Selim I Yavuz (the Grim) was the 9th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He is born in 1470 in the city of Amasya, the youngest son of Sultan Bayezid II and Gulbahar Sultana. Bayazid II had eight sons; however, five of them died during his reign, leaving only Ahmed, Korkud and Selim. Selim was appointed governor of Trabzon in 1481 when his father took the throne. He stayed there for 29 years, until 1510.
All of his brothers were given governing positions, making it a race for power, and the throne. In the beginning, his brothers had the upper hand, as Selim was viewed as violent and unreasonable by the bureaucracy. However, the conquest of Kars, Erzurum, and Artvin without the permission of his father, who ruled pacifistically, made Selim popular among the armed forces. With the help of the Janissaries, Selim forced his father to abdicate on April 25, 1512 and became an Ottoman Sultan. To secure his throne, Selim assassinated all his brothers, nephews and their sons, leaving only Süleyman, as his heir. After securing the throne, he returned to the aggressive policies of his grandfather, Mehmed the Conqueror. His first conflict was with Ismāʿīl I, founder of the Ṣafavid dynasty in Iran. He launched a campaign against Ismāʿīl I’s supporters in eastern Anatolia, massacring thousands, and in 1514, led a major expedition on Safavid territory. He defeated Ismāʿīl at the Battle of Chaldiran, on the eastern side of the Euphrates River on August 23, 1514. Although he managed to capture the city of Tabriz, the Safavid empire continued. The lack of booty and supplies decreased the morale of his troops, forcing Selim to retreat.
After this, he turned to the Mamluks. During this period, the Mamluks were in decay. They controlled the Middle Eastern portion of the old international trade routes between Europe and East Asia. However, with the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, the trade routes lost most of their importance. Selim I was able to conquer all of the Mamluk’s land in a brief campaign (1516-1517). Most of the Mamluk officials turned to the Ottoman side in return for promised political positions. The dissatisfied population in Egypt and Syria turned over the Mamluk garrisons. On August 24, 1516, he defeated the Mamluks at the Battle of Marj Dabiq and on January 22, 1517, at the Battle of Raydaniyah, near Cairo.
With this conquests, Selim I doubled the size of his empire. The new territories, with efficient administration, solved the financial problems of the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire became very powerful and wealthy. Another benefit from the conquest was the control of holy places of Islam, which made the sultan the most important Islamic ruler and Selim I the first Ottoman caliph. The old trade routes were now under their control. The Ottomans also had direct access to administration, arts, and intellectuals from the Abbasids and Seljuqs.
Selim I died in 1520, probably from cancer. In his short reign of eight years, he managed to double the size of the Ottoman Empire and become the most respected Muslim ruler of his time. He is considered as one of the most successful Ottoman rulers.
Sources:
- Alderson, Anthony Dolphin. The Structure of the Ottoman Dynasty
- Sakaoğlu, Necdet. Bu mülkün kadın sultanları
- Öztuna, Yılmaz. Yavuz Sultan Selim
- Süreyya Mehmed Bey. Sicill-i Osmani
- Uluçay, M. Çağatay. Türk Tarih Kurumu yayınları