Latest / Tamerlane: The Conqueror Who Tried to Rebuild the Mongol Legacy — Fexingo History / Tamerlane and the Ottoman Interregnum: The Years Without a Sultan
Transcript
- Luna: So we've talked a lot about Tamerlane's conquests, but what happened after he defeated the Ottomans at Ankara? Lucas: That's a great question, because the aftermath of Ankara wasn't just about Tamerlane. It set off a chain reaction inside the Ottoman Empire that nearly destroyed it. When Tamerlane captured Sultan Bayezid I in 1402, the Ottoman state basically collapsed. Lucas: Bayezid died in captivity a few months later — some accounts say he committed suicide, others that Tamerlane kept him in a cage. Either way, the empire he'd built was suddenly leaderless, and his four sons immediately started fighting over the scraps. Luna: Four sons? So there was a civil war? Lucas: Exactly. It's called the Ottoman Interregnum, or in Turkish, Fetret Devri — 'the period of interregnum'. It lasted from 1402 to 1413, a full eleven years. And during that time, the Ottoman state almost became a footnote in history. The Byzantine Empire, the Serbian Despotate, the Venetian Republic, and various Anatolian beyliks all took advantage of the chaos. Lucas: The four sons were Süleyman, İsa, Musa, and Mehmed. Each controlled a different region, and they spent the decade fighting, allying, betraying each other. It's a brutal, tangled story. Luna: Where did each of them set up their power base? Lucas: Süleyman, the eldest, took control of the European provinces — Rumelia — with his capital at Edirne, the old Ottoman capital in the Balkans. He also allied with the Byzantines, who were only too happy to see the Ottomans weakened. İsa set himself up in Bursa, in Anatolia, but he was the weakest and got crushed pretty quickly by Mehmed. Lucas: Mehmed, the youngest, controlled the central Anatolian region around Amasya. He was patient, methodical, and ruthless. Musa, meanwhile, was a wild card — he'd been captured by Tamerlane alongside Bayezid, but was later released, and he raised an army in the Balkans. Luna: So Tamerlane just left them to fight it out? Lucas: Pretty much. After Ankara, Tamerlane restored the old Anatolian beyliks that Bayezid had conquered — the Karamanids, the Germiyanids, others — and then marched back to Samarkand. He didn't try to hold Ottoman territory. He saw the Ottomans as a rival, not a province to annex. So he left a power vacuum and went home. Lucas: But here's where it gets interesting. The interregnum wasn't just a civil war among brothers. It became a proxy war involving the Byzantines, the Serbs, and even the Venetians. Süleyman, based in Edirne, was heavily backed by the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, who lent him ships and money in exchange for territory and favorable treaties. Luna: Wait — the Byzantines were actually propping up an Ottoman prince? That seems short-sighted. Lucas: It was a classic 'enemy of my enemy' situation. Manuel II saw Mehmed as more dangerous because he was more independent. Süleyman, by contrast, was willing to give up Ottoman gains in exchange for Byzantine support. In 1403, Süleyman signed a treaty with the Byzantines, the Venetians, the Genoese, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević — basically handing back everything Bayezid had conquered in Europe. Lucas: That treaty, the Treaty of Gallipoli, effectively undid a century of Ottoman expansion. Thessaloniki, the coast of the Sea of Marmara, parts of Thrace — all returned. The Byzantines must have thought they'd won the lottery. Luna: But it didn't last, I'm guessing. Lucas: No, it didn't. Because Mehmed in Anatolia was slowly consolidating. He defeated İsa early on, securing the Anatolian heartland. Then he started eyeing Europe. Meanwhile, Musa had been released by Tamerlane and was wandering around the Middle East before turning up in the Balkans. Lucas: Musa was a brilliant military commander but completely unhinged — he once had a Byzantine governor flayed alive. He allied with the Wallachian ruler Mircea the Elder and started rampaging through Bulgaria. Süleyman, who had grown fat and lazy in Edirne, couldn't stop him. In 1410, Musa besieged Edirne and eventually killed Süleyman in battle. Luna: So Musa took over Europe. Lucas: Exactly. Musa now controlled Rumelia. He immediately turned on his former allies, including Stefan Lazarević, the Serbian despot. Stefan had been a loyal Ottoman vassal under Bayezid, but during the interregnum he'd gone independent. Musa invaded Serbia. Stefan, in desperation, turned to Mehmed — the last brother standing in Anatolia. Lucas: Mehmed saw his chance. He allied with Stefan and with the Byzantine emperor, who had now switched sides because Musa was even more hostile than Mehmed. In 1411, Mehmed crossed into Europe with a mixed force of Turks and Serbs. The two sides met near Sofia, but the battle was inconclusive. Luna: So it dragged on for another couple of years? Lucas: Yes. The final showdown came in 1413 at the Battle of Çamurlu, near modern-day Samokov in Bulgaria. Mehmed's forces, including Serbian cavalry under Stefan, faced Musa's army. Musa had the advantage of numbers, but Mehmed had better tactics and the loyalty of many Ottoman beys who were tired of Musa's brutality. Lucas: During the battle, Musa's own troops began to desert. He fled but was captured and strangled to death. With his death, Mehmed became the sole ruler of a reunified Ottoman state. He took the title Mehmed I, and his reign began the long process of rebuilding. Luna: So the interregnum ended with Mehmed victorious. But what about Tamerlane? Did he ever try to interfere again? Lucas: No, because Tamerlane died in 1405, just three years after Ankara. He was on his way to invade China when he fell ill and died. So the interregnum played out without any direct Timurid intervention. But here's the irony: Tamerlane's victory at Ankara inadvertently saved the Ottoman Empire in the long run. Luna: How? It nearly destroyed them. Lucas: It did, but it also forced the Ottomans to innovate. The interregnum shattered the old tribal and factional loyalties. Mehmed I — and later his son Murad II — rebuilt the state from scratch, but they centralized power much more effectively. They created a standing army, the Janissaries, which became the backbone of Ottoman military power. They also learned the danger of letting provincial governors become too powerful. Lucas: And the Byzantine Empire, which had profited from the chaos, ended up losing even more in the end. Manuel II had gambled on supporting Süleyman and later Mehmed, but neither repaid his trust. Mehmed I actually signed a treaty with the Byzantines that was surprisingly favorable to them, but his son Murad II would reverse that and eventually reduce Constantinople to a tributary state. Luna: So Tamerlane's victory actually strengthened the Ottomans by giving them a reset button. Lucas: In a way, yes. The interregnum was a crucible. It burned away the old order and forged a new, more disciplined empire. By the time Mehmed I died in 1421, the Ottomans were stronger than they'd ever been under Bayezid. And within thirty years, his grandson Mehmed II would conquer Constantinople. Lucas: So when we talk about Tamerlane's legacy, we have to include this unintended consequence. He toppled the Ottomans, but he also gave them the chance to rebuild on a more solid foundation. It's a reminder that the outcomes of history are never straightforward. Luna: I never thought about Tamerlane as the guy who accidentally made the Ottomans stronger. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: That's what history does — it keeps surprising us. And if you want to know how that stronger Ottoman Empire eventually took Constantinople, well, that's a story for another episode.