The siege of Constantinople of 1411 occurred during the

Ottoman Interregnum The Ottoman Interregnum, or Ottoman Civil War, (, ) was a civil war in the Ottoman realm between the sons of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I following their father's defeat and capture by Timur in the Battle of Ankara on 28 July 1402. Although Ti ...

, or Ottoman Civil War, (20 July 1402 – 5 July 1413), when chaos reigned in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

following the defeat of

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

by the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n warlord

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

. Although Mehmed Çelebi was confirmed as sultan by Timur after the Battle of Ankara, his brothers İsa Çelebi,

Musa Çelebi Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman dynasty, Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire, empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum. Background Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman su ...

Süleyman Çelebi Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman; – 17 February 1411) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire for several years during the Ottoman Interregnum. There is a tradition of western origin, according to which Suleiman th ...

, and later, Mustafa Çelebi, refused to recognize his authority, each claiming the throne for himself. A civil war was the result. The Interregnum lasted until the Battle of Camurlu on 5 July 1413, when Mehmed Çelebi emerged as victor in the strife, crowned himself sultan

Mehmed I Mehmed I (; – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi (, "the noble-born") or ''Kirişçi'' (, "lord's son"), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421. Son of Sultan Bayezid I and his concubine Devlet Hatun, he fought with hi ...

, and restored peace to the empire.

Background

Before the Battle of Ankara, the Byzantine Empire was a mere pawn of outside forces for several decades but after the defeat of the Ottomans by Timur, the Empire – for a short while – became a player in Ottoman domestic politics and intrigue. Sultan Bayezid conquered much territories in Europe and threatened Constantinople from all directions. The Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos supported Süleyman as claimant to the Ottoman throne. They signed the treaty of Gallipoli with the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

regent John VII Palaiologos in 1403, as the emperor Manuel II Palaiologos was traveling in western Europe at the time. By this treaty, Süleyman gave up certain territories along the Marmara coast, as well as the major city of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

to the Byzantine Empire in return for Byzantine support during the interregnum and declared himself

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of the empire in

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, the capital in Rumeli of the Ottoman Empire. From the evidence presented above, it can be understood that the relationship between the Byzantine Empire and the Ottomans increased dramatically contemporarily. Despite defeating his brother and rival for the Ottoman throne, Musa, at the Battle of Kosmidion in June 1410, Süleyman's popularity waned. So much so, that when Musa returned to avenge his defeat during the following year, Süleyman's supporters defected to Musa. Süleyman was captured while attempting to escape and was given to Musa's bodyguard, Koyun Musasi, and strangled to death on 17 February 1411.

The siege

Musa found himself as the co-sultan of the European portion of the empire.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi Cilt II'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 74-75 Musa then retaliated against all who allied with Süleyman, including Manuel II, by briefly and fruitlessly laying siege to Constantinople in 1411. Manuel II turned to Mehmet for support, who betrayed Musa and set up a new alliance between himself and the Byzantines against Musa.

References

Sources

* * * {{Ottoman Interregnum Conflicts in 1411 1410s in the Byzantine Empire 1410s in the Ottoman Empire 15th century in Istanbul 1411 Constantinople 1411 Constantinople 1411 Constantinople 1411 Constantinople 1411