Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman;
– 17 February 1411) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
for several years during the
Ottoman Interregnum. There is a tradition of western origin, according to which
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
was "Suleiman II", but that tradition has been based on an erroneous assumption that Süleyman Çelebi was to be recognised as a
legitimate sultan.
Background
Süleyman was the second eldest son 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 ...
after Ertuğrul Çelebi. In some contemporary Western sources, he was considered among the
Ottoman sultans due to his reign during the interregnum and is referred to as Suleiman I. There is not much information about his early life. Historical records first mention him as the administrator of
Aydın province, which controlled the ports of
Balat and
Ayasuluk after Bayezid I's Western Anatolian campaign in the winter of 1389-1390.
Nicolae Iorga states that Süleyman was the bey of Northern
Rumelia before being appointed to this position. This is probably related to the event in which the Ottoman army under the command of
Çandarlı Ali Paşa completed the
conquest of northeastern Bulgaria from the winter of 1387-1388 to the spring of 1389. There is no mention in Ottoman sources of Süleyman's conquest of
Tarnovo, the center of the
Bulgarian Tsardom, in 1393. Although some chronicles state that he was given the administration of
Sivas in 1392 and the
Kastamonu
Kastamonu, formerly Kastamone/Castamone () and Kastamon/Castamon (), is a city in northern Turkey. It is the seat of Kastamonu Province and Kastamonu District. region the following year, these were due to a confusion of events. It is known that Süleyman, who participated in the
Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, was sent to Sivas with an army by his father Bayezid in the summer of 1398 after the capture of
Amasya and defeated the
Aq Qoyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...
ruler
Qara Yuluk Uthman Beg, who was trying to control the region, and became the administrator of the Sivas province. During this war, the Bavarian traveler
Schiltberger was also with Süleyman. However, Süleyman did not stay in Sivas for long. He was probably appointed as the administrator of the Aydın, Saruhan and Karesi regions after the death of his elder brother Ertuğrul Çelebi in 1400. He participated in the
Battle of Ankara, which took place shortly afterwards, together with the
Sarukhanid,
Aydinid and
Karasid troops under his command.
Ottoman Interregnum
He signed the
Treaty of Gallipoli with the
Byzantine
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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
regent
John VII Palaiologos in 1403. (The emperor
Manuel II Palaiologos was traveling in West Europe at the time). By this treaty, he gave up The city
Thessalonica and certain territories along the
Marmara coast to the Byzantine Empire in return for Byzantine support in interregnum. He declared himself as the
sultan
Sultan (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...
of the empire in
Edirne, the co capital in Rumeli of the Ottoman Empire. But the Asiatic side of the empire, so called
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 ...
, was under the control of his two brothers
İsa Çelebi and Mehmet Çelebi (future
Mehmet I). Süleyman supported İsa against Mehmet. However, Mehmet defeated İsa in several battles in 1406. Afraid of Mehmet's increasing power, Süleyman crossed the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
strait to reunite the empire. He captured
Bursa, the Anatolian capital. But before fighting against Mehmet, he marched to the
Aegean Region to intimidate the small
Turkmen principalities (beyliks of
Aydin and
MenteÅŸe) which had been annexed by the brothers' father
Beyazid I, but had broken free after the disastrous Battle of Ankara. He then captured the city of
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
from Mehmet
[Kastritsis, Dimitris (2007), ''The Sons of Bayezid: Empire Building and Representation in the Ottoman. Civil War of 1402–1413'', Brill, ] but did not advance further.
Süleyman returned to Bursa, which gave Mehmet a chance to relax. Mehmet then made an alliance with their brother
Musa Çelebi, who was also a contender for the Ottoman throne, sending Musa to the European portion of the empire (Rumelia) via
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 ...
(modern
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
). Because of this plot, Süleyman now had to fight in two fronts on two sides, one in Europe against Musa and one in Anatolia against Mehmet. Süleyman turned his attention to Rumelia against Musa, leaving Anatolia to Mehmet once again. Musa had the support of
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 ...
ns and the
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
, and Süleyman had the support of the
Byzantines. However, the Serbs switched sides and joined Süleyman's forces, and Musa was defeated in the
Battle of Kosmidion on 15 June 1410.
However, Süleyman was not a willful prince, and to the dismay of his partisans, he began living in extravagance. Especially after the death of his able vizier
Çandarlı Ali Pasha, Süleyman's indifference to state affairs caused him to lose supporters. Thus in 1411, when Musa marched to Edirne, Süleyman found almost no one at his side. He tried to escape to Byzantine territories, but on the way, he was murdered on February 17, 1411.
Aftermath
After Süleyman's death, Musa became the ruler of the Rumeli. The alliance between Mehmet and Musa soon broke and the two brothers continued to fight until Musa's defeat and death on July 5, 1413, in the
Battle of Çamurlu when Mehmet became the sole ruler of the empire as
Mehmet I.
Family
Süleyman had an only known consort:
* A daughter of
Theodore I Palaiologos, Despot of Morea and son of
John V Palaiologos, and his unnamed mistress, married in 1404;
He had an only son, born by an unknown concubine:
* Orhan Çelebi (1395–1429). He had three sons and two daughters:
**
Orhan Çelebi (1412–1453).
** Mehmed Şah Çelebi (died on 31 December 1421).
** PaÅŸa Melek Hatun. She married an Ottoman
Sanjak-bey.
**
Fatma Şahzade Hatun, well known as Hund Şehzade (1422–1455).
** Suleyman Çelebi (1423–1437).
References
Sources
*Zachariadou, Elizabeth A. "Süleyman çelebi in Rumili and the Ottoman chronicles." Der Islam 60.2 (1983): 268–296.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suleyman
Year of birth unknown
1411 deaths
14th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
15th-century Ottoman royalty
Ottoman princes
People of the Ottoman Interregnum
Pretenders to the Ottoman throne
Sons of sultans
Children of Bayezid I