İsa Çelebi

Ottoman prince, co-ruler during the Ottoman Interregnum

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In this Ottoman Turkish style name, the given name is  İsa, the title is Çelebi, and there is no family name.

Îsâ Çelebi

İsa by Paolo Veronese (16th century)

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (claimant)
Reign| January 1403[1] − March/May 1403
Predecessor| Bayezid I
Successor| Mehmed I
Governor of Karesi (as Timurid vassal)
Reign| 16 December 1402 – January 1403
Governor of Hamid[1]
Reign| c. 1391 – unknown
Born| Unknown
Died| September 1403
Eskişehir, Ottoman Empire
Burial|

Bayezid I Mosque, Bursa, Turkey

Consort| Daughter of John Tonterez
Father| Bayezid I
Mother| Devletşah Hatun
Religion| Sunni Islam

Îsâ Çelebi (Ottoman Turkish: عیسی چلبی, romanized: ʿĪsā Çelebī; fl. c. 1391 – September 1403) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the empire during the Ottoman Interregnum.

## Background

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İsa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the Ottoman sultan. His mother was Devletşah Hatun, the daughter of Süleyman Şah of Germiyanids and Mutahhara Abide Hatun. Isa was appointed as the sanjak governor of Hamid after its conquest. Some sources mention his participation in the Battle of Nicopolis, however this cannot be verified. In 1402, he participated in the Battle of Ankara alongside his father. After the defeat, he escaped and hid around Balıkesir As of November 1402, he established dominance on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and the south of the Sea of Marmara. Immediately after Timur took Smyrna in 16 December 1402, he expressed his loyalty to Timur through his ambassador Kutbüddin İznikî. He sent Timur valuable horses and gifts together with the ambassador. Timur also sent him a belt, a cap and a robe and gave him the administration of the Karesi (Balıkesir) region.[1]

## Ottoman Interregnum

[edit]

Main article: Ottoman Interregnum

In 1403, after learning about his father's death in captivity, he began to struggle for the vacant throne against his brothers Mehmed Çelebi, Musa Çelebi, and Süleyman Çelebi. He fought against Musa to gain control of Bursa, the Anatolian capital of the empire. He defeated Musa and won control of a part of Anatolian territory of the empire. But the European territory, Rumeli, was under the control of Süleyman and the east part of Anatolian territory was under the control of Mehmed. Feeling his lands to be fragile situated between his brothers' on both sides, he signed a treaty of friendship with the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and refused Mehmed's suggestion to partition the Anatolian part of the empire with him, on the grounds that he was the elder brother and was entitled the entirety of the territory. But following this refusal, he was defeated by Mehmed in the Battle of Ulubad in March or May 1403. In this battle, he also lost his vizier Timurtaş, who was an experienced statesman. He escaped to Rumeli over Byzantine territories.[2]

He met with Süleyman, who supported his cause in Anatolia. With fresh troops provided by Süleyman, he returned to Anatolia and tried to recapture Bursa. Although he failed, allying himself with the Anatolian beyliks, which his father Beyazıt I had captured but which had regained independence after Beyazıt's defeat at the Battle of Ankara, he continued to fight against Mehmed. However, after a series of defeats and the betrayal of his allies, İsa gave up the war for the throne.[3]

After losing the struggle, İsa went into hiding, and was spotted in a public bath (hamam) in Eskişehir, and was strangled by Mehmed's partisans in 1403. Ruy González de Clavijo wrote that İsa Çelebi wasn't alive in September 1403. His body was buried next to his father in Bursa. In historical sources, he is described as a characterful prince, but also as an unfortunate and weak person.[1]

## Aftermath

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İsa's tomb (left) besides his father's tomb (right).

After his death, the interregnum continued till 1413. In 1413, Mehmet became the sole ruler of the empire as Mehmed I after defeating Musa. Another one of the brothers, Mustafa Çelebi, who had been in hiding during the interregnum, later led two failed rebellions against the throne, one against Mehmet in 1416, and another in 1421 against his nephew Murad II. Murat called Mustafa Çelebi düzmece ("the impostor") and executed him.

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Nezi̇hi̇ Aykut (2016). "ÎSÂ ÇELEBİ". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Supplement 1 (Abazalar – Kaftan) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. ISBN 978-975-389-878-2.
2. ^ Joseph von Hammer: Osmanlı Tarihi Vol I (condensation: Abdülkadir Karahan), Milliyet yayınları, İstanbul. p 55-56
3. ^ Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: Türkiye Tarihi Cilt II, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 72

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* t
* e

Ottoman princes

1st generation|

* Alaeddin Pasha
* Orhan

2nd generation|

* Süleyman Pasha
* Murad I
* Şehzade Halil

3rd generation|

* Savcı Bey
* Yakub Çelebi
* Bayezid I

4th generation|

* Süleyman Çelebi
* İsa Çelebi
* Mehmed I
* Musa Çelebi
* Mustafa Çelebi

5th generation|

* Murad II
* Mustafa Çelebi

6th generation|

* Mehmed II
* Orhan Çelebi

7th generation|

* Bayezid II
* Şehzade Cem

8th generation|

* Şehzade Ahmet
* Şehzade Korkut
* Selim I
* Şehzade Murad

9th generation|

* Suleiman I

10th generation|

* Şehzade Mustafa
* Şehzade Mehmed
* Şehzade Abdullah
* Selim II
* Şehzade Bayezid
* Şehzade Cihangir

11th generation|

* Murad III

12th generation|

* Mehmed III

13th generation|

* Şehzade Mahmud
* Ahmed I
* Mustafa I

14th generation|

* Osman II
* Şehzade Mehmed
* Murad IV
* Şehzade Bayezid
* Şehzade Süleyman
* Şehzade Kasım
* Ibrahim I

15th generation|

* Şehzade Ömer
* Mehmed IV
* Suleiman II
* Ahmed II

16th generation|

* Mustafa II
* Ahmed III

17th generation|

* Mahmud I
* Osman III
* Mustafa III
* Abdul Hamid I
* Şehzade Mehmed

18th generation|

* Selim III
* Mustafa IV
* Mahmud II

19th generation|

* Abdulmejid I
* Abdulaziz

20th generation|

* Murad V
* Abdul Hamid II
* Mehmed V
* Şehzade Ahmed Kemaleddin
* Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin
* Şehzade Ahmed Nureddin
* Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin
* Şehzade Selim Süleyman
* Mehmed VI
* Şehzade Mahmud Celaleddin
* Abdulmejid II
* Şehzade Mehmed Şevket
* Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin

21st generation|

* Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin
* Şehzade Mehmed Selim
* Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin
* Şehzade Ibrahim Tevfik
* Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir
* Şehzade Mahmud Necmeddin
* Şehzade Ahmed Nuri
* Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin
* Şehzade Ömer Hilmi
* Şehzade Mehmed Cemaleddin
* Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri
* Şehzade Mehmed Abdülhalim
* Şehzade Ömer Faruk
* Şehzade Ahmed Nureddin
* Mehmed Abdulaziz
* Şehzade Mahmud Şevket
* Şehzade Mehmed Şerafeddin
* Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid
* Şehzade Mehmed Abid
* Şehzade Mehmed Nizameddin
* Şehzade Mehmed Ertuğrul

22nd generation|

* Şehzade Ahmed Nihad
* Şehzade Osman Fuad
* Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkerim
* Mehmed Orhan
* Ertuğrul Osman
* Şehzade Mahmud Namık
* Bayezid Osman

23rd generation|

* Şehzade Ali Vasib
* Dündar Ali Osman
* Harun Osman

* v
* t
* e

Ottoman Interregnum

Background|

* Rise of the Ottoman Empire
* Murad I
* Bayezid I
* Siege of Constantinople (1394–1402)
* Crusade of Nicopolis
* Timur
* Battle of Ankara

Events|

* Siege of Smyrna
* Battle of Tripolje
* Treaty of Gallipoli
* Battle of Ulubad
* Battle of Kosmidion
* Battle of Edirne
* Siege of Constantinople (1411)
* Treaty of Selymbria
* Battle of İnceğiz
* Battle of Çamurlu

Ottoman princes and leaders|

* Mehmed I
* Süleyman Çelebi
* İsa Çelebi
* Musa Çelebi
* Mustafa Çelebi
* Çandarlızade Ali Pasha
* Imamzade Halil Pasha
* Bayezid Pasha
* Evrenos
* Pasha Yiğit Bey
* Mihaloğlu Mehmed Bey
* Turahan Bey
* Sheikh Bedreddin

Neighbouring rulers and leaders|

* Junayd Bey (Aydın)
* Manuel II Palaiologos (Byzantine Empire)
* John VII Palaiologos (Byzantine Empire)
* Demetrios Laskaris Leontares (Byzantine Empire)
* Nasireddin Mehmed Bey (Dulkadir)
* Yakup II (Germiyan)
* Philibert de Naillac (Hospitallers)
* Íñigo de Alfaro (Hospitallers)
* İsfendiyar Bey
* Mehmed II (Karaman)
* Stefan Lazarević (Serbia)
* Đurađ Branković (Serbia)
* Vuk Lazarević (Serbia)
* Mircea I (Wallachia)

*[c.]: circa
*[fl.]: floruit ('flourished' – known to have been active at a particular time or during a particular period)
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