The Battle of İnceğiz was fought sometime in late 1411 or early 1412 near

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

between the rival sons of the Ottoman

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

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 ...

Mehmed Çelebi 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 dynasty, Ottoman List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sul ...

and

Musa Çelebi Musa Çelebi (died 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman prince ( tr, şehzade) and a co-ruler of the empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum. Background Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman sultan.Kastritsis, Dimi ...

, during the final stages of the civil war known as 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

Musa had become the ruler of the Ottomans' European domains after overthrowing and killing his brother

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 the ...

in 1410–11. Unlike Süleyman, Musa, who relied greatly on the ''

akinji Akinji or akindji ( ota, آقنجى, aḳıncı, lit=raider, ; plural: ''akıncılar'') were irregular light cavalry, scout divisions (deli) and advance troops of the Ottoman Empire's military. When the pre-existing Turkish ghazis were incorpo ...

'' raiders, followed a policy extremely hostile to his Christian neighbours. The attacks against both the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, that had stopped after the

Treaty of Gallipoli The Treaty of Gallipoli, concluded in January or early February 1403, was a peace treaty between Süleyman Çelebi, ruler of the Ottoman territories in the Balkans, and the main Christian regional powers: the Byzantine Empire, the Republic of Ve ...

in 1403, resumed: in Serbia, Musa besieged

Smederovo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According to ...

, while against Byzantium he attacked

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

and

Selymbria Selymbria ( gr, Σηλυμβρία),Demosthenes, '' de Rhod. lib.'', p. 198, ed. Reiske. or Selybria (Σηλυβρία), or Selybrie (Σηλυβρίη), was a town of ancient Thrace on the Propontis, 22 Roman miles east from Perinthus, and 44 Roman ...

, and placed

under blockade in August 1411.

Mehmed's alliance with Byzantium and the battle

As a result, the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Μανουὴλ Παλαιολόγος, Manouēl Palaiológos; 27 June 1350 – 21 July 1425) was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the na ...

turned to Musa's brother,

, who had established his rule over the Ottoman territories in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. The anonymous Ottoman chronicle '' Aḥvāl-i Sulṭān Meḥemmed'' ("Affairs of Sultan Mehmed"), the Byzantine historian

Doukas The House of Doukas, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Δούκας; feminine: Doukaina/Ducaena, Δούκαινα; plural: Doukai/Ducae, Δοῦκαι), from the Latin title ''dux'' ("leader", "general", Hellenized as 'ðouks'', is the name of a Byzant ...

, and the Serbian historian

Konstantin the Philosopher Constantine of Kostenets ( bg, Константин Костенечки, Konstantin Kostenechki; born ca. 1380, died after 1431), also known as Constantine the Philosopher ( sr, Константин Филозоф), was a medieval Bulgarian scholar ...

all report that Manuel sent envoys to Mehmed, offering an alliance against Musa, on the same terms as the previous arrangement with Süleyman. The two rulers met at Scutari and swore that if they won, Mehmed would maintain friendly relations with the Byzantines; if they lost, he would be allowed refuge in Constantinople. The exact site of İnceğiz and the date of the battle are unknown: it may have been fought either in autumn of 1411 or in spring of 1412. The ''Aḥvāl'' reports that the van of Mehmed's army comprised

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

and

Turcomans Turkoman (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: تُركْمانْ, ota, تركمن, Türkmen and ''Türkmân''; az, Türkman and ', tr, Türkmen, tk, Türkmen, Persian language, Persian: ترکمن sing. ''Turkamān'', pl. ''Tarākimah''), ...

from the

Rum Eyalet Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phili ...

, the "army of

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 ...

", and the forces of the Turcoman leader Yapaoğlu. According to Doukas, a few Byzantine troops also fought under Mehmed. Musa on the other hand disposed of 7,000 ''

kapıkulu ''Kapıkulu'' ( ota, قپوقولو اوجاغی, ''Kapıkulu Ocağı'', "Slaves of the Sublime Porte") was the collective name for the Household Division of the Ottoman Sultans. They included the Janissary infantry corps as well as the Six Divis ...

'', who played a decisive role in the battle. Mehmed's forces prevailed at the start of the battle, but then the ''kapıkulu'' managed to advance up to Mehmed and even wound his horse. The defeated Mehmed was forced to retreat to Constantinople, and thence cross again over to Anatolia.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Incegiz, Battle of 1411 in Europe 1412 in Europe Conflicts in 1411 Conflicts in 1412 İnceğiz İnceğiz History of Istanbul Province