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Portrait of Selim I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1512-1520). Photo by John Young on

Top 10 Facts about Selim I

Selim I was born in 10 October 1470 in Amasya to Sehzade Bayezid and his mother, Gulbahar Hatun a Turkish princess from the Dulkadir state.

Selim was the sultan of the Ottoman empire from 1512 to 1520, and his reign was notable for the empire’s expansion.

One notable success was his conquest of the entire Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, including Tihamah, Hejaz, Levant and Egypt itself.

He was tall and fierce and worked hard to organize his campaigns. He is remembered as the first legitimate Ottoman Caliph. The official transfer of the caliph office from the Mamluk Abbasid dynasty to the Ottoman was a later invention.

Here are top 10 facts about Selim I

1. Selim I, as the Governor of Trabzon

Yavuz Sultan Selim. Photo by Bilinmiyor on

Selim I was the governor of Trabzon. During his reign at Trabzon, he earned an excellent reputation among his military men for his duels with the Safavids, slave raids and campaign in the Caucasus against Georgia.

In 1505 he defeated the Safavid army. Shah Ismail’s brother led 3,000 strong Safavid army against Selim. He conquered the army, massacred many and seized their arms and munitions.

In 1507, he won the battle of Erzichan after Shah Ismail marched through Ottoman lands to attack the Dulkadivids. He attacked Erzincan and defeated a Safavid army sent against him by Shah Ismail.

In 1508 Selim invaded the Caucasus. He defeated western Georgia, lead Imereti and Guria under Ottoman domination, and seized many number of slaves. Again in 1510, he defeated the Safavid in the campaign of Trabzon.

2. Selim I struggle to the throne

Selim came to power during a political fight involving his father and brother.
His brother Sehzade Ahmet by, 1512, had emerged as the best candidate to succeed his father but Selim rebelled against the announcement.

Selim’s battle against his father failed for the first time, but he managed to dethrone his father after a while.

Following the defeat against his father, he ordered his father’s exile to Dimetoka. His father, Bayezid, died soon after the exile.

To protect his throne, Selim killed his two brothers and nephews to remove all potential heirs to the throne. Unfortunately, one of his nephews, his brother’s son, managed to escape to the Safavid empire.

Selim ensured he got rid of all the possible rulers leaving only his son Suleyman as his heir.

3. The mystery around his death

Tomb of Selim I in the cemetery of Yavuz Selim Mosque, Istanbul. Photo by R Prazeres on

On 22 September 1520, Selim’s reign ended after he was overwhelmed by sickness during a campaign in westward, and he died.

Selim was brought back to Istanbul and buried in Yavuz Selim Mosque, which Sultan Suleiman the magnificent built to honor his father.

He died during the ninth year of his reign, aged 49, and the leading cause of his death is undetermined.

Officially it is said he succumbed to the mistreatment of carbuncle, while some historians suggest he died of cancer or perhaps he was poisoned by his physician.

Other historians argue that Selim’s death coincided with a period of plaque in the empire, saying that Selim suffered from the disease.

4. The Battle of Chaldiran

The Safavid empire led by Shah Ismail was a significant threat to Selim. Ismail spread the Shia faith and not the Sunni faith of the Ottomans.

In 1511 Ismail supported pro-Shia/ Safavid revolt in Anatolia, the Sahkulu rebellion.

In 1514, Selim defeated Ismail at the battle of Chaldiran towards the east of the Euphrates.

On September 5, 1514, Selim marched into Tabriz’s Iranian capital. Selim seized the Anatola Kardish and Turkmen principalities and added them to the Ottoman empire.

The battle of Chaldiran was of historical significance, and Shah Ismail not accepting the advantage of modern firearms and the importance of artillery proved decisive.

5. The Ottoman Mamluk( 1516-1517)

Ottoman-Mamluk war. Photo outsourced from

Selim defeated the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt at the Battle of Marj Dabiq on 24 august 1516 and at the battle of Ridanish on 22 January 1517.

He seized the entire sultanate from Syria, Palestine, Hojae, and Tihamah in the Arabian peninsula and Egypt.

Therefore Selim extended his empire to the cities of Mecca and Medina. The Sharif of Mecca awarded Selim the keys to the holy city.

This was a symbolic gesture that proclaimed Selim as the leader of the Islamic world. He accepted the title Hadimu Haremeyn or the servant of the two holy cities.

The last Abbasid Caliph, Al- Mutawakkil III, resided in Cairo as a Mamluk puppet.

During the conquest, he was sent into exile in Istanbul. After defeating Damascus in 1516, Selim ordered the restoration of the tomb of Ibn Arabia (d. 1240), a famous Sufi master who was highly honoured among Ottoman Sufi.

6. Selim’s legacy lives in films

Selim influences are still prominent in popular culture and serve as a ground for entertainment.

He is portrayed as a significant antagonist by Mahmoud Nasv in the joint Saud-emirate series Kingdom of fires.

The video game Assasin’s Creed: Revelation put selim I appear as an essential character in the action-adventure.

The Turkish historical television series Magnificient century portrays selim I as Muharren Gulmez.

7. A bridge was named after him

Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. Photo by Vikipicture on

A third bridge over the Bosphorus in Istanbul is called the Yavuz Sultan selim bridge.

The name of the bridge was announced by President Abdullah Gul at the groundbreaking ceremony as the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in honour of Ottoman Sultan Selim I.

The bridge is a bridge for rail and motor vehicles transit over the Bosphorus Strait to the north of two existing suspension bridges in Istanbul, Turkey.

8. Selim I was a great poet

Selim pen name as a poet was Mahlas Selim. Composed his verses both in Turkish and Persian.

Selim composed his poems almost exclusively in Persian. Most of his poetic output consisted of poetic replies inspired by the classics of the Persian poetic canon as the ottomans perceived it.

He chose his model very consciously from among celebrated authors of Persian poetry.

9. Selim was a successful and respected Sultan

During his reign, selim accomplished significant success because of his hard work and energy.

Selim expanded the Ottoman empire into the middle east and north Africa in 1514-1517 for the Ottoman dynasty after his conquest of Egypt in 1517.

Many historians agree that selim prepared the Ottoman empire to reach its zenith under the reign of his son and successor, Suleiman the magnificent.

10. Selim marriage life

Selim was married to two wives, Hafsa sultan and Ayse Hatan. Hafsa Sultan was believed to be the daughter of Menli I Giray, who ruled as the Khan of the Crimean Tars between 1466-1515. Some scholars urge she was probably a slave.

The other wife, Ayse Hatun, was a Crimean princess. She was previously married to Selim’s brother Sehzed Mehmed.

Selim had at least ten daughters: Fatma, Hafize, Sah, Beyhan, and Kamersah. He also had at least six sons; Abdullah, Mahmud, Murad, Uveys Pasha, Sehzade Salih and Suleiman the magnificent.