20 July 1402, or 28 July
Bayezid on the hill
In the afternoon Mehmed Çelebi leaves the field with his troops for Amasya, and İsa leaves too. The Ottoman chronicles lose track of Mustafa in the fighting, while Timur’s letter of victory and Yazdi have him taken prisoner. With both wings gone, Bayezid falls back with a few thousand janissaries to the hill Bıyıktay calls Çataltepe, about 4 km behind his line.
Timur sends his son Shah Rukh with Miran Shah and other commanders to take Bayezid. They surround the hill, and the janissaries drive back their attacks until the evening. At sunset Bayezid breaks out to the north-east with about 300 horsemen, many of whom die of heat and thirst.
The Chagatai khan Sultan Mahmud, who rides in Timur’s army, overtakes Bayezid at Mahmutoğlan, about 16 km from the hill, when his horse stumbles, and takes him after a blow from a mace. Kemalpaşazade writes that Yakub of Germiyan recognised him. His son Musa is taken with him. Near midnight Bayezid is brought to the tent of Timur, who receives him with respect by Yazdi’s account.
Sultan Mahmud Khan brings the captive Bayezid before Timur, in a Zafarnama of the 16th century, Museum of Turkish and Islamic ArtsWikimedia Commons, unknown painter, Public domain (Sultan Mahmud Khan Brings the Defeated Yildirim Bayazid into Timur's Presence. Zafarnama, TIEM Ms. 1964, fol. 401a.jpg)
Sources
- Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi, Zafarnama (1425).
- Âşıkpaşazâde, Tevârîh-i Âl-i Osmân (late 15th century).
- Kemalpaşazâde, Tevârîh-i Âl-i Osmân (early 16th century).
- İsmail Aka, “Timur’un Ankara Savaşı (1402) Fetihnâmesi”, Türk Tarih Belgeleri Dergisi 11 (1981), 1–22.
- Ömer Halis Bıyıktay, Yedi Yıl Harbi İçinde Timur’un Anadolu Seferi ve Ankara Savaşı (1934).
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