Selim I

Selim I (Amasya, October 10, 1470 – Tekirdağ, September 22, 1520), also known as "the Severe", "the Cruel" or "the Brave" (Yavuz, in Turkish), was sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is notable for the enormous expansion of the Empire, particularly its conquest between 1516 and 1517 of the entire Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which included the entire Levant, Hejaz, Tihama and Egypt itself. On the eve of his death in 1520, the Ottoman Empire covered around 3.4 million km², having grown by seventy percent during Selim's reign.

Selim's conquest of the heart of the Near East, and in particular his assumption of the role of guardian of the pilgrimage routes to Mecca and Medina, established the Ottoman Empire as the preeminent Muslim state. His conquests dramatically shifted the empire's geographical and cultural center of gravity away from the Balkans and toward the Middle East. In the 18th century, Selim's conquest of the Mamluk sultanate had been idealized as the moment when the Ottomans took control. leadership over the rest of the Muslim world and, consequently, Selim is popularly remembered as the first legitimate Ottoman caliph, although stories of an official transfer of the caliphal office from the Mamluk Abbasid Dynasty to the Ottomans were a later invention.

Life

He dethroned his father Beyazid II in 1512. Bayezid's death occurred very shortly afterwards, on his way to his retirement in Demotika.

He secured his ascension to the Ottoman throne by killing his brothers and nephews. This was a custom that had been practiced in the Ottoman dynasty, among others, by his grandfather Fatih ("The Conqueror") Mehmed II. There was a civil war between his father Bayezid and his uncle Cem, as well as between Selim himself and his brother Ahmed. Selim was determined not to have the same problems with his other brothers, and executed them all.

He attacked and destroyed the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in the battles of Marj Dabiq and Al-Raydaniyya, which allowed the annexation of Syria, Palestine and Egypt. He likewise extended Ottoman power to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. When Egypt and its Arab provinces were conquered from the Mamluks, he proclaimed himself as Khadim ul Haremeyn, "The Servant of the Two Holy Places", instead of Hakim ul Haremeyn, "The Governor of the Two Sacred Holy Places. The Holy Holy Places refer to the Great Mosque in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina. These are the most sacred sites in Islam.

Like his grandfather Fatih Mehmet, he also claimed for himself the title of Caliph (in Arabic it means the "successor" of Muhammad), "The Guardian of Islam", a title that considers its bearer as the main civil ruler and religious of all Islam, both Shiite and Sunni. Selim decided to declare war on the Safavid Empire of Persia, whose ruler, Shah Ismail I, had claimed the title of caliph for himself. The military campaign that followed was a total triumph for Selim, whose solidity and bravery overcame the pusillanimity and insubordination against him by the janissaries, the troops of the Sublime Porte, his most experienced combatants who at that time were not up to the task. circumstances.

After Selim became the lord and lord of the holy cities of Islam and conquered Egypt together with Al-Mutawakkil III, the last caliph of the Abbasid dynasty residing there, Selim encouraged him to formally relinquish the title of the caliph, as well as his most recognized emblems, the sword and cape of the Prophet Muhammad. After Selim's return from his Egyptian campaign, he was preparing an expedition against Rhodes when he fell ill and died in the ninth year of his reign. He was approximately 55 years old. He died as a result of anthrax, a skin infection, which he developed during the eight years on horseback during his reign involved in military campaigns.

Before he died, he chose his son Suleiman as his successor and cruelly killed almost all of his other sons so that Suleiman would not have internal problems in his sultanate. The only one who escaped the execution ordered by his father was Uveys Pasha, who lived in exile during the reign of his brother Suleiman. He was also a poet and wrote under the nickname mahla Selimi. In one of his poems, he wrote: The whole world would not be a sovereignty vast enough for a single monarch.

Personality

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According to most accounts, Selim had a fiery temperament and high hopes for his subordinates. Several of his viziers were executed for various reasons. A famous anecdote tells that another vizier playfully asked the sultan to notify him of his death so that he would have time to put his affairs in order. The sultan began to laugh and replied that, indeed, he had been thinking of killing him, but that he had no one fit to take his place; otherwise he would have pleased her. A popular Ottoman curse was "May you be vizier of Selim."

Selim was one of the most successful and respected rulers of the Empire, energetic and hardworking. During his short eight years of rule, he achieved momentous successes. Despite the length of his reign, many historians agree that Selim prepared the Ottoman Empire to reach its peak under the reign of his son and successor, Suleiman the Magnificent.

Selim was also a distinguished poet who wrote verses in both Turkish and Persian under the nickname Mahlas Selimi; Today there are collections of his Persian poetry.

Family

Consorts

He had several concubines, but only two consorts are known:

• Ayşe Hafsa Sultan (1470—March 19, 1534), a theory ensures that she was a distant daughter or family of Meñli I Giray, the Crimean Kan. Although this is unlikely (by the law imposed by Mehmed II), and it sounds more likely to have been a slave who came to the harem as a gift from the Kan. Hafsa is known to be the first to bear the title Valide Sultan unofficially. She is the mother of Hatice Sultan, Fatma Sultan and the future Solimán I;
• Ayşe Hatun (1476 — 1539), was a gonji (princesa) of the Giray Dynasty. She was one of the daughters of Meñli I Giray and often Ayşe Hafsa is confused with this woman (thanks to this I believe the rumor that Hafsa was a gonji). It is known that he entered the harem of Selim, but most agree that he was kidnapped and never married. She was the mother of Beyhan Sultan and Şah Sultan.

Offspring

Children

• Solimán I (6 November 1494 — 6 September 1566), son of Ayşe Hafsa Sultan and successor of his father with the name of Süleyman I "The Magnificent," reigned between 1520 and 1566;
• Şehzade Salih (?— 1499), son of an unknown concubine, died young;
• Şehzade Musa (?) son of a concubine of unknown name, was executed by order of his father;
• Şehzade Orhan (?) son of a concubine of unknown name, was executed by order of his father;
• Şehzade Korkut (?) son of a concubine of unknown name, was executed by order of his father;
• Şehzade Üveys (1512 — 1548), son of an unknown concubine, known as Üveys Paşa. The mother of Üveys was a concubine, but because of her undisciplined manners she was expelled from the harem. In the Ottoman tradition, these girls paired with a Bey or a well-off man. However, in her case she was already pregnant and Selim's son was born from a stepfather. He died in Yemen, killed in a revolt.

Daughters

• Hatice Sultan (1490 — 1543), daughter of Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, married in 1509 with the Kapudan of the Ottoman fleet, Damat İskender Paşa, was descended;
• Fatma Sultan (1492 — 1573), daughter of Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, first married to Damat Mustafa Ağa in 1516, for the second time in 1522 with Damat Kara Ahmed Paşa and for the third time in 1562 with Damat Hadım Ibrahim Paşa, is unknown if he was a descendant;
• Gevherhan Sultan (1494—?), daughter of an unknown concubine, married for the first time in 1509 with Damat İsfendiyaroğlu Sultanzade Mehmed Bey, and married for the second time in 1526 with Güzelce Mahmud Paşa, was descended;
• Beyhan Sultan (?—1557), daughter of Ayşe Hatun, married in 1513 with Damat Ferhad Paşa, descended;
• Hafize Sultan (1495 — 10 July 1538), daughter of an unknown concubine, first married in 1511 with the Great Visir, Damat Dukaginzade Ahmed Paşa, and married in 1522 for the second time with Damat Boşnak Mustafa Paşa was descended;
• Kamerşah Sultan (1498—September 27, 1503), daughter of an unknown concubine, died because of smallpox;
• Şah Sultan (1500 — 1572), daughter of Ayşe Hatun, married in 1523 with Damat Lütfi Paşa, who later became Grand Visir;
• Şehzade Sultan (?—1529), daughter of an unknown concubine. In 1514 he married Çoban Mustafa Paşa, they had descendants. It was normally accepted that Çoban married Hafize Sultan, but this has been denied thanks to historical archives. Still, it is believed that after the death of Şehzade Sultan her husband married Hatice Sultan;
• Yenişah Sultan (?—after 1530), daughter with concubine of unknown name, it is only known that in 1530 she married Koca Sinan Paşa, who many years later was Gran Visir. This would indicate that Yenişah would be the younger sister of Solimán, dating from her date of birth between 1503 and 1512, due to her late marriage and also because her first appearance in Ottoman files is in 1510. He had a descendant.

The total number of daughters was 9, although others indicate that she had at least 12 daughters. If so, the names of the rest of the women are unknown and if so, it is very likely that they died at an early age.