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Historical person
Bayezid II was Ottoman sultan from 1481 to 1512. His accession was challenged by his brother Cem Sultan, whose long captivity in western Europe turned an Ottoman succession dispute into an international diplomatic weapon. Bayezid consolidated the empire, fought Venice and other rivals, and was eventually forced to abdicate in favour of his son Selim I.
Historical fiction about Bayezid’s reign usually concentrates on the rivalry with Cem, naval competition in the Mediterranean and tension among the sultan’s sons. Bayezid is often contrasted with more aggressively expansionist Ottoman rulers, but his reign still involved war, forced political choices and extensive imperial administration. Novels can use his court to show how succession, diplomacy and hostage politics linked Istanbul, Rhodes, Rome and the wider Mediterranean.
Series
The Ottoman Cycle follows the Greek brothers Skiouros and Lykaion after conscription separates them within the recently conquered city of Constantinople. One escapes into the streets while the other enters the Janissaries, placing their relationship on opposite sides of the political and religious order created by Mehmed II…
All books in this series
