Bayezid I

Bayezid I was the fourth sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who reigned from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and his Greek wife, Gülçiçek Hatun. He was an impetuous soldier, earning the nickname "Thunderbolt" in a battle against the Karamanids. He ascended to the throne following the death of his father, who was killed by a Serbian knight during or after the Battle of Kosovo. He immediately had his younger brother strangled to avoid a plot. He married Princess Olivera Despina, the daughter of Prince Lazar of Serbia, who also died in Kosovo. He recognized Stefan Lazarević, the son of Lazar, as the new Serbian leader with considerable autonomy. He also expanded his dominion in Anatolia, Balkans, and Greece, defeating the Crusaders at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. He unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople in 1394, but forced the Byzantine emperor to pay tribute and accept his suzerainty. He adopted the title of Sultan-i Rûm, meaning the Sultan of Rome, referring to the Eastern Roman Empire. He founded the first centralized Ottoman state based on traditional Turkish and Muslim institutions. He was later defeated and captured by Timur, the Turco-Mongol conqueror, at the Battle of Ankara in 1402. He died in captivity in 1403, which triggered the Ottoman Interregnum, a period of civil war among his sons. He was buried in the Bayezid I Mosque in Bursa, Turkey. He was succeeded by Mehmed I, who restored the Ottoman unity and stability.