Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the

empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

for three years during the

Ottoman Interregnum The Ottoman Interregnum, or Ottoman Civil War, (, ) was a civil war in the Ottoman realm between the sons of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I following their father's defeat and capture by Timur in the Battle of Ankara on 28 July 1402. Although Ti ...

Background

Musa was one of the sons of

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

, the fourth Ottoman sultan.Kastritsis, Dimitris (2007), ''The Sons of Bayezid: Empire Building and Representation in the Ottoman. Civil War of 1402–1413'', Brill, His mother was

Devletşah Hatun Devletşah Sultan Hatun (, "''reign of the Şah''" or "''sovereign of the reign''", - 23 January 1414), was the daughter of Süleyman of Germiyan, Süleyman Şah Bey, the ruler of the Germiyanids. She was a consort of Sultan Bayezid I of the Ott ...

. After the Battle of Ankara, in which Bayezid I was defeated by

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

, he returned to the Ottoman Empire, which was now in turmoil, and tried to access the throne in

Bursa Bursa () 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 Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

, the

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n capital of the empire in 1403. However, three of his brothers were also claimants to the Ottoman throne: İsa Çelebi in

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...

and Mehmed Çelebi in

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol ...

(both in the Anatolian portion of the empire),

Süleyman Çelebi Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman; – 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 ...

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, the

Rumeli Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and vassals in Europe. These ...

(European) capital. (the Ottoman Empire at the time had two capitals, since the declining

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

separated the two parts of the Ottoman lands).

Ottoman Interregnum

İsa defeated Musa and captured Bursa. Musa took refuge in Germiyanid territory, where he waited for a suitable moment to try again. In 1406, Mehmed, who had defeated İsa, became the sole ruler of the Anatolian portion of the empire, but he was no match for Süleyman of the Rumeli (European) portion. Mehmed and Musa met in

Kırşehir Kırşehir, historically known as Mocissus or Mokissos () and Justinianopolis () in ancient times, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Kırşehir Province and Kırşehir District.Encyclopædia Britannica Evpo 70 ed., Vol. 22, p. 368 Most of the beyliks in Anatolia also supported this alliance. According to the terms of the alliance, Musa was transferred to the European part over the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

where he allied himself with

Mircea Mircea is a Romanian language, Romanian masculine given name, a form of the South Slavic name, South Slavic name Mirče (Мирче) that derives from the Slavic word ''mir'', meaning 'peace'. It may refer to: People Princes of Wallachia * M ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

. Süleyman now had to fight on two fronts, against Mehmed in Anatolia and against Musa in Europe. This strategy was partially successful, as Süleyman gave up his hopes to conquer the Anatolian portion of the empire. However, he was able to defeat Musa at the battles of Kosmidion and

. Despite his defeat, Musa continued with hit-and-run tactics against Süleyman up until 1410. Meanwhile, Süleyman had lost most of his previous allies due to his uncontrollable temper. In 1411, Musa's tactics finally gave victory and he captured

. The defeated Süleyman, while attempting to escape into Byzantine territories, was killed by villagers on 18 February 1411, and Musa found himself as the co-sultan of the empire.

As a co-sultan

The details of the previous Mehmed–Musa alliance are not clear. Musa declared himself the sultan of the European portion of the empire, while Mehmed viewed Musa as his

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

. Musa besieged Byzantine

(modern

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) as retribution for

Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 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 name Matthaios (). Manuel was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which ...

's support for Süleyman during the previous battles between Musa and Süleyman.

turned to Mehmed for support, who betrayed Musa and set up a new alliance between himself and the Byzantines against Musa. In 1411 and in 1412, Mehmed's forces clashed with Musa's, and in both cases Mehmed was defeated. In 1413, Mehmed gained the support of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n monarch

Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and Despot (court title), despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislat ...

and the bey of the Turkish Dulkadirids, as well as some of the generals in Musa's army. He defeated Musa's forces in the Battle of Çamurlu near Samaku (today

Samokov Samokov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

). Injured and trying to escape, Musa was spotted and killed on 5 July 1413.

Aftermath

Musa's death ended the Ottoman Interregnum. His brother Mehmed Çelebi became Sultan Mehmed I. However, in 1416,

Sheikh Bedreddin Sheikh Bedreddin Mahmud bin Israel bin Abdulaziz (; 1359–1420) was an influential mystic, scholar, theologian, and revolutionary. He is best known for his role in a 1416 revolt against the Ottoman Empire, in which he and his disciples posed a se ...

, one of Musa's former allies (chief military judge, the

kazasker A kazasker or kadıasker (, ''ḳāḍī'asker'', "military judge") was a chief judge in the Ottoman Empire, so named originally because his jurisdiction extended to the cases of soldiers, who were later tried only by their own officers. Two kazas ...

), led an unsuccessful revolt against Mehmed I. Other events that may be viewed as the continuation of the interregnum were the two rebellions of

Mustafa Çelebi Mustafa Çelebi ( — May 1422), also called Mustafa the Impostor ( or ''Düzme Mustafa''), was an Ottoman prince who struggled to gain the throne of the Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century. He ruled parts of Rumelia twice between January ...

, another one of Bayazid's sons who had been hiding in Anatolia. Mustafa was a fifth claimant to throne and he fought against both his brother

Mehmed I Mehmed I (; – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi (, "the noble-born") or ''Kirişçi'' (, "lord's son"), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421. Son of Sultan Bayezid I and his concubine Devlet Hatun, he fought with hi ...

in 1416 and his nephew

Murad II Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451. Early life Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...

in 1421 unsuccessfully.

Family

Musa married two times: #Arina of Wallachia, daughter of

Mircea I of Wallachia Mircea the Elder (, ; 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited the throne. After the dea ...

, married in 1403; #An illegitimate daughter of Carlo I Tocco, married in 1412.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Celebi, Musa 1413 deaths 15th-century Ottoman royalty Ottoman princes Assassinated people from the Ottoman Empire Year of birth unknown People of the Ottoman Interregnum Pretenders to the Ottoman throne Sons of sultans Children of Bayezid I