Ottoman Civil War (1509–1513)

The Ottoman Civil War was a war of succession in the Ottoman Empire from 1509 to 1512, during the reign of Bayezid II, between his two sons Ahmed and Selim.

In 1509, Ahmed, the older claimant, won a battle against the Karaman Turks and their Safavid allies in Asia Minor and 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 in 1511.

Bayezid II developed fears that Ahmed might then kill him to gain the throne and refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople. Though some sources suggest that the Janissaries acted on their own in preventing Ahmed from entering the city due to their loyalty to Selim.

Selim returned from Crimea and, with support from the Janissaries, defeated and eventually killed Ahmed a year later in 1513 after a series of civil disobediences. Bayezid II then abdicated the throne on April 25, 1512 and departed for retirement in his native Demotika, but he died along the way and is buried next to Bayezid Mosque, in Constantinople.