Bayezid II

Bayezid II was the son of Mehmed II (1432–1481) and Gülbahar Hatun.

There are sources that claim that Bayezid was the son of Mükrime Hatun.[3] This would make Ayşe Hatun a first cousin of Bayezid II. However, the marriage of Mükrime Hatun took place two years after Bayezid was born[4] and the whole arrangement was not to Mehmed's liking.[5] Gülbahar Hatun is generally accepted as the real mother of Bayezid II.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Born in Demotika, Bayezid II was educated in Amasya and later served there as a bey for 27 years. In 1473, he fought in the Battle of Otlukbeli against the Aq Qoyunlu.

Bayezid II married Gülbahar Hatun, who was the mother of Bayezid II's successor, Selim I and nephew of Sittişah Hatun.

Bayezid II's younger half brother Cem.

Bayezid II's overriding concern was the quarrel with his brother Cem Sultan, who claimed the throne and sought military backing from the Mamluks in Egypt. Having been defeated by his brother's armies, Cem sought protection from the Knights of St. John in Rhodes. Eventually, the Knights handed Cem over to Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492). The Pope thought of using Cem as a tool to drive the Turks out of Europe, but as the papal crusade failed to come to fruition, Cem was left to languish and die in a Neapolitan prison.

Bayezid II ascended the Ottoman throne in 1481.[14] Like his father, Bayezid II was a patron of western and eastern culture. Unlike many other sultans, he worked hard to ensure a smooth running of domestic politics, which earned him the epithet of "the Just". Throughout his reign, Bayezid II engaged in numerous campaigns to conquer the Venetian possessions in Morea, accurately defining this region as the key to future Ottoman naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean. The last of these wars ended in 1501 with Bayezid II in control of the whole Peloponnese. Rebellions in the east, such as that of the Qizilbash, plagued much of Bayezid II's reign and were often backed by the shah of Persia, Ismail I, who was eager to promote Shi'ism to undermine the authority of the Ottoman state. Ottoman authority in Anatolia was indeed seriously threatened during this period and at one point Bayezid II's vizier, Hadım Ali Pasha, was killed in battle against the Şahkulu rebellion.

Jewish and Muslim immigration

Further information: Nasrid–Ottoman relations

In July 1492, the new state of Spain expelled its Jewish and Muslim populations as part of the Spanish Inquisition. Bayezid II sent out the Ottoman Navy under the command of admiral Kemal Reis to Spain in 1492 in order to evacuate them safely to Ottoman lands. He sent out proclamations throughout the empire that the refugees were to be welcomed.[15] He granted the refugees the permission to settle in the Ottoman Empire and become Ottoman citizens. He ridiculed the conduct of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in expelling a class of people so useful to their subjects. "You venture to call Ferdinand a wise ruler," he said to his courtiers, "he who has impoverished his own country and enriched mine!"[16] Bayezid addressed a firman to all the governors of his European provinces, ordering them not only to refrain from repelling the Spanish refugees, but to give them a friendly and welcome reception.[16] He threatened with death all those who treated the Jews harshly or refused them admission into the empire. Moses Capsali, who probably helped to arouse the sultan's friendship for the Jews, was most energetic in his assistance to the exiles. He made a tour of the communities and was instrumental in imposing a tax upon the rich, to ransom the Jewish victims of the persecution.

Crimean Khan Mengli Giray at the court of Bayezid II.

The Muslims and Jews of al-Andalus contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. The first printing press in Constantinople (now Istanbul) was established by the Sephardic Jews in 1493. It is reported that under Bayezid's reign, Jews enjoyed a period of cultural flourishing, with the presence of such scholars as the Talmudist and scientist Mordecai Comtino; astronomer and poet Solomon ben Elijah Sharbiṭ ha-Zahab; Shabbethai ben Malkiel Cohen, and the liturgical poet Menahem Tamar.

Bayezid II fighting his son Selim I at Uğraşdere.

During Bayezid II's final years, on 14 September 1509, Constantinople was devastated by an earthquake,[17][18] and a succession battle developed between his sons Selim and Ahmet. Ahmet unexpectedly captured Karaman, and began marching to Constantinople to exploit his triumph. Fearing for his safety, Selim staged a revolt in Thrace but was defeated by Bayezid and forced to flee back to the Crimean Peninsula. Bayezid II developed fears that Ahmet might in turn kill him to gain the throne, so he refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople.

When Selim returned from Crimea and, with support from the Janissaries, he forced his father to abdicate the throne on 25 April 1512. Bayezid departed for retirement in his native Dimetoka, but he died on 26 May 1512 at Havsa, before reaching his destination and only a month after his abdication. He was buried next to the Bayezid Mosque in Istanbul.

Bayezid II's burial.

Bayezid was praised in a ghazal of Abdürrezzak Bahşı, a scribe who came to Constantinople from Samarkand in the second half of the 15th century that worked at the courts of Mehmed II and Bayezid II, and wrote in Chagatai with the Old Uyghur alphabet:[19][20]

I had a pleasant time in your reign my Padishah.

I was without fear of all fears and dangers.

The fame of your justice and fairness reached to China and Hotan.

Thanks to God that there exist a merciful person like my Padishah.

Sultan Bayezid Khan ascended the throne.

This country had been his fate since past eternity.

Any enemy that denied the country of my master:

That enemy's neck had been in rope and gallows.

Your believing servants' faces smile like Bahşı's.

The place of those who walk unbelieving is hellfire.

Tomb of Bayezid II in Istanbul.

Wives

Bayezid had seven consorts:

• Şirin Hatun;
• Hüsnüşah Hatun, daughter of Nasuh Bey of the Karamanids;
• Bülbül Hatun;
• Nigar Hatun;
• Gülruh Hatun;
• Gülbahar Hatun;
• Ferahşad Hatun;

Sons

Bayezid had eight sons:

• Şehzade Abdullah – son with Şirin Hatun,[21] Governor of Sarihan 1481, and of Karaman 1481–1483
• Şehzade Şehinşah – son with Hüsnüşah Hatun,[21] Governor of Sarihan 1481–1483 and of Karaman 1483–1511
• Şehzade Ahmed – son with Bülbül Hatun,[22] Governor of Sarihan 1481–1483 and of Amasya 1483–1513
• Şehzade Korkud – son with Nigar Hatun,[21] Governor of Sarihan 1483–1501 and 1511–1513, and of Anatolia 1502–1509 and 1510–1511
• Şehzade Mahmud – son with Bülbül Hatun,[22] Governor of Sarihan 1502
• Şehzade Alemşah – son with Gülruh Hatun,[23] Governor of Kastamonu 1504 and of Sarihan 1504–1507
• Sultan Selim I – son with Gülbahar Hatun,[23] who succeeded as Sultan Selim Khan I Yavuz
• Şehzade Mehmed (9 August 1487 - December 1504) – son with Ferahşad Hatun, Governor of Kefe

Daughters

Bayezid had eleven daughters:

• Aynışah Hatun – daughter with Şirin Hatun, married firstly in 1490 to Prince Sultan Ahmed Göde Akkoyunlu,[24] married secondly to Yahya Pasha;
• Ayşe Hatun, married to Güveyi Sinan Paşa;[24]
• Sofi Sultan Fatma Hatun, married to Güzelce Hasan Bey;[25]
• Hatice Hatun, married to Faik Pasha;[26]
• Hundi Hatun – daughter with Bülbül Hatun, married in 1484 to Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha;[26]
• Ilaldi Hatun, married firstly to Ahmed Agha, married secondly to Davud Bey;[27][28]
• Kamerşah Hatun – daughter with Gülruh Hatun, married in 1490 to Mustafa Bey, son of Davud Pasha;[27]
• Selçuk Hatun – married firstly to Ferhad Bey, married secondly in 1485 to Mehmed Bey, son of Gedik Ahmed Pasha,[27][29] married thirdly to Mehmed Bey, son of Koca Mustafa Pasha;
• Şah Hatun, married in 1490 to Nasuh Bey;[30]
• Sultanzade Hatun – daughter with Hüsnüşah Hatun;[30]
• Hümaşah Hatun (buried in Bursa);[31]

• Sultan Bayezid II's statesmanship, tolerance, and intellectual abilities are depicted in the historical novel The Sultan's Helmsman, which takes place in the middle years of his reign.
• Sultan Bayezid II and his struggle with his son Selim is a prominent subplot in the video game Assassin's Creed: Revelations. In the game, due to Bayezid's absence from Constantinople, the Byzantines had the opportunity to sneak back into the city, hoping to revive their fallen empire. Near the end of the game, Bayezid surrendered the throne to his son Selim. However, Bayezid does not make an actual appearance.
• Bayezid II, prior to becoming Sultan, is depicted by Akin Gazi in the Starz series, Da Vinci's Demons. He seeks an audience with Pope Sixtus IV (having been manipulated into believing that peace between Rome and Constantinople is a possibility), only to be ridiculed and humiliated by Sixtus, actions which later serve as a pretext for the Ottoman invasion of Otranto. Sixtus assumes that Bayezid has been overlooked in favor of his brother Cem.

Notes

Bibliography

• Babinger, Franz (1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6.
• Fisher, Sidney Nettleton. "The foreign relations of Turkey (1481–1512)" (PDF). Utrecht University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-11-17.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Bajazet II". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
• Uluçay, Mustafa Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ankara: Ötüken. ISBN 978-9-754-37840-5.

• Media related to Bayezid II at Wikimedia Commons