Suleyman Celebi

Süleyman Çelebi was the eldest son of Bayezid I, the fourth sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He fought in the Battle of Nicopolis against the Crusaders and the Battle of Ankara against Timur. After the defeat of his father by Timur, he fled to the European portion of the empire, also called Rumelia, with his father's vizier Çandarlı Ali Pasha. He declared himself as the sultan of the empire in Edirne, the co-capital in Rumelia. However, his brothers İsa Çelebi and Mehmet Çelebi (the future Mehmet I) contested his claim and controlled the Anatolian side of the empire. Süleyman supported İsa against Mehmet, but Mehmet defeated İsa in several battles. Süleyman then crossed the Dardanelles strait to reunite the empire. He captured Bursa, the Anatolian capital, and Ankara from Mehmet. He also intimidated the small Turkmen principalities in the Aegean Region, which had broken free after the Battle of Ankara. However, he did not advance further and returned to Bursa. Mehmet then made an alliance with their brother Musa Çelebi, who was also a contender for the Ottoman throne, and sent him to Rumelia via Wallachia. Musa gained the support of the local lords and attacked Süleyman's territories. Süleyman was forced to retreat to the Balkans, where he faced the resistance of the Serbs and the Byzantines. He signed the Treaty of Gallipoli with the Byzantine regent John VII Palaiologos in 1403, giving up Thessalonica and certain territories along the Marmara coast to the Byzantine Empire in return for Byzantine support. However, this treaty did not prevent Musa from advancing and capturing Edirne. Süleyman then moved to Serbia, where he allied with the Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević. He also sought the help of the Crusaders, who were preparing for a new campaign against the Ottomans. However, before he could join forces with them, he was assassinated by his own men in Istria, near the Black Sea coast, on February 17, 1411. He was buried in the Sultan Murad Hüdavendigar Complex in Bursa. Süleyman Çelebi was not only a warrior, but also a poet and a mystic. He is best known for his Mevlid, a poem in honor of the Prophet Muhammad's birth. It is considered the first and the most famous Turkish Mevlid, and it is still recited in religious ceremonies and celebrations. Süleyman Çelebi was also a follower of the Khalwatiyya Sufi order and the imam of the Grand Mosque of Bursa. He was respected by his subjects for his piety and generosity.