
Selim I the Steadfast (10 October 1470-22 September 1520) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520, as the ninth ruler. He was the youngest son of Bayezid II, and became the Sultan only after a war of succession against his brother Shehzade Ahmet (even while their father was still alive, albeit dying).
Biography[]
Family Feud[]

Selim in 1512
Yavuz Sultan Selim Khan was born in Amasya in the Province of Amasya on the northern Turkish shore. He was the third son of Bayezid after Ahmet and Korkut. Selim was a power-hungry and ambitious Prince, and although he was not the first choice for Sultan (his brother Ahmet was first-in-line), he gained the allegiance of the Janissaries Corps, the Elite Guard loyal to the Sultan. Selim fought against his brother and later against his father and was nearly defeated in 1511, suffering heavy losses and falling back to Varna. In 1512 he finally deposed his father Bayezid II. Upon his arrival in Constantinople he threw his brother Ahmet from a cliff after finding out that he had allied with the Byzantine Rebels in order to dethrone him, and took power as the ninth Ottoman Sultan.
Sultan[]
Sultan Selim first campaigned against the Safavid Empire, who had supported Shahkulu's Rebellion in 1511. Selim crushed them at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514, his first victory, and gained the title of Caliph after suppressing the Shia Persians. His next move was to take over Egypt from the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo, defeating them at the Battle of Raydaniya in January 1517. He returned from his Egyptian campaign as the master of Asia as well as North Africa, and planned to attack Hungary, but he died before he could do so.
Sultan/Caliph | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by: Bayezid II/Ahmet (de facto) |
1512-1520 | Succeeded by: Suleiman the Magnificent |