BEYAZIT

BAIAZETH

c. 1700

Engraving. 14,5 x 8,5 cm…Glued to backing sheet…

BEYAZIT (YILDIRIM) (1354-1403), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402…Nicknamed “The Thunderbolt”, he captured much of the Balkans and laid siege to Constantinople in 1394…In response to this, the last large-scale crusade was launched, which BEYAZIT crushed at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396… The siege of Constantinople continued until 1402, when the Ottomans had to withdraw to defend the empire against Timur (Tamerlane the Great). BEYAZIT was defeated at the battle of Ankara that year, dying in captivity, beginning a twelve-year Ottoman Interregnum…