Ottoman Expansion, 1451–1556 II. Dynastic Interest and International Power Status, 1503–56

Abstract

The year 1503 marks a watershed in the evolution of the Ottoman empire from regional giant to superpower status. In that year a peace treaty was concluded with Venice at the end of the war of 1499–1503, the terms of which represented a de facto recognition by the latter of Ottoman dominance in the region. In the same year they also reached limited truce agreements with Hungary and Poland, the two strongest states among the ‘seven kingdoms’ which formed the traditional group of Ottoman adversaries (the others being the Holy Roman Empire, Bosnia, Serbia, Wallachia and Moldavia). In timehonoured fashion Sultan Beyazid II (1481-1512) thereby secured peace in the north and west to allow him to turn to a serious crisis that was brewing in the east. This year also marked the commencement of the race for succession between three of his sons, Korkud, Ahmed and the eventual victor Selim. These developments were typical of Ottoman experience in both the international and domestic spheres during the preceding two centuries. What was different about the events of 1503 is that Ottoman domestic politics was becoming increasingly and inextricably entwined with rivalries in the international sphere. The challenge from the south emanating from Egypt was now intensified by a new contender, Shah Ismail, the dynamic founder of a new dynastic order in Iran.