresh troops provided by Süleyman, he returned to Anatolia and tried to recapture Bursa. Although he failed, allying himself with 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 se ...

, which his father Beyazıt I had captured but which had regained independence after Beyazıt's defeat at the Battle of Ankara, he continued to fight against Mehmet. However, after a series of defeats and the betrayal of his allies, İsa gave up the war for the throne.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye Tarihi Cilt II'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 72 According to historian

Joseph von Hammer Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall (9 June 1774 – 23 November 1856) was an Austrian orientalist and historian. He is considered one of the most accomplished Orientalists of his time. He was critical of the trend of ascribing classical or a ...

, after losing the struggle, İsa went into hiding. According to other sources, however, he was spotted in a public bath ( tr, hamam) in

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

and killed by Mehmet's partisans in 1406.

Aftermath

After his death, the interregnum continued till 1413. In 1413, Mehmet became the sole ruler of the empire as

after defeating Musa. Another one of the brothers,

Mustafa Çelebi Mustafa Çelebi (d. May 1422), also called Mustafa the Impostor ( tr, Düzmece Mustafa or ''Düzme Mustafa''), was an Ottoman prince who struggled to gain the throne of the Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century. He was the Sultan of Rumelia ...

, who had been in hiding during the interregnum, later led two failed rebellions against the throne, one against Mehmet in 1416, and another in 1421 against his nephew

Murat II Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451. Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...

. Murat called Mustafa Çelebi ''Düzmece Maustafa'' ("fake Mustafa") and executed him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isa 1380 births 1406 deaths 15th-century people of the Ottoman Empire Sons of Ottoman sultans Executed people of the Ottoman Empire 15th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Year of birth unknown People of the Ottoman Interregnum Pretenders to the Ottoman throne