Bayazid I

Bayazid I, called Yildirim (“lightning”) (circa 1360-1403), sultan of the Ottoman Turks (1389-1402). In three years Bayazid conquered Bulgaria and parts of Serbia and Macedonia; he also subdued the greater part of Asia Minor. He blockaded Constantinople (present-day İstanbul) for ten years, hoping to subdue it by famine. Bayazid might have destroyed the Byzantine Empire had not the Turkic conqueror Tamerlane attacked Ottoman possessions in Asia Minor and completely defeated the sultan in 1402 near Ankara. Bayazid died a prisoner in the enemy camp, while his sons fought over the succession. The name is also transliterated as Bajazet, Bayezit, Bayezid, or Beyazid.