Bayezid I

"The Thunderbolt" sultan who crushed the Crusaders, only to be captured by Timur at Ankara.

Life

The Thunderbolt

Bayezid I was the son of Murad I. When his father was killed at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, he took the throne on the battlefield, and he was called "the Thunderbolt" for the speed of his campaigns.

Nicopolis

He conquered Bulgaria and many Turkic principalities in Asia Minor, and in 1396 at Nicopolis he crushed a European crusade led by King Sigismund of Hungary, then laid a long siege to Constantinople.

Ankara

In 1402 he was defeated and captured by Timur at Ankara, and died in captivity the following year. The Ottoman Empire then fell into the "Interregnum," a struggle for the throne among his sons.

Legacy

Bayezid I's defeat allowed Constantinople to survive for another half century.

Did you know? Legend has it that Timur kept him in an iron cage and displayed him on campaign, but the story comes from later sources and may not be true.

Key dates

• 1389Accedes on the battlefield of Kosovo
• 1396Crushes the Crusaders at Nicopolis
• 1402Captured at the Battle of Ankara
• 1403Dies in captivity