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Sultan of the
Ottoman
Empire
(1512-1520)
Born on October 10th of 1465 1470 (never specified), Selim
was a Sultan known for the
enormous expansion of territory,
mainly in the Arabian region of
Syria, Egypt and Palestine. He
died on September 22nd of
1520.
Biography of Selim I
!
Character details
Selim I was known as ' the Fierce' for his
vigorous personality and streaks of cruelty.
Seeing the Shu'ite Islam of the Safavids under
Ismail I in Iran as a threat to the Ottomans, he
forcefully deported many Shi'as from Anatolia
to other parts of the Ottoman empire and
massacred an estimated 40,000, attacking
the Safavids in 1514 and defeating them at
the Battle of Chaldiran on Aug 23rd of 1514. It
was a decisive victory for the Ottoman
Empire. The Ottomans had a larger, better
equipped army numbering 60,000-200,000,
while the Safavids numbered some
50,000-80,000. The Ottomans were armed
with muskets, while the Safavids shunned
weapons that used gunpowder as being
without honor, and were decimated in the
battle. As a result the Ottomans gained
control over the north western part of Iran.
Character details
Contribution to Empire
Summary of Reign
To summarize Sultan Selim Is 8-year reign, his biggest
contribution was the expansion of the lands to Egypt, Syria
and Palestine which greatly influenced the Ottoman leadership
in the Muslim world later on, for other Sultans after him. Sultan
Selim eliminated all potential claimants to the sultanate,
leaving only his ablest son, Suleiman, as his heir. Suleiman
later became the longest-reigning Sultan in the Ottoman
Empire.