Mehmed I

Mehmed I Çelebi (nicknamed Kirisci, the Executioner) was one of the sons of sultan Beyazid I of the Ottoman Empire. When Timur Lenk defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Ankara a civil war broke out in the empire, called the Ottoman Interregnum. Mehmed gained some lands in Anatolia, which at the time gave him access to the largest source of manpower in the Ottoman lands. Mehmed supported his brother Musa in the overthrow and murder of their eldest sibling, Emir Sulaiman of Roumelia in 1410. When Musa's harsh and arbitrary rule made enemies at home as well as abroad, Mehmed made an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II. With access to the Dardanelles, Mehmed quickly overran Thrace and had Musa killed. When Mehmed stood as victor in 1413 he crowned himself as sultan in Adrianople (Edirne). He restored the empire, moved the capitol from Bursa to Adrianople and conquered parts of Albania, the Turkish emirate Candar and the Christian Kingdom of Cilicia. Howvere, as part of hs 1410/1411 alliance, Mehmed recognized the Byzantine Emperor as his "father and overlord" and remained loyal to this anomaly - which must count as the last diplomatic triumph of the Eastern Roman Empire. Mehmed died in 1421.

Preceded by: Beyazid I 1389-1402

Mehmed I 1403 to 1421

Succeeded by: Murad II 1421-1451