Chapter 3 – A Trained Medicus
Chapter 3 – A Trained Medicus
As Manuel and Ioannes carry on their plans in Constantinople, as Andronikos are getting familiar with his duties as despot in Thessaloniki, sultan Mehmed is leading his army into the forested and hilly territory of Dobrudja.
Surrounded by Danube River to the north, Black Sea to the east, Bulgarian lands to its south and west, Dobrudja is a windy and rugged terrain filled with diverse landscape such as thick forests, hills and lakes to the south, and hills, steppes and marshes to the north. On the land live multiple and diverse groups of people, of which Turks, Bulgarians and Vlachs form the majority. Since Dobrudja is situated at the mouth of Danube River and has faced numerous threats and invasions throughout its long history, its people have a long tradition of martial prowess, a rebellious spirit that continues to haunt the lords and occupiers, and they are very proud of their heritage to peasant leader Ivailo in 1270s, who led a peasant uprising to expel Mongol invaders and became the Tsar of Bulgarian Empire, before been betrayed by the nobles and died at the hands of the Mongols.
The rugged shorelines of Dobrudja
The Ottomans has only recently conquered Dobrudja after a long struggle against the Wallachia voivode Mircea who was equally interested in the strategically important land.
The defeat of Sultan Beyezid I by Tamerlane at Ankara in 1402 opened a period of chaos and dynastic infighting in the Ottoman Empire known as The Ottoman Interregnum. Mircea took advantage of the situation to organize a new anti-Ottoman campaign: in 1403, he occupied the Genoese fort of Kilia at the mouths of the Danube. Thus in 1404, he could impose his authority on Dobruja, which has fallen into anarchy as well.
It is in these extraordinary circumstances, that Sheikh Bedreddin chose Dobrudja to begin his revolt. Born in 1359 to a Turkish Muslim ghazi warrior father and a Greek Orthodox mother, Bedreddin was exposed to a coexistent religious environment at a very early age. He was initially a kadi, military judge to the Ottoman warriors, studied theology in Konya and Cairo, then travelled and lived with the mystic Safavid Shia Muslims for quite some time.
Soon Bedreddin developed his own pantheistic religious belief, the doctrine of "oneness of being". This doctrine condemned oppositions such as those of religion and social class as interference in the oneness of God and the individual, and such doctrine ran contrary to increasing Ottoman efforts to establish Sunni Islam as the state religion.
During the Ottoman Interregnum, Bedreddin served as the chief military judge under prince Musa who controlled Rumelia and struggled against the Romans and his brother Mehmed who hold sway over Anatolia. During this period Bedreddin used his position to spread his beliefs and grant favorable lands known as timar to the ghazi warriors, winning him support and many ardent followers.
After Musa’s defeat by Ottoman sultan Mehmed I in 1413, Bedreddin was exiled to Iznik, and his followers were dispossessed of their lands. However, he soon left his exile in Iznik in 1415, made his way to Sinop and from there across the Black Sea to Wallachia. With the support of voivode Mircea who are eager to stir up unrest in Ottoman lands, Bedreddin raised the standard of revolt against the Ottomans in Deliorman region of Dobrudja in the summer of 1416, a region known for its heavy and thick forest, thus the name Deliorman meaning mad forest. In addition, followers of Bedreddin simultaneously rose in Izmir and Saruhan, led by his disciple Borkluje Mustafa. The rebellion mainly consisted of disgruntled ghazis, dispossessed sipahis, medrese students, and Christian peasants.
The rugged terrain of Mad Forest
As most of the rebels have past experiences in Ottoman army, and knowing full well that they cannot possibly confront the might of the Ottoman army in open battle, they decided to stick to a guerilla warfare. Using the forestations as cover, they would hit the Ottomans in the flanks and rear, disturb their logistics while avoiding any pitched battles.
Mehmed was initially annoyed by the rebel tactics, but as he brought almost 26.000 men into Dobrudja that vastly outnumbered the around 10.000 rebels in quantity and quality, given enough time he could slowly squeeze the rebels out of their operation spaces and force them into a pitched battle and destroy them once and for all. This would however require the full attention of the commander in chief, who at the moment is unfortunately sick struck.
Ever since the bad cold Mehmed got due to the nightly rain at the camp outside Thessaloniki, it has only worsened by the arduous trip up north and the extremely windy climate of Dobrudja. Once Mehmed arrived with his army at the outskirt of Deliorman, he was having high fever, and the camp medicus, a well trained one, only made things worse for the sultan. After drinking the herb potions the medicus made, the sultan fell into coma, sleeping for most of the day, too weak to speak or give out commands. Without the sultan leading his men, Ottoman army becomes immobile, as none of the beys dare to give command without the orders of Mehmed. For a time, there are even rumors the sultan might be soon dead, creating fear, confusion and panic at the camp, further impacting the low morale of the army.
As Mehmed lies bedridden, Bedreddin used that precious time to stock up provisions, set up defensive parameters across Deliorman, and sending followers across Bulgaria to stifle up further unrest. By the time Mehmed somehow recovered from his slumbering status, a month and a half has already passed, the date is now 3th August, 1416.
Bedreddin’s rebellion has spread across Northern Bulgaria, many peasants and disgruntled ghazi warriors inspired by the teaching of him rose in defiance, forcibly taking land from local beys loyal to Mehmed. On Anatolia, the revolt at Izmir is also spreading like wild fire. The bey of Aydin, Alexander, was ambushed and killed by the rebels, and his 7000 strong forces either killed, surrendered or scattered.
Knowing he is still in a very weakened status, Mehmed decides to call for his grand vizier, Bayezid Pasha, the one who he an entrust the army with. Mehmed doesn’t trust the Rumelian beys and lords he brought with, they have only recently sworn allegiance to him, before that they were the subjects of his brother Musa, and enemy of Mehmed.
A sultan must always be on guard against those close to him, given his brother Mustafa is still alive, who knows what these frontier beys of Rumelia will do if they gained control of a large army, and a sultan that are weakened? Bayezid Pasha on the other hand, does not have the potentials and must fully rely on Mehmed to maintain power, therefore the obvious choice to lead the army in Mehmed’s stead.
As sensible as Mehmed’s choice may be, his order led to another week’s delay. Bayezid swiftly headed north from Thessaloniki after receiving his order. Once arrived, he put himself at work diligently. Like a true administrator, Bayezid Pasha reorganized the camps, punished the unruly beys, and reestablished discipline and order at the camp. Before long, the Ottoman army has regained its morale and campaign ability, ready to finally strike at the rebels.
By the direct order of Mehmed, on 3rd September 1416, Bayezid leads the majority of Ottoman army, some 18.000 strong deep into the woods of Deliorman.
As Manuel and Ioannes carry on their plans in Constantinople, as Andronikos are getting familiar with his duties as despot in Thessaloniki, sultan Mehmed is leading his army into the forested and hilly territory of Dobrudja.
Surrounded by Danube River to the north, Black Sea to the east, Bulgarian lands to its south and west, Dobrudja is a windy and rugged terrain filled with diverse landscape such as thick forests, hills and lakes to the south, and hills, steppes and marshes to the north. On the land live multiple and diverse groups of people, of which Turks, Bulgarians and Vlachs form the majority. Since Dobrudja is situated at the mouth of Danube River and has faced numerous threats and invasions throughout its long history, its people have a long tradition of martial prowess, a rebellious spirit that continues to haunt the lords and occupiers, and they are very proud of their heritage to peasant leader Ivailo in 1270s, who led a peasant uprising to expel Mongol invaders and became the Tsar of Bulgarian Empire, before been betrayed by the nobles and died at the hands of the Mongols.
The rugged shorelines of Dobrudja
The Ottomans has only recently conquered Dobrudja after a long struggle against the Wallachia voivode Mircea who was equally interested in the strategically important land.
The defeat of Sultan Beyezid I by Tamerlane at Ankara in 1402 opened a period of chaos and dynastic infighting in the Ottoman Empire known as The Ottoman Interregnum. Mircea took advantage of the situation to organize a new anti-Ottoman campaign: in 1403, he occupied the Genoese fort of Kilia at the mouths of the Danube. Thus in 1404, he could impose his authority on Dobruja, which has fallen into anarchy as well.
It is in these extraordinary circumstances, that Sheikh Bedreddin chose Dobrudja to begin his revolt. Born in 1359 to a Turkish Muslim ghazi warrior father and a Greek Orthodox mother, Bedreddin was exposed to a coexistent religious environment at a very early age. He was initially a kadi, military judge to the Ottoman warriors, studied theology in Konya and Cairo, then travelled and lived with the mystic Safavid Shia Muslims for quite some time.
Soon Bedreddin developed his own pantheistic religious belief, the doctrine of "oneness of being". This doctrine condemned oppositions such as those of religion and social class as interference in the oneness of God and the individual, and such doctrine ran contrary to increasing Ottoman efforts to establish Sunni Islam as the state religion.
During the Ottoman Interregnum, Bedreddin served as the chief military judge under prince Musa who controlled Rumelia and struggled against the Romans and his brother Mehmed who hold sway over Anatolia. During this period Bedreddin used his position to spread his beliefs and grant favorable lands known as timar to the ghazi warriors, winning him support and many ardent followers.
After Musa’s defeat by Ottoman sultan Mehmed I in 1413, Bedreddin was exiled to Iznik, and his followers were dispossessed of their lands. However, he soon left his exile in Iznik in 1415, made his way to Sinop and from there across the Black Sea to Wallachia. With the support of voivode Mircea who are eager to stir up unrest in Ottoman lands, Bedreddin raised the standard of revolt against the Ottomans in Deliorman region of Dobrudja in the summer of 1416, a region known for its heavy and thick forest, thus the name Deliorman meaning mad forest. In addition, followers of Bedreddin simultaneously rose in Izmir and Saruhan, led by his disciple Borkluje Mustafa. The rebellion mainly consisted of disgruntled ghazis, dispossessed sipahis, medrese students, and Christian peasants.
The rugged terrain of Mad Forest
As most of the rebels have past experiences in Ottoman army, and knowing full well that they cannot possibly confront the might of the Ottoman army in open battle, they decided to stick to a guerilla warfare. Using the forestations as cover, they would hit the Ottomans in the flanks and rear, disturb their logistics while avoiding any pitched battles.
Mehmed was initially annoyed by the rebel tactics, but as he brought almost 26.000 men into Dobrudja that vastly outnumbered the around 10.000 rebels in quantity and quality, given enough time he could slowly squeeze the rebels out of their operation spaces and force them into a pitched battle and destroy them once and for all. This would however require the full attention of the commander in chief, who at the moment is unfortunately sick struck.
Ever since the bad cold Mehmed got due to the nightly rain at the camp outside Thessaloniki, it has only worsened by the arduous trip up north and the extremely windy climate of Dobrudja. Once Mehmed arrived with his army at the outskirt of Deliorman, he was having high fever, and the camp medicus, a well trained one, only made things worse for the sultan. After drinking the herb potions the medicus made, the sultan fell into coma, sleeping for most of the day, too weak to speak or give out commands. Without the sultan leading his men, Ottoman army becomes immobile, as none of the beys dare to give command without the orders of Mehmed. For a time, there are even rumors the sultan might be soon dead, creating fear, confusion and panic at the camp, further impacting the low morale of the army.
As Mehmed lies bedridden, Bedreddin used that precious time to stock up provisions, set up defensive parameters across Deliorman, and sending followers across Bulgaria to stifle up further unrest. By the time Mehmed somehow recovered from his slumbering status, a month and a half has already passed, the date is now 3th August, 1416.
Bedreddin’s rebellion has spread across Northern Bulgaria, many peasants and disgruntled ghazi warriors inspired by the teaching of him rose in defiance, forcibly taking land from local beys loyal to Mehmed. On Anatolia, the revolt at Izmir is also spreading like wild fire. The bey of Aydin, Alexander, was ambushed and killed by the rebels, and his 7000 strong forces either killed, surrendered or scattered.
Knowing he is still in a very weakened status, Mehmed decides to call for his grand vizier, Bayezid Pasha, the one who he an entrust the army with. Mehmed doesn’t trust the Rumelian beys and lords he brought with, they have only recently sworn allegiance to him, before that they were the subjects of his brother Musa, and enemy of Mehmed.
A sultan must always be on guard against those close to him, given his brother Mustafa is still alive, who knows what these frontier beys of Rumelia will do if they gained control of a large army, and a sultan that are weakened? Bayezid Pasha on the other hand, does not have the potentials and must fully rely on Mehmed to maintain power, therefore the obvious choice to lead the army in Mehmed’s stead.
As sensible as Mehmed’s choice may be, his order led to another week’s delay. Bayezid swiftly headed north from Thessaloniki after receiving his order. Once arrived, he put himself at work diligently. Like a true administrator, Bayezid Pasha reorganized the camps, punished the unruly beys, and reestablished discipline and order at the camp. Before long, the Ottoman army has regained its morale and campaign ability, ready to finally strike at the rebels.
By the direct order of Mehmed, on 3rd September 1416, Bayezid leads the majority of Ottoman army, some 18.000 strong deep into the woods of Deliorman.
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