Editing Cem Sultan (section)

==Succession dispute==
At the death of [[Mehmed the Conqueror]], on 3 May 1481, Bayezid was the governor of [[Sivas Province|Sivas]], [[Tokat Province|Tokat]] and [[Amasya Province|Amasya]], and Cem ruled the provinces of [[Karaman Province|Karaman]] and [[Konya Province|Konya]]. With no designated heir after Mehmed, conflict over succession to the throne erupted between Cem and Bayezid.

Contrary to [[Sharia|Islamic law]], which prohibits any unnecessary delay in burial, Mehmed II's body was transported to [[Constantinople]], where it lay three days. His [[grand vizier]] [[Karamanlı Mehmet Pasha]]&nbsp;&ndash; believing himself to be fulfilling the wishes of the recently deceased Sultan&nbsp;&ndash; attempted to arrange a situation whereby the younger son Cem, whose governing seat at Konya was closer than his brother Bayezid's seat at Amasya, would arrive in Constantinople prior to his older sibling and be able to claim the throne.

However, Bayezid had already established a political network of influential [[pasha]]s (two of whom were his sons-in-law), the [[janissaries]], and those opposed to the policies of Mehmed II and the grand vizier. In spite of Karamanlı Mehmet Pasha's attempts at secrecy, the Sultan's death and the grand vizier's plan were discovered by the [[Janissary]] corps, who supported Bayezid over Cem and had been kept out of the capital after the Sultan's death. As a result, the Janissary corps rebelled, entering the capital, and lynched the grand vizier.

[[File:Akçe - Cem Sultan.png|thumb|1481 dated ''[[akçe]]'' minted by Cem. On the obverse: "Sultan Cem son of Mehmed Khan" and on the reverse: "May his victory be glorious. Struck in Bursa, year 886 [AH]"]]
After the death of Karamanlı Mehmet Pasha, there was widespread rioting among the janissaries in Constantinople as there was neither a sultan nor a grand vizier to control the developments.  Understanding the danger of the situation, former grand vizier [[Ishak Pasha]] took the initiative of beseeching Bayezid to arrive with all due haste. In the meantime, Ishak Pasha took the cautionary measure of proclaiming Bayezid's 11-year-old son, Sehzade (prince) [[Şehzade Korkut|Korkut]], as regent until the arrival of his father.<ref>Finkel, 2006, pp. 81&ndash;82.</ref>

Prince Bayezid arrived at [[Constantinople]] on 21 May 1481, and was declared [[Bayezid II|Sultan Bayezid II]]. Only six days later, Cem captured the city of [[Inegöl]] with an army of 4,000. Sultan Bayezid sent his army under the command of [[vizier]] [[Ayas Pasha of Bosnia|Ayas Pasha]] to kill his brother. On 28 May Cem had defeated Bayezid's army and declared himself Sultan of [[Anatolia]], establishing his capital at [[Bursa]]. He proposed to divide the empire between him and his brother, leaving Bayezid the European side. Bayezid furiously rejected the proposal, declared that "between rulers there is no kinship,"<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Jem Sultan, The adventures of a Captive Turkish Prince in Renaissance Europe|last=Freely|first=John|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|year=2004|isbn=0007150660|location=Hammersmith, London|pages=145}}</ref> and marched on to Bursa. The decisive battle between the two contenders to the Ottoman throne took place on 19 June 1481, near the town of [[Yenişehir, Bursa|Yenişehir]]. Cem lost and fled with his family to the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] [[Cairo]].