| Battle of Çamurlu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theOttoman Interregnum | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Mehmed's forces Serbian Despotate | Musa's forces | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mehmed Çelebi Stefan Lazarević | Musa Çelebi  | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000 | Unknown | ||||||
TheBattle of Çamurlu was fought on 5 July 1413 betweenMusa Çelebi andMehmed Çelebi, both sons ofBayezid I, as the last conflict of the Ottoman civil war known as theOttoman Interregnum. The battle decided which son of Bayezid I would finally reunite theOttoman Empire, with Mehmed Çelebi becomingMehmed I of the Ottoman Empire.
After suppressingCüneyt Bey's revolt, Mehmed Çelebi gathered his troops atAnkara. With hisDulkadirid father-in-law, he began planning an invasion ofRumelia (the European part of the empire and Musa's stronghold) to defeat his brother, Musa. On his march toBursa, Mehmed gained contingents of troops from westernAnatolia. Upon reaching the straits, Mehmed's army was given passage by ships loaned fromManuel II Palaiologos, who supplied Mehmed with some troops.
Mehmed marched his army from Constantinople toEdirne. He then marched onto Kosovo to join forces with his ally (and also half-uncle) Serbian rulerStefan Lazarević, along with receiving information fromEvrenos concerning possible defections during the battle.[2]
Both armies met at Çamurlu, near modern-daySamokov, south east ofSofia, Bulgaria. Initially, Musa appeared to be winning the battle despite the defection of Pasha Yigit and Sinan Bey of Trikkala.[2] However, the tide of the battle turned in favor of Mehmed, with the help of Serb andByzantine troops, and Musa Çelebi fled.[3]
Following the battle, Musa Çelebi was captured and strangled.[4] This battle re-established the unity of the Ottoman state, under the control ofMehmed I.[5]