In the autumn of 1402, a diplomat arrived to meet the infamous conqueror Timur, also known as Tamerlane. He carried presents and tribute from Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos.

The emperor was happy that the Mongol warrior had not only spared Constantinople but also preserved it from certain calamity. Timur defeated and took Manuel's main adversary, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, prisoner at Ankara.

The battle turned the tide for the declining Byzantine Roman Empire, allowing it to survive for another half a century before collapsing in 1453.

Timur, the self-styled "Sword of Islam," had saved Christendom. European rulers joined Manuel in showering him with accolades and gifts.

So let us turn the clock back to 28th July 1402 in the scorching summer heat of Anatolia and find out how Timur crushed the Ottomans. But first, let's find out why two of the finest military brains of the Middle Ages clashed.

Background

Timur emerged as a leader ready to create a name for himself in a war-torn society in the late 14th century.

He was born into a minor noble family of the Mongol Barlas clan in 1336, in Kesh in present-day Uzbekistan. He rose to power through his intelligence and military prowess, earning the respect and loyalty of his people.

We'll refer to Timur's men as "Mongols" in this story. The Barlas clan was a Mongolian tribe that moved to the Chagatai Khanate, where they became Turkicized. Historians often call them "Turco-Mongols," or Turcomans. The Europeans of the Middle Ages called them Tartars.

To keep things simple, because the Barlas clan originated in Mongolia, we will refer to the Timurids as Mongols in our story. It helps us distinguish them from their principal opponents, the Turks.

Timur could not use the title of Khan since he was not a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. He ruled as an Amir, which means chief or commander in Arabic.

Timur's reputation as a brilliant tactician and fierce general increased as he extended his territory and amassed wealth and power, setting the stage for his ultimate dream of restoring Genghis Khan's Empire.

The desire to resurrect the Mongol Empire drove Timur to launch a series of conquests that took him from Persia to Russia and Ukraine and all the way to India.

Tensions between Timur and the Ottoman Empire had been brewing.

The ambitious Ottoman ruler, Bayezid, had won several clashes, including the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, where he defeated a powerful army of European Crusaders. Bayezid's demand for tribute from a local governor loyal to Timur was the spark that ignited hostilities.

Bayezid and Timur sent each other "hate mail" with insults about the other's military skills and, as the personal attacks got worse, about their wives and concubines.

One such letter sent by Timur to Bayezid is:

Believe me, you are but pismire ant: don't seek to fight the elephants for they'll crush you under their feet. Shall a petty prince such as you are contend with us? But your rodomontades are not extraordinary; for a Turcoman never spake with judgement. If you don't follow our counsels you will regret it.

War was inevitable.

Timur's advance into Anatolia was relentless. He sacked Sivas, which was commanded by Suleyman, the son, and heir of the Ottoman ruler. In typical Timurid fashion, when he attacked the city, he promised not to shed a single drop of blood if the citizens surrendered.

They did.

He buried 3,000 of them alive, thus keeping his promise of not spilling blood.

In 1402, alarmed by the rapid advance of Timur, Bayezid was forced to break off the siege of Constantinople and make a stand in Ankara against the Mongols.

The Battle of Ankara: The clash of the heavyweights

With his forces weary from their eight-year blockade of Constantinople, Bayezid led his troops across Anatolia in the scorching summer heat, reaching Ankara. Despite the urging of his generals to adopt a defensive position outside the city, Bayezid boldly marched eastward, intending to intercept Timur.

But the Ottomans were in for a surprise as advancing scouts discovered no trace of Timur's forces, who had secretly marched southwest, rested, and positioned themselves behind the Ottomans. The Timurids even took advantage of the abandoned tents and water sources left by the Ottomans.

Bayzeid knew the Mongols had fooled him.

Timur, being a crafty tactician, had sent a false regiment to deceive the Ottomans. The Mongol warlord now reached Ankara and took the high ground where the Ottoman forces once stood.

The battle for control of the water supply also played a critical role. Timur diverted the principal source of water, the Çubuk creek, to an off-stream reservoir, leaving the Ottoman army with no water.

But Bayzeid was about to prove he was no lightweight and marched back to Ankara faster than Timur expected him. When Bayzeid reached Ankara, Timurid forces were not yet organized and had spread out foraging.

His advisors urged him to attack, taking advantage of the lack of Mongol cohesion. But short on water supply and soldiers tired from marching in the summer heat forced the sultan's hand.

Bayezid waited for a day.

The date of the heavyweight bout was set for 28th July 1402.

At the head of the Timurid army stood Timur, commanding the center, while his sons Miran Shah and Shah Rukh led the right and left flanks, respectively.

Mohammad Sultan, Timur's favorite grandson, led the reserve. Timur's other grandsons, Sultan Husayn, and Pir Mohammad, meanwhile, took on the role of vanguard.

In the Ottoman army, Bayezid commanded the center with his Janissaries, while his son Suleyman led the left flank made up of Rumelian cavalry and Tartar troops.

Stefan Lazarević, a Serbian general and the Sultan's brother-in-law, commanded the right flank with heavily armored Balkan troops. Bayezid's son Mehmed guarded the rear.

A detachment of crimson-clad crack troops from Samarkand reinforced the Mongol conqueror's army. The terrifying sight of elephants, captured from Timur's raid into India, with swords tied to their tusks, greeted the Ottoman army.

Sources differ on the strength of the two armies, with gross exaggerations by medieval scholars. Modern estimates suggest Timur had around 100,000 troops, while the Ottomans numbered between 60,000 to 80,000.

An epic clash was about to begin.

The battle

At 10 am on 28 July 1402, the battle unfolded. Timur watched as the Ottomans launched a massive attack, only to be met with a barrage of arrows from Mongol horse archers. The toll was heavy, with several thousand falling.

The crafty warlord from the Steppes had a trick up his sleeve. A week before the battle, he had reached out to the Tartars in the Ottoman camp, convincing them to defect. Timur persuaded them he was their true lord since both belonged to the Steppes and promised them a huge loot.

The Tartars attacked the Rumelians, throwing Suleyman's units into utter confusion.

But amidst the chaos, Stefan Lazarević and his knights fought off the Timurid assaults and cut through the Mongol ranks three times, offering Bayezid a chance to escape.

However, Bayezid declined, and it was the Serbian troops who saved Suleyman. Bayezid and the Ottoman center held off the Timurid assaults, allowing the crown prince to escape.

Timur was impressed by the bravery of the Serbian troops and is said to have remarked they "fought like lions".

However, their efforts would be in vain as the Mongol forces caught Bayezid while the Ottoman was trying to flee the battlefield. On 29th July 1402, the warriors of the Steppes presented the Ottoman Sultan to Timur.

The Mongol warlord had the last laugh.

He had his greatest prize to date.

Europe breathes a sigh of relief

As we've already talked about, the Battle of Ankara led to the end of the eight-year siege of Constantinople. But the Byzantine empire was not the only one relieved.

Some Western European monarchs found in Timur an answer to the dilemma posed by the Islamic Ottoman Empire, which had its sights set on Austria and Hungary.

King Henry IV of England and King Charles VI of France both congratulated Timur on his victory at Ankara. But it was the Spanish kingdom of Castile that went the extra mile, dispatching an envoy led by Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo to Timur's court in Samarkand.

De Clavijo was amazed by Timur's court's splendor, describing 15 buildings that merged nomadic and Islamic traditions, some of which were moveable magnificent tents. Under Timur's watchful eye, the Spanish diplomats were treated as honored guests, feasting on elaborate banquets every night and indulging in heavy drinking.

The Battle of Ankara was a watershed moment in Ottoman history, causing the empire to fragment and almost collapse. This sparked an 11-year civil war between Bayezid's sons. This was the first time in Ottoman history that the sultan was captured.

We may have known Bayezid as the conqueror of Constantinople rather than Sultan Mehmed II, but Timur made sure he wasn't. Bayezid died in captivity, probably committing suicide out of humiliation.

There are exaggerated stories of how he was kept caged and his wife was forced to serve as a slave, but these are based on fictional works and not historical sources.

But there is little doubt that one of the world's most powerful monarchs with a tremendous military career had a less than a dramatic end.

Timur is remembered for committing horrific atrocities. But there is little doubt his campaigns changed the course of history. Timur died in 1405 on his way to attack Ming China. Despite not being from Genghis Khan's family, perhaps he was the one who came closest to matching his legacy.

Timur's dream was to restore the Mongol empire. He wanted to do so because the Mongol war machine came undone in several corners of the world. If you are interested to know more, check out the following story on kingdoms that successfully pushed back the Mongols.

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References

• Knobler, Adam (1995). "The Rise of Tīmūr and Western Diplomatic Response. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
• Marozzi, Justin (2006). Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World.
• Tucker, Spencer (2010). "Battle of Ankara". Battles that Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict