Bayezid I

Yıldırım Bayezid was born at Edirne in 1360. His father was Murad Hüdavendigâr, his mother Gülçiçek Hatun. He was round-faced and fair-skinned, with an aquiline nose, hazel eyes, light brown hair, a thick beard and broad shoulders. He was given the name "Yıldırım" — the Thunderbolt — for the courage he showed in battle and the speed with which he moved.

He spent his childhood in the palace at Bursa with his brothers and was well educated, taking lessons from the greatest scholars of the age. In his youth he served as governor of the district of Kütahya. In accordance with the will of Sultan Murad Hüdavendigâr he was raised to the sultanate in 1389, at the age of twenty-nine.

At the head of Serbia was Stefan Lazarević, son of King Lazar, who had died at Kosovo. Coming to Edirne for a peace treaty, he gave his sister Maria to Bayezid. That marriage established an Ottoman-Serbian friendship. Yıldırım Bayezid was defeated by Timur at the Battle of Ankara and taken captive. After a reign of thirteen years he died seven months and twelve days after his captivity began.

In his poetry Yıldırım Bayezid used the pen name "Yıldırım": "Ehl-i hicran fitne-i agyar
Ortada bir bahanedir sandım."

• Sons: Musa Çelebi, Süleyman Çelebi, Mustafa Çelebi, İsa Çelebi, Mehmed Çelebi, Ertuğrul Çelebi, Kasım Çelebi
• Daughters: Fatma Sultan

The Interregnum (1402-1413)

At the end of the Battle of Ankara the Turkish unity of Anatolia was broken and the Ottoman state faced the danger of dissolution. After their father's death the sons of Yıldırım Bayezid began a struggle for the throne, and so began the greatest period of turmoil in Ottoman history. The contest for the throne in this period, known as the Interregnum, was made worse by Timur's unwillingness to leave a strong state in Anatolia and by Byzantine intrigue.

Süleyman Çelebi at Edirne, İsa Çelebi at Bursa, Mehmed Çelebi at Amasya and Musa Çelebi at Balıkesir each declared himself sultan.

Mehmed Çelebi and Musa Çelebi came to an agreement and removed İsa Çelebi, who was governor at Bursa. Mehmed Çelebi knew that Süleyman Çelebi would have to be removed as well, and to that end sent Musa Çelebi against him at Edirne. Musa Çelebi defeated his brother Süleyman Çelebi and seized Edirne — but, breaking his promise to Mehmed Çelebi, declared himself sultan there. In 1413 Mehmed Çelebi finally put Musa Çelebi out of the way as well and brought the Interregnum to an end.

Source: Osmanlı Tarihi Interaktif CD-ROM (Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları XXXI. Dizi-Sa.2)