Video - The Fall of Yıldırım Bayezid: The Battle of Ankara

At the center of the Ottoman army were the sultan and his grand vizier and his princes Mustafa, Musa and İsa Çelebi. On the right arm were the Anatolian forces, Black Tatars and the archers on their right, on the left arm were the Rumelian forces and Serbian troops, and in reserve were the forces of Prince Mehmed, the sanjak lord of Amasya. On the right wing of Timur's army, his two sons Miranşah and Emirzade Mehmed and the emirs were located, in the center was the ruler himself, and on the left wing were his other two sons, Şahruh Bahadır and Halil Sultan, and other emirs. The war started with the attack of Timur's army. At the beginning, the side that seemed superior in the war was the Ottomans. Timur Khan sent forces to these positions again, especially due to the outstanding efforts of the janissaries and the timari sipahis on the Ottoman right wing. However, in the meantime, the Ottoman army faced two betrayals. The Black Tatars, who were on the left flank and had previously agreed with Timur, began to attack the Ottoman forces from behind. Meanwhile, some timari sipahis on the right flank saw their beys fighting in Timur's army and took part in the opposing ranks. Following these developments, the right and left wings of the Ottoman army collapsed. Prince Süleyman, Çelebi Mehmed and the Serbian despot gathered their forces and began to retreat. Yıldırım Bayezid, who continued to fight until the evening with his princes and janissaries, was captured while trying to retreat. Timur Khan welcomed him and consoled him. He showed dignity and honor as befitted an Ottoman sultan. However, Yıldırım Bayezid Khan, who could not bear the humiliation of captivity, died at the age of 44 due to grief and shortness of breath (l403). His grave is in Bursa. When Timur Khan received the news of his death, he said: "It's a shame, we lost a great mujahid." said.