Ottoman Interregnum
The
Ottoman Interregnum (also known as the
Ottoman Triumvirate;
Fetret Devri in Turkish) was a period in the beginning of the 15th century when chaos reigned in the
Ottoman Empire following the defeat of
sultan Beyazid I in
1402 by the
Mongol warlord
Timur Lenk. Around
1410 the three sons of Beyazid left alive after the
Battle of Ankara ruled each half of the remaindants of the empire. The eldest son, Suleiman Çelebi, ruled northern
Greece,
Bulgaria and
Thrace. His brother, İsa Çelebi ruled
Greece and the westernmost of
Anatolia, however he was overthrown by the younger half-brother
Mehmed Çelebi from his capitol in
Bursa in
1404. Suleiman then accuired southern
Greece as well and Mehmet ruled over Anatolia. Mehmet then sent his younger brother Mûsa across the Black Sea with a large army to conquer Suleiman. Mûsa won in
Bulgaria in
1410 and Suleiman was forced to retreat south to Greece. Mûsa then proclaimed himself as sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed became furious and sent a small army over to
Gallipoli where it was defeated. Mehmed later came to his senses and forced an allians with the
Byzantine Empire. Three years later Mehmed sent over a new army. This time it was much stronger and defeated Mûsa in Kamerlu,
Serbia. It was then easy for
Mehmed I to overthrow his last brother in Greece and become the Ottoman sultan.