Ottoman Civil War

The Ottoman Civil War was a war fought in the Ottoman Empire from 1509 to 1512. At the time of the war, Bayezid II was sultan. The war was fought between his two sons Ahmed and Selim, and himself.

In 1509, Ahmed, the older of the two claimants, won a battle against the Karaman Turks and their Safavid allies in Asia Minor and then marched on Constantinople to exploit his triumph. Fearing for his safety, Selim staged a revolt in Thrace but was defeated by Bayezid and forced to flee to Crimea (1511). At this point, Bayezid II developed fears that Ahmed might in turn kill him to gain the throne and refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople.

Selim returned from Crimea and, with support from the Janissaries, defeated and killed Ahmed. Bayezid II then abdicated the throne on April 25, 1512. He departed for retirement in his native Demotika, but he died along the way, and is buried next to the Bayezid Mosque in Istanbul.