Bayezid II
the eighth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1481–1512)
Bayezid II (Ottoman Turkish: بايزيد ثانى, romanized: Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī; Turkish: II. Bayezid; 3 December 1447/1448 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne to his son, Selim I. Bayezid evacuated Sephardi Jews from Spain following the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada and the proclamation of the Alhambra Decree and resettled them throughout Ottoman lands, especially in Salonica.
Early life
Bayezid was born in Demotika around 1447–1448 as the first son of Şehzade Mehmed (future Mehmed II) and his concubine Gülbahar Hatun.. In 1451, his grandfather Murad II died and his father ascended the throne again. Around 1454–1456, he was appointed governor of Amasya, accompanied by his mother. Bayezid was educated in Amasya and served there as governor for 27 years, until he became the eighth sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1481.
In 1473, he fought in the Battle of Otlukbeli against the Aq Qoyunlu.
Fight for the throne
Bayezid II's overriding concern was the quarrel with his brother Cem Sultan, who claimed the throne and sought military backing from the Mamluks in Egypt. Karamani Mehmed Pasha, last grand vizier of Mehmed II, informed him of the death of the Sultan and invited Bayezid to ascend the throne. Having been defeated by his brother's armies, Cem sought protection from the Knights of St.
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Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q165983. VIAF identifies the subject as 280144782720203542620. The Library of Congress control number is n83314009. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1447, 1448, 1512 and 1481.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bayezid II” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.