Selim I

Selim I (October 10 1465 – September 22, 1520); also known as "the Grim" or "the Brave", (Yavuz in Turkish; Arabic: سليم الأول) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520.

He dethroned his father Bayezid II (1481–1512) in 1512. Beyazid II's death followed immediately afterwards. Selim I signalled his accession by putting his brothers and nephews to death. This was after the custom of his grandfather Fatih Mehmed II (1451–81). There had been civil war between his father Beyazid II and his uncle Cem, and between Selim I himself and his brother Ahmed. Selim I was determined not to have the same problems with his other brothers.

Selim I attacked and destroyed the Mamluk Sultanate at the Battles of Marj Dabiq and al-Raydaniyya, which led to the annexation of Syria, Palestine and Egypt. He also extended Ottoman power to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. When Egypt and her Arabian provinces were taken from the Mamluks, he announced himself to be the Khadim ul Haremeyn, "The Servant of The Two Holy Shrines", instead of Hakim ul Haremeyn, "The Ruler of The Two Holy Shrines". The Shrines refer to the Great Mosque in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina. These are the holiest places in Islam. Like his grandfather Fatih, Selim I also claimed to be the Caliph (in Arabic meaning "successor" of Muhammad); the "guardian of Islam", considered to be the chief civil and religious ruler of all Islam, both Shi'ite and Sunni. Selim I determined on war with Persia, whose ruler Shah Ismail I claimed to be caliph as well. The campaign which followed was a triumph for Selim I, whose firmness and courage overcame the pusillanimity and insubordination of the janissaries, the household troops of the Ottoman dynasty.

After Selim I became master of the holy cities of Islam and captured Egypt along with the person of Al-Mutawakkil III (1509–17), the last Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty who resided there, Selim I induced him to formally surrender the title of caliph as well as its outward emblems, the sword and the mantle of the prophet. In his rule, he expanded the 2,500,000 km² of Ottoman land to 6,500,000 km². He filled the royal treasury completely, locked it with his own stamp and decreed that "He, who will fill the treasury more than this, can use his stamp to lock the treasury". The treasury had been locked with his stamp till the collapse of the Empire 400 years later. After his return from his Egyptian campaign, Selim I was preparing an expedition against Rhodes when he was overtaken by sickness and died in the ninth year of his reign. He was about fifty-five years of age. He died from sirpence, a skin infection, which he developed during his eight year rule on horseback. Some historians debate that he was poisoned by the doctor tending to his infection. Sultan Selim I also was a poet and wrote with the nickname mahlas Selimi In one of his poems, he wrote: "A carpet is large enough to accommodate two sufis, but the world is not large enough for two Kings."

Selim I was also interested in Persian poetry and there are collections of his Persian poems extant today.

Selim's full title upon his claim to the caliphate was "Malik ul-Barayn, wa KhaKhan ul-Bahrayn, was Kasir ul-Jayshayn, wa Khadim ul-Haramayn", which translates in english to "King of the two Deserts, KhaKhan of the two Seas, Conqueror of the two Armies, and the Servant of the two Holy Shrines". All referring to his lordship over Africa and Asia, symbolised by his conquest of Egypt, and his rule of Anatolia and the fertile crescent, his lordship over the Mediterranean and Black seas, his defeat of both the Mamluk and Safavid armies, and his service to the two holy shrines of Mecca and Medina.

1465 births | 1520 deaths | Sultans of the Ottoman Empire

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