Bayezid I :: Ancient History European

Bayezid I- (r.1389-1402) Ottoman ruler who started to besiege Constantinople in 1395. The Europeans saw him as a new threat to Christendom, and Hungary’s king led English, French, German, and Balkan knights in a crusade against the Turks. He defeated them at Nicopolis, and moved their capital from Bursa to France. If Bayezid had not defeated the Christians, the Ottoman Empire might not have taken Constantinople. The armies of Timur defeated him near Ankara in 1402 where he was taken prisoner and died in captivity. Captiulations- gave autonomy to foreigners living in a Muslim territory (a practice adopted by the Ottomans). European nationals were freed from having to bey Ottoman laws or pay taxes. This attracted European traders, and spared the ottomans from having to settle their disputes. System adopted from the Mamluks. Constantinople former capital of the Byzantine Empire and of the Ottoman Empire , since 1930 officially called Istanbul (for location and description, see Istanbul ). It was founded (AD 330) at ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine I, after whom it was named. The largest and most splendid European city of the Middle Ages, Constantinople shared the glories and vicissitudes of the Byzantine Empire, which in the end was reduced to the city and its environs. Although besieged innumerable times by various peoples, it was taken only three times—in 1204 by the army of the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades ), in 1261 by Michael VIII, and in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II. Defended by Greek fire , it was also well fortified. An early inner wall was erected by Constantine I, and the enlarged Constantinople was surrounded by a triple wall of fortifications, begun (5th cent.) by Theodosius II. Built on seven hills, the city on the Bosporus presented the appearance of an impregnable fortress enclosing a sea of magnificent palaces and gilded domes and towers. In the 10th cent., it had a cosmopolitan population of about 1 million. The Church of Hagia Sophia , the sacred palace of the emperors (a city in itself); the huge hippodrome, center of the popular life; and the Golden Gate, the chief entrance into the city; were among the largest of the scores of churches, public edifices, and monuments that lined the broad arcaded avenues and squares. Constantinople had a great wealth of artistic and literary treasures before it was sacked in 1204 and 1453.