thumb|262px|Mehmed I with his dignitaries. Ottoman miniature painting, kept at [[Istanbul University.]]

Mehmed I (; – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi (, "the noble-born") or Kirişçi (, "lord's son"), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421. Son of Sultan Bayezid I and his concubine Devlet Hatun, he fought with his brothers over control of the Ottoman realm in the Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413). Starting from the province of Rûm he managed to bring first Anatolia and then the European territories (Rumelia) under his control, reuniting the Ottoman state by 1413, and ruling it until his death in 1421. Called "The Restorer", he reestablished central authority in Anatolia, and he expanded the Ottoman presence in Europe through the conquest of Dobruja in 1419. Venice destroyed his fleet off Gallipoli in 1416 when the Ottomans lost a naval war.

Early life

Mehmed was born in 1386 or 1387 as the fourth son of Sultan Bayezid I () and one of his consorts, the slave girl Devlet Hatun. Following Ottoman custom, when he reached adolescence in 1399, he was sent to gain experience as provincial governor over the Rûm Eyalet (central northern Anatolia), recently conquered from its Eretnid rulers.

On 20 July 1402, his father Bayezid was defeated in the Battle of Ankara by the Turko-Mongol conqueror and ruler Timur. The brothers (with the exception of Mustafa, who was captured and taken along with Bayezid to Samarkand) were rescued from the battlefield, Mehmed being saved by Bayezid Pasha, who took him to his hometown of Amasya. Mehmed later made Bayezid Pasha his grand vizier (1413–1421).

The early Ottoman Empire had no regulated succession, and according to Turkish tradition, every son could succeed his father. Of Mehmed's brothers, the eldest, Ertuğrul, had died in 1400, while the next in line, Mustafa, was a prisoner of Timur. Leaving aside the underage siblings, this left four princes—Mehmed, Süleyman, İsa, and Musa, to contend over control of the remaining Ottoman territories in the civil war known as the "Ottoman Interregnum". In modern historiography, these princes are usually called by the title , but in contemporary sources, the title is reserved for Mehmed and Musa. The Byzantine sources translated the title as (), which was in turn adopted into Turkish as , sometimes misinterpreted as , 'the wrestler'.

During the early interregnum, Mehmed Çelebi behaved as Timur's vassal. Beside the other princes, Mehmed minted coin which Timur's name appeared as (), alongside his own as (). This was probably an attempt on Mehmed's part to justify to Timur his conquest of Bursa after the Battle of Ulubad. After Mehmed established himself in Rum, Timur had already begun preparations for his return to Central Asia, and took no further steps to interfere with the status quo in Anatolia. Successfully developing a popular social revolution and syncretism of the various religions and sects of the empire, Bedreddin's movement began in the European side of the empire and underwent further expansion in western Anatolia.

In 1416, Sheikh Bedreddin started his rebellion against the throne. After a four-year struggle, he was finally captured by Mehmed's grand vizier Bayezid Pasha and hanged in the city of Serres, a city in modern-day Greece, in 1420.

Before his death, to secure passing the throne safely to his son Murad II, Mehmed blinded his nephew Orhan Çelebi (son of Süleyman), and decided to send his two sons Yusuf and Mahmud to be held as a hostage by Emperor Manuel II, hoping to ensure the continuing custody of his brother Mustafa.

He was buried in Bursa, in a mausoleum erected by himself near the celebrated mosque which he built there, and which, because of its decorations of green glazed tiles, is called the Green Mosque. Mehmed I also completed another mosque in Bursa, which his grandfather Murad I had commenced but which had been neglected during the reign of Bayezid. Mehmed founded in the vicinity of his own Green Mosque and mausoleum two other characteristic institutions, one a school and one a refectory for the poor, both of which he endowed with royal munificence.

Family

Consorts

Mehmed I had four known consorts:

  • Emine Hatun, daughter of Nasireddin Mehmed Bey, fifth ruler of Dulkadirids. She married Mehmed in 1403 and according to tradition she was the mother of Murad II.
  • Şahzade Hatun, daughter of Dividdar Ahmed Pasha, third ruler of Kutluşah of Canik.

Sons

Mehmed I had at least five sons:

  • Murad II (1404–1451) - with Emine Hatun. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
  • Mustafa Çelebi, known as Küçük Mustafa (1408–1423). He disputed the throne with Murad II, by whom he was defeated and executed.
  • Mahmud Çelebi (1413 - August 1429. Buried in the mausoleum's Mehmed I, Bursa)
  • Yusuf Çelebi (1414 - August 1429. Buried in the mausoleum's Mehmed I, Bursa)
  • Ahmed Çelebi. Died in infancy.

Daughters

Mehmed I had at least eight daughters: