Selim I the Terrible. Selim I the Terrible - biography, facts from life, photographs, background information Indonesian limited military contingent

The name of Selim I in the history of the Ottoman Empire is associated with the era of glorious conquests, victorious battles and strengthening of the country's status on the world stage. However, such an aggressive policy also has a downside: during his lifetime, the ruler was nicknamed first the Brave, and then Yavuz - the Terrible and Fierce: Selim did not know pity either for his opponents or for his allies who were guilty of anything, which is how he earned the reputation of being cruel, although a fair person.

Childhood and youth

Selim I's father was Sultan Bayezid II. In due course, the ruler’s son received the city of Trabzon under his control, where he began to study government affairs. Soon, the young man's successes allowed Bayazid to entrust him with a more serious territory - the Balkans, where Selim became the official Sultan's governor.

Of Selim's brothers, Korkut, who ruled the territory of Antalya, and Akhmet, who represented the power of the Sultan in Amasya, were still alive at that time. According to tradition, after the death of Bayazid, power was supposed to pass to the son who would be the first to arrive in the capital. And through the efforts of the Sultan, who pinned his hopes on Akhmet, he was located geographically closer to Constantinople (now the Turkish city of Istanbul).

Selim was not satisfied with this state of affairs, and he repeatedly tried to persuade his father to transfer him closer to the capital. As a result, Bayezid allowed his son to lead Semendir (now the Serbian city of Smederevo), but Akhmet still remained much closer to the capital.

Governing body

After some time, the prospect of losing the coveted throne forced Selim to act more decisively. Having secured the support of close military personnel, the Sultan's son moved to the capital, counting on the support of a group of rebels in Constantinople. However, these calculations did not come true, and the battle that took place in the summer of 1511 did not end in Selim’s favor.

Fleeing from the wrath of his powerful father, the rebel fled to the Crimean Khanate, where he continued to make plans to seize power in the country. Selim was supported by the ruler of the Khanate Mengli-Girey, who also had some army.

The Sultan, meanwhile, began to suspect his second son, Akhmet, of intending to speed up the transfer of the throne. Then the wise ruler, fearing bloodshed, abdicated the throne. Power passed to Selim. According to one version, Bayazid’s decision was voluntary, but according to another, Selim entered the capital with an army and threatened his father to transfer power.

However, the abdication of the Sultan was not enough for the new ruler. As soon as he took the throne, Selim decided to protect himself from the possible machinations of the dissatisfied and gradually got rid of all his relatives in the male line. Both of Selim's brothers were executed by his decree, however, this was not enough for the newly-minted Sultan: he executed the sons of Akhmet and Korkut, his nephews. In addition, there is a version that Selim I was also guilty of the death of his own father, who passed away only a month after his son’s accession to the throne.

The reign of Sultan Selim itself began with the conquest of new lands. First of all, the ruler entered into a confrontation with the ruler of Persia, Ismail I. In 1514, the army of the Ottoman Empire entered Persia and defeated Ismail’s army. The survivors retreated from the borders, surrendering city after city. Soon Selim entered the capital, plundered the treasury and took the Shah's harem captive.

A year later, the Sultan conquered the Zul-Ghadir dynasty - the rulers of neighboring Elbistan, and then began to prepare for a serious campaign against Egypt. The rivals were superior to Selim's army in cavalry, but were significantly inferior in artillery and general training, so already in August 1516 the Turks defeated the Mamluks. A few months later, the Turkish army conquered Syria and then captured the Palestinian city of Gaza.

For some time after these events, the former rulers of the conquered lands tried to recapture their own possessions, but to no avail. In 1517, Selim I received the keys to Mecca and Medina, which symbolized the transfer of these territories to Ottoman rule. In addition, the Turks imposed tribute on Venice, forcing them to pay tribute for the island of Cyprus. Thus, Sultan Selim needed only 4 years to practically double the territory of the Ottoman possessions.

Personal life

Incomplete data has been preserved about the personal life of the Sultan - this page of the biography of Selim I, unfortunately, is not sufficiently covered by historians. Surely we know about 4 wives of the ruler who gave him children. They were Aishe Khatun, Hafsa Sultan, Tajlu Khatun and another woman, whose name has not been preserved. There is also information about Selim's 15 children - 5 sons and 10 daughters.

After the death of the Sultan, his son, whose mother was Hafsa Sultan, ascended the throne. This woman also remained in history - her name was associated with wisdom among the Turks for a long time. Hafsa Sultan gently guided her son, helping him make the right political decisions.

Death

Disputes about the exact cause of death of the great Sultan are still ongoing. It is officially believed that the life of Selim I was taken by anthrax, but there is another assumption - that the ruler was poisoned. The Ottoman ruler was 54 years old.

Suleiman, who succeeded Selim on the throne, did not repeat his military exploits, but went down in history as a man of art who patronized poets, artists and architects, and also as a ruler under whom the Ottoman Empire achieved its greatest development in all areas.

Memory

Films and TV series have been made about the events of the life of Selim I, and many books have been written. The series “Roksolana” (based on the work of the same name by the writer Pavel Zagrebelny) is dedicated to this period in the history of the Ottoman Empire, in which the role of the Sultan was played by the actor. Another series in which the image of Selim the Terrible appears is “”. The role of the ruler who appears in the memoirs to his son Suleiman (actor) was played by Muharrem Gulmez.

In addition, in 1978, the writer published a fiction book dedicated to the events of the life of Selim I. This novel, called “Harem”, takes the reader to the era of the reign of the Sultan, and also tells about the family of the ruler, his beloved named Saira and the events preceding the accession Selima to the throne.

-). In total, Selim I increased the size of the Ottoman Empire by 70%, and at the time of his death its area was 1.494 million km².

سليم اول ‎ - Selîm-i evvel
Ottoman Sultan April 24 - September 22
Predecessor	Bayezid II
Successor	Suleiman I
Birth	October 10(1465-10-10 ) Amasya, Ottoman Empire
Death	September 22nd(1520-09-22 ) (54 years old) Edirne, Ottoman Empire
Burial place	Yavuz Selim[d]
Genus	Ottomans
Father	Bayezid II
Mother	Gulbahar-khatun
Spouse	Aishe Khatun and Hafsa Sultan
Children	Suleiman the Magnificent
Religion	Islam
Autograph
Selim I at Wikimedia Commons

Biography

In May 1514, Selim's army set out on a campaign to the east, passed Sivas, Erzurum and invaded the possessions of Ismail; The Qizilbash avoided battle, hoping to exhaust the enemy army, and retreated deeper into the country, destroying everything that could be useful to the Turks. On August 23, 1514, in the Battle of Chaldiran, the Sultan defeated the Shah (Selim had 120-200 thousand, Ismail 30-60 thousand; the Turks had an advantage in firearms, the Qizilbash had practically no infantry and artillery).

Two weeks later, Selim entered the Safavid capital of Tabriz; He stayed here for several days, but the Janissaries, fearing a hungry winter, demanded to be led back. Selim left through Yerevan, Kars, Erzurum, Sivas and Amasya, capturing the treasury and harem of the Shah, and taking about a thousand skilled artisans to Istanbul. After Chaldiran, Diyarbakir, Bitlis, Hasankeyf, Miyafarikin, Nejti submitted to the Turks; but when Selim left, Ismail conquered most of southeastern Anatolia and besieged the Turkish garrison at Diyarbakir for a whole year.

In culture

Appears in one of the final scenes of the game Assassin's Creed: Revelations, where he personally throws his brother, shehzade Akhmet, into the abyss.

In 1996-2003 The Ukrainian TV series “Roksolana” was released. The role of Sultan Selim was played by Konstantin Stepankov.

Appears in the memories of the son of Suleiman I in the television series “The Magnificent Century”. The role of the Sultan was played by Turkish actor Muharrem Gülmez.

Immediately after that, he ordered his three brothers and 10 nephews to be strangled. According to Turkish historians, this sultan was an educated man, loved literature, respected theology and patronized scientists with pleasure. However, he was very cruel and inspired fear in all his associates. No one could consider themselves protected from his wrath (one after another, the Sultan executed seven great viziers). Under him, the Turkish wars of conquest, which had ceased under his father, began with renewed vigor.

Selim's first victim was Shiite Iran. The Sultan himself was a devout Sunni and an ardent opponent of Shiism. In 1513, on his instructions, lists of Shiites were compiled throughout the empire with the goal of their complete destruction. The lists included 40-45 thousand real and imaginary followers of Shiism, and all of them, aged from 7 to 70 years, were destroyed. Having exterminated the Shiites within his state, Selim began a war against the Shah of Iran in May 1514. It was difficult, but not long. The Persians avoided battle, wanting to exhaust the enemy army - they went deep into the country, destroying along the way everything that would be useful to Selim, especially food. Finally, on August 23, 1514, the opponents clashed in a fierce battle in the Chaldiran Valley, located east of Lake Urmia. Selim's army numbered 120 thousand warriors. There were no fewer soldiers in the army, and they were not exhausted by the long, grueling campaign. However, the Sultan had an advantage in firearms, especially artillery. The main strength of the Persian army was its cavalry. As for artillery and regular infantry, the Persians practically did not have them. This circumstance predetermined their defeat.

The Turkish army lined up in its usual battle formation: on the right flank stood the Anatolian and Karamanian cavalry and Azabs (irregular infantry). On the left flank were European irregular troops. In the center, along with the Sultan, were the Janissaries, covered by a fence of carts and camels. The artillery was placed between the troops stationed on the two flanks. The horses, exhausted from lack of food, could barely stand; The infantry was also severely exhausted by hunger, but the soldiers were again inspired by courage at the sight of the enemy’s tents, in which they hoped to find great treasures, and the Persian uniforms glittering with gold and precious stones. When the battle began, the Persians attacked the flanks and center of the Turkish army. The Azabs, who were on the left flank, could not withstand the attack of the Persian cavalry and fled in different directions. On the left flank, the Azabs remained more confident and only stepped aside to open the cannons behind them (they were tied to one another with iron chains). Then the Janissaries standing in the center came out from behind their fence and showered the advancing Persians with bullets from their arquebuses. Volleys of cannons and cannons fired at point-blank range caused enormous damage to the Shah's cavalry. The Shah who led the attack was wounded, knocked off his horse and almost captured. His army, unable to withstand the brutal shelling, fled. The battle ended with the complete defeat of the army. About 50 thousand Persian soldiers remained on the battlefield. The camp, as well as the Shah's harem, fell into the hands of the victors. All prisoners were executed on the same day. Two weeks later, Selim entered the Shah's capital Tabriz, stayed there for several days and set off on the return journey, taking with him Ismail's treasury. He also took about a thousand skilled artisans to Istanbul.

Selim Yavuz on another trip

In 1514, the Sultan managed to annex Kurdistan almost without a fight. In 1516, the Turkish army invaded Syria, whose population was languishing under the yoke of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt. The 78-year-old but still energetic Egyptian Sultan came out to meet Selim. The decisive battle took place on August 24, 1516 on the Dabik field (Marj Dabik), located at a distance of one day's march from Aleppo. The striking force of the Egyptians was the magnificent Mamluk cavalry. But the outcome of the battle, as in the war with the Persians, was decided not by her, but by the Turkish artillery, which was rightfully considered the best in the world at that time. The Turkish army had cannons of various calibers, including light guns mounted on horse-drawn carts. Selim's batteries, hidden behind tied carts and wooden barricades, inflicted enormous losses on the Mamluks. The subsequent attack by the Turks ended in the disorderly flight of the Egyptians. Seeing his defeat, he took poison. On August 28, Selim entered Aleppo, and the next day accepted the title of “Servant of both holy cities,” which previously belonged to the Sultans of Egypt. This meant that he assumed the role of spiritual and temporal head of all Muslims, for whom the cities of Mecca and Medina, which were in the possession of the Mamluks, were sacred. In September, the Turks occupied all of Syria without hindrance, and by the end of November they completed the conquest of Palestine.

The new Mamluk sultan tried to organize a rebuff to the Turkish offensive, but already on December 25, 1516, in the Battle of Beisan (Palestine), Ottoman troops defeated a significant part of the assembled army. A month later, decisive battles took place in the northern suburb of Cairo, Ridaniya, where he built fortifications and installed about 100 cannons. On January 22, 1517, the forces were defeated. The Mamluk guns could not withstand Selim's batteries, and their troops quickly fled. The Turks captured Cairo. A few days later he tried to recapture the city at night. Fierce street battles broke out, in which about 50 thousand residents of the Egyptian capital died. When the Turks gained the upper hand, Selim ordered the beheading of 800 Mamluk beys. He tried to fight the Turks for another two months, but was captured by his own associates and handed over to Selim. On April 13, 1517, the last Mamluk Sultan of Egypt was hanged under the arch of the gates of Cairo. In August, Selim set off on his return journey, following tradition by evicting a thousand skilled artisans to Istanbul. Even before his departure, Cairo was visited by the sheriff of Mecca and Medina. He officially recognized the Turkish Sultan as the caliph - the ruler of all Muslims.

While Selim was waging war in Egypt, Turkish pirates recaptured Algeria, a major port in North Africa, from the Spaniards. In 1518, their leader Hayreddin Barbarossa recognized the power of the Sultan over himself and received the title of Beylerbey of Algeria. Thus, in a short period of time, Selim almost doubled the borders of the Ottoman Empire.

He died suddenly of cancer at the age of fifty, while preparing a military expedition to the island of Rhodes. He never managed to carry out many of his plans. His work was continued by his son and heir, who received the nickname Magnificent in history.

Selim I the Terrible (Yavuz) (1467/68 or 1470-1520), Turkish Sultan from 1512. During the wars of conquest he subjugated the East. Anatolia, Armenia, Kurdistan, North. Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Hijaz.

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Selim I (1470-1520) - Turkish conqueror sultan, nicknamed the Brave and Fierce. During the wars of conquest, he subjugated Eastern Anatolia, Armenia, Kurdistan, Northern Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Hijaz. Mentioned by Gumilyov as “the ruthless Selim I” (“The End and the Beginning Again,” 259-260).

T.K. Shanbai

Quoted from: Lev Gumilyov. Encyclopedia. / Ch. ed. E.B. Sadykov, comp. T.K. Shanbai, - M., 2013, p. 537.

Selim was the son of the Turkish Sultan Bayezid II. When Sultan Bayezid II began to show clear preference for his second son, Ahmed, Selim feared for his future. The Balkan governor of the Ottoman Sultan rebelled and, at the head of a small army, bravely moved towards Istanbul. Most likely, Selim hoped for support from the rebels in the capital, but his calculations did not come true.

In the battle that took place, his father, Bayezid II, who stood at the head of a huge army, easily defeated Selim, and he had to flee to the Crimean Khanate, where it was difficult for the Sultan to reach him. In the Northern Black Sea region, among the Crimean Tatars, the fugitive decided to wait out the difficult time and again begin the fight for his father’s inheritance.

In 1512, Sultan Bayezid II made a rather rare decision among the monarchs of the world: he voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Sublime Porte and, in order to save it from military upheavals, transferred power to Selim.

The return of the fugitive from Crimea to Istanbul looked more like a military triumph. The new Sultan Selim I repaid his father's generosity by ordering the execution of all male relatives who could lay claim to his Sultan's throne. For this he received the nickname Yavuz, which translated from Turkish meant “Gloomy”.

Then Sultan Selim, as a devout Sunni, began to forcibly establish a single Muslim religion in the Ottoman Empire. By order of the Sultan, more than 40 thousand Shiites were killed in the country, and their property was plundered. Many Shiites began to seek salvation outside of Turkey.

The persecution of the Shiites inevitably led to a war between the Ottoman Empire and Persia.

In June 1515, Selim I, at the head of an army of 60,000, invaded Persia. Selim I had numerous and well-armed heavy cavalry, field, siege and fortress artillery. The infantrymen were armed with firearms, albeit rather primitive ones.

The invasion of Persia began from Sivas. The Turkish army reached the upper reaches of the Euphrates River through Erzurum. The Persians used the “scorched earth” tactic against her, which did not give the desired results, since the foraging service was competently organized in the army of Selim I. The Turks unhindered approached the city of Khoy, in the vicinity of which the Persian Shah assembled his thousands-strong, exclusively cavalry army of the eastern type.

On August 23, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River near Haldiran, the Ottoman Turks fought a battle with a 50,000-strong Persian army, personally commanded by Shah Ismail.

Selim I rose to the occasion - having successfully maneuvered his troops on the battlefield, he won a landslide victory over the Persians. The hungry Turkish warriors received a Persian camp with huge reserves of provisions as their most valuable trophy.

The Persian army, having suffered heavy losses in the battle of Haldiran, scattered throughout the surrounding mountains. The defeated Shah Ismail, who was wounded during the battle, also had to flee. Sultan Selim I moved his army even further to the east and in September of the same 1515 captured the then capital of Persia, the city of Tabriz (now the main city of Iranian Azerbaijan, or, otherwise, South Azerbaijan).

From Tabriz, Selim intended to continue his military campaign. However, the Janissaries rebelled, and the Ottoman Timariot feudal lords also refused to go further. The Sultan, reluctantly, had to submit to the demands of his army. The consolation was the huge military booty taken in Tabriz, including the Shah's treasury. From the Persian capital, the Turks sent a thousand of the best artisans to Istanbul to serve the Sultan's court and nobility.

The Sultan did not have to repeat his victorious Persian campaign, although he intended to do it again. Having learned that the Arab countries of Egypt and Syria had entered into a military alliance with the Persian Shah, Selim I decided to forestall the joint offensive actions of the opponents of the Ottoman Porte.

The Mameluke Sultan Hansu al-Ghauri was preparing to invade Turkey from the city of Aleppo. He assembled a 30,000-strong cavalry army, positioning it 16 kilometers north of Aleppo near Merj Dabiq. About half of the cavalry were Mamelukes, the rest were Arab militias. Sultan Hansu al-Ghauri had neither artillery nor infantry. The army of Selim I numbered 40 thousand people, of which 15 thousand were mounted timariots, 8 thousand were Janissaries, 3 thousand were the Sultan's horse guard and 15 thousand foot militia.

In July 1516, Selim I, at the head of the Ottoman army, unexpectedly invaded Syria, passing from the Euphrates Valley past the Taurus Mountains. On August 24, 1516, a great battle took place in northern Syria near Merj Dabiq.

Selim I did not stay long in conquered Syria, but left strong Turkish garrisons in its fortresses. He again set out on a campaign of conquest, this time against Egypt, which at that time was one of the richest countries in the East. In October 1516, the Turks captured the fortified city of Gaza and thereby opened the way to the Nile and the Egyptian capital.

In January 1517, the Sultan's army of thousands with heavy siege artillery approached Cairo. This time the Ottoman Turks were opposed by the Egyptian Mamelukes and the remnants of the defeated Syrian army.

On January 22, a great battle took place under the walls of Cairo, which decided the fate of Egypt for several centuries.

Egypt was annexed to the Ottoman Empire. Thus, Turkish possessions appeared not only in Asia and the Balkans in Europe, but also in northern Africa. Now Shiite Persia, which had lost all its allies and had a large but weak army, could no longer resist neighboring Turkey. Its warlike Sultan Selim I, who annexed most of Asia Minor to his state in a short time, solemnly proclaimed himself also the Egyptian Sultan and Caliph.

After successful campaigns of conquest against Syria and Egypt, the Turkish Sultan traveled to the cities of Mecca and Medina, sacred to every devout Muslim. There he received great honors as a leader and protector of the Islamic world. This was recognition of his great military merits and no less great religious fanaticism as a Sunni Muslim.

Now Selim I was called not the Gloomy, but the Brave and Fierce. Under him, the Ottoman Porte became the recognized military leader of the Muslims of the East, and Turkey no longer faced strong armed confrontation here for many years.

In the last years of his life, Sultan Selim I dreamed most of all about moving west into the Mediterranean. In 1520, he entered into a military alliance with the famous Maghreb pirate admiral Barbarossa to prepare for the invasion of Spain by the Turkish army. The pirates of the Maghreb (modern Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) were allies of the Ottoman Empire in its subsequent wars against European Christian states.

Subsequently, no one else in the Middle East challenged Sultan Selim I, except, of course, for the religious riots in Syria and Anatolia in 1518-1519, which the Sultan’s troops easily dealt with.

Selim the Brave and Fierce died at the age of fifty while preparing a military expedition to the island of Rhodes. He never managed to carry out many of his plans. His work was continued by the son and heir of the Sultan Suleiman, who received the nickname Magnificent in history. His father prepared him well to rule the country and a strong army.

Sultan Selim I is known in world history for initiating the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the East by crushing the military and political power of Persia. His aggressive policy largely predetermined Turkey's further military expansion to all four corners of the world.

Read further:

Historical figures of Turkey (biographical reference book).

Türkiye (chronological table)

Bayezid I the Lightning (Bayzit Yildirim) (1360 or 1354 - 1402) - Ottoman Sultan (1389-1402),

Selim I the Terrible (Yavuz) (Os. سليم اول‎ - Selîm-i evvel, Tur. Birinci Selim, Yavuz Sultan Selim: October 10, 1465 Amasya, Ottoman Empire - September 22, 1520 Edirne, Ottoman Empire) - the ninth Ottoman Sultan and 88th oh caliph in 1512-1520.

Selim was the son of Sultan Bayadiz II. Selim began serving his father as governor of the Balkan province. This was to train him in government affairs. Sultan Bayadiz was a completely peaceful ruler. He was not aggressive towards his neighbors. Be that as it may, the Sultan began to give his preference to his second son Ahmed. Bayadiz intended to transfer the throne to him. Selim was very unhappy and was afraid that he would lose power. Selim rebels against his father. He led his small army into battle with Bayadiz. This uprising was not successful. Selim was forced to flee to Crimea.

The Sultan was concerned that his son might enter into an alliance with Turkey's old enemies - the Persians. Bayadiz makes a decision and in 1512 transfers the throne to Selim. The young sultan decided to thank his father. He executed all relatives who could lay claim to the throne. After this, Selim decided to restore order in Turkey and destroy all Shiites. Selim killed about forty thousand Shiites who lived in Turkey.

Selim quickly consolidated power in the country. His plans were to expand the territory of Turkey. To begin with, he concluded peace treaties with his western neighbors and decided to begin expansion to the east. The first people he decided to destroy were the Persians. Selim wanted to destroy them because they supported his brother, and also because Shiites lived on the border of Turkey and Persia. With an army of 60 thousand people, Selim invaded Persia in 1515. His main army were the Janissaries. This is a cross between slaves and mercenaries. Selim's army also had infantry armed with primitive guns, mobile artillery, and light cavalry. Discipline in his army was strict. For any disobedience or violation - execution.

In August 1515, Selim entered into battle with the main forces of the Persians. There were about 50 thousand warriors. Shah Ismail commanded the troops. Selim was able to win the decisive battle of Haldiran. In September of the same year, he captured the capital of Persia. However, he had to drive the troops home. For the permanent occupation of Persia, large supplies of food and weapons were needed. Selim was going to attack Persia again. In 1516, he learned that Egypt and Syria were helping Persia and were also preparing an attack on Turkey. Selim decided not to wait. He was the first to attack Turkey. At the Battle of Medj-Dabik, he inflicted a strong defeat on his enemies. The year was 1516. In October, Selim captured Gaza, and in January 1517 he was close to Cairo. With great effort, Selim was able to break through the defenses of Cairo and capture the city.

Now Persia has lost its allies. She could no longer defend herself from Turkish troops. In just eight years of his reign, Selim began to dominate Asia Minor. He proclaimed himself the Sultan of Egypt. He went to Medina and Mecca. There Selim was greeted as the leader and defender of the Islamic world. The Sultan did not stop there. He planned to take over the Mediterranean. In 1520, he entered into an alliance with the famous pirate Barbarossa. Together they wanted to capture Spain from the sea. However, these plans remained unfinished. In September 1520, Sultan Selim died of the plague. Immediately after him, Selim's son Suleiman came to power. He was wonderfully prepared and trained, so that the empire found a new ruler. Selim radically changed the balance of power in the Middle East. He created a powerful state. He proved himself to be a very skillful commander. In Turkish history he is surpassed only by his son.