Ottoman wars in the Near East

Ottoman wars in the Near East covers wars in the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia and the Caucasus.

In August 1400, Timur Lenk and his horde burned the town of Sivas to the ground and advanced into the mainland. The war culminated at the Battle of Ankara in July 1402.

Defeating the Candaroğlu Beylik in Sinope, and Armenia under Uzun Hasan before capturing the Empire of Trebizond on August 15, 1461.

When Beyazid II was enthroned upon his father's death, he first had to fight his younger brother Cem, who took Inegöl and Bursa and proclaimed himself Sultan of Anatolia. After a battle at Yenişehir, Cem was defeated and fled to Cairo. The very next year he returned, supported by the Mameluks, and took eastern Anatolia, Ankara and Konya but eventually he was beaten and forced to flee to Rhodes.

After a first indecisive conflict, Selim I defeated the Mamelukes and conquered most of modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt, including the holy city of Jerusalem as well as Cairo, the residence of the Abbasid caliph. Thus, Selim was able to proclaim himself caliph of Islam. He also began a series of wars with the Safavids (see Ottoman–Persian Wars).

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