5. Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed I
Çelebi Mehmed
- Reign
- 1413 – 1421
- Born
- 1389
- Died
- 1421
He ended the Interregnum and reunited the state. The Çelebi Sultan Mehmet Mosque in Söğüt is named after him.
Sultan Çelebi Mehmed was born at Edirne in 1389. His father was Yıldırım Bayezid, his mother Devlet Hatun of the Germiyanoğulları. He was of middle height, round-faced and fair-skinned, with red cheeks and a broad chest, and a strong body. He was very active and brave. He wrestled, and could draw even the stiffest bowstrings. Taking part in person in twenty-four battles during his reign, Çelebi Mehmed received close to forty wounds in them. The turban he wore, with its gold-embroidered cap, suited him well. He dressed in a kaftan lined with fur and standing at the collar.
The justice Sultan Çelebi Mehmed showed towards Muslims he showed equally towards Christian communities. He was a good administrator and politician. He completed his education in the palace at Bursa and was later appointed by his father to the governorship of Amasya, where he learned the business of the state.
Sultan Çelebi Mehmed, who succeeded in gathering the principalities of Anatolia together again after the Interregnum, may fairly be regarded as the second founder of the Ottoman state.
He died at Edirne on 26 May 1421. News of his death was concealed — he was the first Ottoman sultan whose death was kept secret. His body was brought to Bursa and buried in the Green Tomb.
- Sons: Mustafa Çelebi, Murad II, Ahmed, Yusuf, Mahmud
- Daughters: Fatma and Selçuk Hatun
Source: Osmanlı Tarihi Interaktif CD-ROM (Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları XXXI. Dizi-Sa.2)