Selim I

Selim I was the ninth sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the first Ottoman caliph. He was born in Amasya in 1470 as the youngest son of Bayezid II and Gülbahar Hatun, a Greek concubine. He gained administrative experience as the governor of Trebizond and Semendra, and later rebelled against his father and his brothers for the succession to the throne. He became the sultan in 1512 after defeating his rivals and eliminating potential claimants. He was known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute for his harsh and decisive actions. Selim I embarked on a series of military campaigns that expanded the Ottoman Empire to its greatest extent. He subdued the Kizilbash rebels in Anatolia and defeated the Safavid Empire of Iran at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514. He then turned his attention to the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which ruled over Syria, Palestine, and the Hejaz. He conquered these lands in 1516-1517 and entered Cairo as a victor. He also received the keys to Mecca and Medina from the last Abbasid caliph, Al-Mutawakkil III, who recognized him as the new caliph and the leader of the Muslim world. Selim I was also a patron of culture and learning. He supported the arts, literature, and architecture, and built many mosques, madrasas, and caravanserais. He was interested in astronomy, geography, and history, and collected many books and manuscripts. He was also fluent in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, and composed poems under the pen name Mahlas-i Selimi. Selim I died of anthrax in 1520 at the age of 49. He was buried in the Yavuz Selim Mosque in Istanbul, which was commissioned by his son and successor, Suleiman I, who became known as the Magnificent. Selim I's reign marked the beginning of the Ottoman golden age and the rise of the Ottoman Empire as a world power.