Sons of Bayezid: Empire Building and Representation in the Ottoman Civil War of 1402 1413. the Ottoman Empire and Its Heritage: Politics, Society

by Dimitris J. Kastritsis

The civil war of 1402-1413 is one of the most complicated and fascinating periods in Ottoman history. It is often called the interregnum because of its political instability.

Genres: History

250 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Hall's Bookshop · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only in-depth scholarly study of this crucial period in Ottoman history (in English at least). Usually covered in a few sentences, or at most a few pages, in other works on Ottoman history, this book very clearly spells out everything the extant sources say about the period, and explains what might be reasonably concluded from them, building a complex chronology which amplifies the sharpness of the razor's edge on which the affairs of every polity in the region teetered in the years after Timur's devastation of Anatolia. It also gives life to the rival claimants Suleyman and Musa, who were serious contenders for power and left enduring marks on the Ottoman state, particularly in relation to the political philosophy which Mehmed I used to justify the murder of his brothers. An indispensable book for anyone studying the Balkans or Anatolia at the turn of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

JM 13/10/20

[Eric Vanhove · Rating 5 out of 5]

More serious history.

600 years ago or so Bayezid was tearing his was through Anatolia, threatening the Byzantine Empire, and just being an all-around terror to what was then pretty much the center of the civilized world. Along came Timur and his Mongol hordes who taught poor old Bayezid a lesson and, basically, put everything back to the status quo ante (the way things were before). Bayezid died in captivity, but Timur put a couple of his sons in positions of power. This exceptionally well written book is a scholarly yet easily read treatment of the period called the Ottoman Civil War (Fetret Devri) and how Bayezid's son, Mehmet Celebi, consolidated power and reinstituted the nascent Ottoman Empire.

[Rusty del Norte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good efforct to piece together the events of the civil war in the early Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century. Much is said about the brothers and how they are presented in the sources. Also there is a partial translation of Halilnâme by Abdülvasi Çelebi in the appendix (which praises Mehmed quite a bit) that is not stilted.

My main gripe is the lack of maps of the battles mentioned (Ankara, Ulubad, Çamurlu) and anthropology of those sites as well as a more rounded fleshing out of the non-Ottoman characters involved.

Otherwise a solid effort.