Top 10 Amazing Facts about Mehmed I

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Mehmed I

A portrait of Mehmed I. Photo Sourced from WIKIMEDIA

Mehmed is known as Mehmed Celebi a Turkish title meaning “gentleman,” “well-mannered” or “courteous.” was the Ottoman sultan from 1413 to 1421.

The fourth son of Sultan Bayezid I and Devlet Hatun, he fought with his brothers over control of the Ottoman realm in the Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413).

He brought order and peace to the country that was in great disorder after the Timurid invasion and became the second founder of the Ottoman state by pulling his father’s legacy back together.

Let’s take a look at some of the most amazing facts about him;

1. He managed to bring several territories under his control

Portrait of Mehmed one. Photo Sourced from WIKIMEDIA

Mehmed I managed to bring several territories under his control. Starting from the province of Rum he managed to bring first Anatolia and then the European territories (Rumelia) under his control, reuniting the Ottoman state by 1413, and ruling it until his death in 1421.

Called “The Restorer,” he reestablished central authority in Anatolia and expanded the Ottoman presence in Europe by the conquest of Wallachia in 1415. Venice destroyed his fleet off Gallipoli in 1416, as the Ottomans lost a naval war. 

2. Mehmed I expanded the Ottoman Empire

Mehmed the Conqueror expanded the Ottoman Empire, leading the siege of Constantinople in 1453 and extending the empire’s reach into the Balkans.

This westward expansion across the heart of the former Eastern Roman Empire led him to declare himself Kayser-i Rum (Roman Caesar).

He reconquered most of the lands left by his father, Sultan Mehmed I handed down a country of 870,000 square kilometres (335,908 square miles), which was only 72,000 square kilometres less than the previous borders. 

3. He was educated by famous scholars and participated in war at 16

He was educated by the famous scholars of the time when he was a şehzade (prince) and was assigned to Amasya as the governor of the Eyalet (province) of Rum. He participated in the Battle of Ankara, waged against Emir Timur (Tamerlane) sultanate, at the age of 16 and was wounded.

After the Ottomans lost the war, he wanted to save his army and withdrew to his eyalet. The people of Amasya opened their doors to him. Şehzade Mehmed attempted to rescue his father from captivity following this battle, but he could not succeed. 

4. Mehmed I was renowned for being the sultan who unified the ottoman territories

He is renowned as the Sultan who unified the ottoman territories and was one of the most important sultans in the history of the Ottoman. Mehmed I reunified the dismembered Ottoman territories following the defeat of Ankara (1402).

He ruled in Anatolia and, after 1413, in the Balkans as well. He had the genius of his father but was much more moderate. He succeeded in improving relations with the Mamluks, which had deteriorated during the reign of his father.

5. His mother was a Germiyad princess who was one of his father’s consorts 

His mother was the Germiyanid princess Devlet Hatun, who was one of his father’s consorts, and his slave girl. She was also called the title of “Çelebi” because she was the granddaughter of the great Sufi mystic Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi.

This title was also given to the descendants of Rumi. Thus, the lineage of the Ottoman dynasty goes back to Caliph Abu Bakr and Caliph Omar, the companions of Prophet Muhammad and also to the prophet through his grandson Hussein, and finally to the tribe of Quraysh.

6. Mehmed I was a merciful and an extremely gentle knight

His aim was not conquest, but peace. In his time, the Ottomans had an opportunity to rest in Anatolia and Rumelia and to heal the wounds of the 10-year civil war. After him, peace reigned in the empire.

He made everyone love him by erasing the atmosphere of terror created by his rivals. He was a merciful, extremely gentle knight. He established friendly relations with his viziers and scholars.

He assigned Bayezid Pasha, who was his teacher when he was a şehzade, as his vizier when he ascended the throne and did not leave him until his death.

7. He immortalized his name by having monumental works built

He immortalized his name by having monumental works built in two capital cities of the Ottoman Empire, namely Bursa and Edirne. He ordered the completion of the “Eski Cami” (Old Mosque), which his brother had commissioned in Edirne.

Then, he commissioned a bedesten (a type of covered market) opposite this mosque as a charity. He also made a madrassa and bath built in Merzifon along with a mosque, madrassa and soup kitchen in Bursa.

This madrassa named Sultaniye was so popular that hardworking students were asked “Do you wish to be a teacher in Sultaniye Madrassa. 

8. He the first ottoman sultan who knew to recite poetry, was handsome and well dressed

He is the first Ottoman sultan known to recite poetry and he is sometimes likened by historians to the Prophet Noah, who saved believers with his ship.

Mehmed was described as having a pinkish-white complexion, black eyes, black curved eyebrows, a curved nose, an eagle-eyed glance, a thick beard, a wide forehead, broad shoulders, a large chest and long arms.

He was handsome and well-dressed. Historians agree that he was a religious, fair, brave, valiant and kind person who treated everyone kindly. 

10. He died in 1421 from a heart attack aged only 35

Sultan Mehmed Çelebi died in Edirne in 1421 from a heart attack or dysentery at the age of 35. During his illness, he said, ‘’Bring my son Murad immediately, I can no longer get up from this bed, the country should not fall into turmoil.’’ These sentences show that he thought about his country and nation even as he was dying.

The death of the sultan was hidden from the public and soldiers for 41 days until his 17-year-old son, Şehzade Murad, the governor of Amasya, came and took the throne.

His body was buried in the tomb he had commissioned in Bursa. Known as the Green Tomb, one of the landmarks of Bursa today, this building is one of the most beautiful examples of Ottoman art.

He constantly bestowed charity upon scholars, widows and orphans and gave food to the poor every Friday. He started the custom of sending gifts to the sacred places in the Hijaz, the notables and the poor of this region every year.

This custom, called the Sure Procession continued until the end of the Ottoman Empire.