Bayezid was born inDemotika around 1447–1448 as the first son ofMehmed II and his concubineGülbahar Hatun.[4] Around 1454–1456, he was appointed governor ofAmasya, accompanied by his mother. Bayezid II was educated inAmasya and served there as governor for 27 years, until he became the eighth sultan of theOttoman Empire in 1481.[5][6]
Bayezid II's overriding concern was the quarrel with his brotherCem Sultan, who claimed the throne and sought military backing from the Mamluks in Egypt.Karamani Mehmed Pasha, latest grand vizier ofMehmed II, informed him of the death of the Sultan and invited Bayezid to ascend the throne.[8] Having been defeated by his brother's armies, Cem sought protection from theKnights of St. John inRhodes. Eventually, the Knights handed Cem over toPope Innocent VIII (1484–1492). The Pope thought of using Cem as a tool to drive the Turks out of Europe, but as the papal crusade failed to come to fruition, Cem died in Naples.
Bayezid II ascended the Ottoman throne in 1481.[9] Like his father, Bayezid II was a patron of western and eastern culture. Unlike many other sultans, he worked hard to ensure a smooth running of domestic politics, which earned him the epithet of "the Just". Throughout his reign, Bayezid II engaged in numerous campaigns to conquer theVenetian possessions inMorea, accurately defining this region as the key to future Ottoman naval power in the EasternMediterranean. In 1497, he went to war with Poland and decisively defeated the 80,000 strong Polish army during theMoldavian campaign. Thelast of these wars ended in 1501 with Bayezid II in control of the whole Peloponnese. Rebellions in the east, such as that of theQizilbash, plagued much of Bayezid II's reign and were often backed by theshah of Iran,Ismail I, who was eager to promoteShi'ism to undermine the authority of the Ottoman state. Ottoman authority inAnatolia was indeed seriously threatened during this period and at one point Bayezid II'svizier,Hadım Ali Pasha, was killed in battle against theŞahkulu rebellion. Hadım Ali Pasha's death prompted a power vacuum. As a result, many important statesmen secretly pledged allegiance to Kinsman Karabœcu Pasha (Turkish: "Karaböcü Kuzen Paşa") who made his reputation in conducting espionage operations during theFall of Constantinople in his youth.[10]
Contemporary depiction of Bayezid II and his court,Shāhnāma-i Malik-i Āhī, calligrapher and painter Darwish Mahmud b. Abdullah nakkash, Istanbul, ca. 1495, TSMK, H. 1123, fol. 14a
In July 1492, the new state ofSpain expelled itsJewish andMuslim populations as part of theSpanish Inquisition. Bayezid II sent out theOttoman Navy under the command of admiralKemal Reis to Spain in 1492 in order to evacuate them safely to Ottoman lands. He sent out proclamations throughout the empire that the refugees were to be welcomed.[11] He granted the refugees the permission to settle in the Ottoman Empire and become Ottoman citizens. He ridiculed the conduct ofFerdinand II of Aragon andIsabella I of Castile in expelling a class of people so useful to their subjects. "You venture to call Ferdinand a wise ruler," he said to his courtiers, "he who has impoverished his own country and enriched mine!"[12] Bayezid addressed afirman to all the governors of his European provinces, ordering them not only to refrain from repelling the Spanish refugees, but to give them a friendly and welcome reception.[12] He threatened with death all those who treated the Jews harshly or refused them admission into the empire.Moses Capsali, who probably helped to arouse the sultan's friendship for the Jews, was most energetic in his assistance to the exiles. He made a tour of the communities and was instrumental in imposing a tax upon the rich, to ransom the Jewish victims of the persecution.
The Muslims and Jews ofal-Andalus contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. The firstprinting press inConstantinople (nowIstanbul) was established by the Sephardic Jews in 1493. It is reported that under Bayezid's reign, Jews enjoyed a period of cultural flourishing, with the presence of such scholars as theTalmudist and scientistMordecai Comtino; astronomer and poetSolomon ben Elijah Sharbiṭ ha-Zahab;Shabbethai ben Malkiel Cohen, and the liturgical poet Menahem Tamar.[citation needed]
During Bayezid II's final years, on 14 September 1509, Constantinople wasdevastated by an earthquake,[13][14] and a succession battle developed between his sonsSelim andAhmet. Ahmet unexpectedly capturedKaraman, and began marching to Constantinople to exploit his triumph. Fearing for his safety, Selim staged a revolt inThrace but was defeated by Bayezid and forced to flee back to theCrimean peninsula.
Bayezid II developed fears that Ahmet might in turn kill him to gain the throne, so he refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople. Selim returned from Crimea and, with support from theJanissaries, he forced his father to abdicate the throne on 25 April 1512. Bayezid departed for retirement in his nativeDimetoka, but he died on 26 May 1512 atHavsa, before reaching his destination and only a month after his abdication. He was buried next to theBayezid Mosque inIstanbul.
Bayezid was praised in aghazal-style poem of Abdürrezzak Bahşı, a scribe who came to Constantinople fromSamarkand in the second half of the 15th century that worked at the courts of Mehmed II and Bayezid II, and wrote inChagatai with theOld Uyghur alphabet:[15][16]
I had a pleasant time in your reign my Padishah.
I was without fear of all fears and dangers.
The fame of your justice and fairness reached to China and Hotan.
Thanks to God that there exist a merciful person like my Padishah.
Sultan Bayezid Khan ascended the throne.
This country had been his fate since past eternity.
Any enemy that denied the country of my master:
That enemy's neck had been in rope and gallows.
Your believing servants' faces smile like Bahşı's.
The place of those who walk unbelieving is hellfire.
Bayezid II ordered al-ʿAtufi, the librarian ofTopkapı Palace, to prepare a register.[17] The library's diverse holdings reflect a cosmopolitanism that was encyclopaedic in scope.[18]
Şehzade Korkut (Amasya, 1469 –Manisa, 10 March 1513) – son of Nigar Hatun.[24] Rival of Selim I for the throne, he was first exiled by him and then executed. He had two children who died as infants and two daughters.
Selim I (Amasya, 10 October 1470 – Çorlu, 22 September 1520) – son with Gülbahar Hatun, he dethroned his father and became Sultan
Şehzade Mahmud (1475 – 4 November 1507) – unknown motherhood, full-brother of Gevhermülük Sultan. He was governor ofKastamonu andManisa. He had three sons and two daughters:
Şehzade Musa (1490–1512, executed by Selim I).
Şehzade Orhan (1494–1512, executed by Selim I).
Şehzade Emirhan Süleyman (?–1512, executed by Selim I).
Hançerli Zeynep Hanzade Fatma Sultan (1496–April 1533). It is believed that she may have educated the futureHürrem Sultan before she was introduced toSuleiman the Magnificent viaHafsa Sultan orPargali Ibrahim). She married in 1508 to Mehmed Bey with whom she had two sons:
Sultanzade Kasim Bey (1511–1531)
Sultanzade Mahmud Bey
Şehzade Alemşah (1477–1502) – son of Gülruh Hatun.[25] Governor ofMentese andManisa. He died of liver cirrhosis due to the unruly life he led. He had a son and two daughters:
Şehzade Osman Şah (1492–1512, executed by Selim I)
Ayşe Sultan, married in 1521 to his cousin Sultanzade Mehmed Çelebi, son of Sofu Fatma Sultan
Fatma Sultan (1493–1522), buried in the Gülruh's mausoleum, Bursa.[25]
Şehzade Mehmed (1484 – December 1504) – son of Ferahşad Hatun. Governor ofKefe. He marriedAyşe Hatun, a princess of the Giray Khanate of Crimea. After his death, Ayşe married in 1511 his half-brother,Selim I. He had a daughter and two sons by unknown concubines:
Fatma Sultan (1500–1556)
Şehzade Alemşah
Şehzade Mehmed (1505, born posthumously – 1513, killed by Selim I).
Bayezid II by school ofPaolo Veronese, 16th century or later
Bayezid II, once ascended to the throne, granted his daughters and granddaughters in the male line the title of "Sultan" and his granddaughters in the female line that of "Hanımsultan", which replaced the simple honorific "Hatun" in use until then. His grandsons in female line obtained instead the title of "Sultanzade". Bayezid's reform of female titles remains in effect today among the surviving members of theOttoman dynasty.
Ilaldi Sultan (c. 1469 –c. 1517). She marriedHain Ahmed Pasha (ex. 1524), governor of Rumelia, Egypt and Second Vizier. She sent a congratulatory letter to her brother Selim when he ascended the throne. She had a son and a daughter:
Sultanzade Koçî Bey; who married his cousin Hanzade Hanımsultan (daughter of Selçuk Sultan, daughter of Bayezid II) and had a son:
Hanzade Hanımsultan – with Mehmed Bey. She married his cousin Sultanzade Koçi Bey, son of Ilaldi Sultan and had a son:
Ahmed Çelebi
Hatice Hanımsultan – with Mehmed Bey; who married a son of Halil Pasha in 1510 and had a daughter:
Hanzade Hanım
Aslıhan Hanımsultan (c. 1487 –fl. 1529) – with Mehmed Bey; who marriedYunus Pasha in 1502 (ex. 1517). She was remarried in 1518 to Defterdar Mehmed Çelebi, who was governor of Egypt and later of Damascus.[31][32] From the second marriage, she had a daughter but died in childbirth because her age:
Selçuk Hanım (born on 21 February 1529)
Sultanzade Sultan (ante 1470 – ?) – daughter of Hüsnüşah Hatun.[33]
Sultan Bayezid II and his struggle with his son Selim is a prominent subplot in the video gameAssassin's Creed: Revelations. In the game, due to Bayezid's absence from Constantinople, theByzantines had the opportunity to sneak back into the city, hoping to revive their fallen empire. Near the end of the game, Bayezid surrendered the throne to his son Selim. However, Bayezid does not make an actual appearance.
Bayezid II, prior to becoming Sultan, is depicted by Akin Gazi in theStarz seriesDa Vinci's Demons. He seeks an audience withPope Sixtus IV (having been manipulated into believing that peace between Rome and Constantinople is a possibility), only to be ridiculed and humiliated by Sixtus, actions which later serve as a pretext for theOttoman invasion of Otranto. Sixtus assumes that Bayezid has been overlooked in favor of his brother Cem.
Bayezid II, prior to becoming Sultan, is depicted by Ediz Cagan Cakiroglu in the docuseriesRise of Empires: Ottoman. He appears on season 02 as a young prince who is motivated and inspired by his fatherMehmed the Conqueror and wants to join him in battle despite being a child
^Egger, Vernon O. (2008).A History of the Muslim World Since 1260: The Making of a Global Community.Prentice Hall. p. 82.ISBN978-0-13-226969-8.
^abThe Jewish Encyclopedia: a descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the Jewish people from the earliest times to the present day, Vol. 2 Isidore Singer, Cyrus Adler, Funk and Wagnalls, 1912 p. 460
^The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol.7, Edited by Hugh Chisholm, (1911), 3;Constantinople, the capital of the Turkish Empire...
^Britannica, IstanbulArchived 2007-12-18 at theWayback Machine:When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.
^Harry N. Abrams (2005).Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600–1600. p. 438.
^Ayşe Gül Sertkaya (2002). Gyorgy Hazai (ed.).Archivum Ottomanicum 20 (2002). p. 113.
^Gülru Necipoğlu, Cemal Kafadar, and Cornell H. Fleischer, eds.Treasures of Knowledge: an Inventory of the Ottoman Palace Library (1502/3–1503/4), 2 vols. Leiden: Brill, 2019.
^Hirschler, Konrad. Review ofTreasures of Knowledge: an Inventory of the Ottoman Palace Library (1502/3–1503/4), ed. by Gülru Necipoğlu, Cemal Kafadar, and Cornell H. Fleischer.Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association 7, no. 1 (2020): 244–249.
^Kiel, MacHiel (190).Studies on the Ottoman Architecture of the Balkans. Variorum Publishing Group. p. 492.ISBN978-0-860-78276-6.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
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