Bayezid I 'the Thunderbolt'
1360–1403 · Ottoman Turkish · Early Ottoman Empire
Known for: 'The Thunderbolt'—Ottoman Sultan whose rapid conquests were halted only by Tamerlane at the Battle of Ankara
Bayezid I earned his nickname 'the Thunderbolt' (Yıldırım) for the extraordinary speed of his military campaigns. He expanded the Ottoman Empire rapidly, besieging Constantinople, crushing a Crusader army at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, and seeming poised to end the Byzantine Empire decades ahead of schedule.
He met his match in Tamerlane, who defeated and captured him at the Battle of Ankara in 1402. Bayezid reportedly died in captivity—possibly by suicide. The legend that Tamerlane kept him in an iron cage is probably apocryphal but captured the humiliation of his downfall.
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