Sultan Yavuz Selim - The Ninth Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire

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• published: 14 Dec 2013
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Selim I (Ottoman Turkish: Modern Turkish: I.Selim), nicknamed Yavuz, "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" (October 10, 1465/1466/1470 -- September 22, 1520), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. His reign is notable for the enormous expansion of the Empire, particularly his conquest between 1516-1517 of the entire Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which included all of Sham, Hejaz, Tihamah, and Egypt itself. With the heart of the Arab World now under their control, the Ottomans became the dominant power in the region, and in the Islamic world. Upon conquering Egypt, Selim took the title of Caliph of Islam, being the first Ottoman sultan to do so. He was also granted the title of "Khâdim ül Haramain ish Sharifain" (Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina), by the Sharif of Mecca in 1517. Selim's reign represented a sudden change in the expansion policy of the empire, which was working mostly against the West and the Beyliks before his reign. On the eve of his death in 1520, the Ottoman Empire spanned almost 1 billion acres (about 4 million square kilometers or 4 square megameters), having tripled in size during Selim's reign. Born in Amasya, Selim dethroned his father Bayezid II (1481--1512) in 1512. Bayezid's death followed immediately thereafter. Selim put his brothers (Şehzade Ahmet and Şehzade Korkut) and nephews to death upon his accession in order to eliminate potential pretenders to the throne. This fratricidal policy was motivated by bouts of civil strife that had been sparked by the antagonism between Selim's father Beyazid and his uncle Cem Sultan, and between Selim himself and his brother Ahmet. His biological mother was the Pontic Greek lady Gül-Bahār Khātûn, who had never acquired the title of Valide Khātûn since she had died before Selim's accession to the Ottoman throne. According to another theory, Selim was the biological son of A'ishā (Ayşe) Khātûn who died at Trebizond on 1505 and was the daughter of Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey, the eleventh ruler of the Dulkadirids centered around Elbistan in Kahramanmaraş. Selim I was described as being tall, having very broad shoulders and a long mustache. He was skilled in politics and was said to be fond of fighting. In 1494, at Trabzon, he married Ayşe Hafsa Sultan. For Selim, one of the first challenges as Sultan was the growing tension between himself and Shah Ismail who had recently brought the Safavids to power and had switched the state religion from Sunni Islam to the adherence of the Twelver Shia Islam. By 1510, Ismail had conquered west part of Iran and was of a great threat to his Sunni Muslim neighbors to the west. In 1511, Ismail had supported an pro Shia/Safavid uprising in Anatolia, the Şahkulu Rebellion. In 1514, Selim I attacked Ismā'il's kingdom to stop the spread of Shiism into Ottoman dominions. Selim and Ismā'il had been exchanging a series of belligerent letters prior to the attack. Selim I defeated Ismā'il at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514. Ismā'il's army was more mobile and their soldiers were better prepared but the Ottomans prevailed due in large part to their efficient modern army, and possession of artillery, black powder and muskets. Ismā'il was wounded and almost captured in battle, and Selim I entered the Iranian capital of Tabriz in triumph on September 5, but did not linger. A mutiny among his troops fearing a counterattack and entrapment by the fresh Safavid forces called in from the interior, forced the triumphant Ottomans to withdraw prematurely. This allowed Ismā'il to recover quickly. The Battle of Chaldiran, was of historical significance, in which the reluctancy showed by Shah Ismail to accept the advantages of modern firearms and the importance of artillery was decisive. After the battle, Selim referring to Ismail stated that his adversary was: "Always drunk to the point of losing his mind and totally neglectful of the affairs of the state. Selim then conquered the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, defeating the Mamluk Egyptians first at the Battle of Marj Dabiq, and then at the Battle of Ridanieh. This led to the Ottoman annexation of the entire sultanate, from Syria and Palestine in Sham, to Hejaz and Tihamah in the Arabian Peninsula, and ultimately Egypt itself. This permitted him to extended Ottoman power to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, hitherto under Egyptian rule. Rather than style himself the Hakim ul Haremeyn, or The Ruler of The Two Holy Shrines, he accepted the more pious title Khadim ul Haremeyn, or The Servant of The Two Holy Shrines.