Selim I (Yavuz Sultan Selim / Selim the Grim)

Selim I, known in Turkish as Yavuz ('the Resolute' or 'the Stern') and in Western histories as 'Selim the Grim', was one of the most ferocious and transformative conquerors of the Ottoman dynasty. Dethroning his cautious father Bayezid II in 1512 with the backing of the elite Janissaries, Selim focused Ottoman military might eastward against rival Islamic empires.

In 1514, at the Battle of Chaldiran, Selim's massed field artillery and matchlock muskets crushed Shah Ismail I's Safavid Persian cavalry. Turning south in 1516–1517, Selim conquered the entire Mamluk Sultanate in two lightning campaigns: winning the Battle of Marj Dabiq in Syria and the Battle of Ridaniya outside Cairo. In a mere eight-year reign (1512–1520), Selim tripled the territorial area of the Ottoman Empire, annexing Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina. Assuming the mantle of Caliph of Islam and custodian of the two Holy Mosques (Khadim al-Haramayn), Selim filled the imperial treasury to overflowing, leaving his son Suleiman the Magnificent the wealth and military apparatus to dominate European history.