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How did Bayezid I expand Ottoman control in Anatolia?
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Ottoman Empire
Map showing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire from about 1300 to 1700. The empire reached its greatest extent between 1683 and 1699.
To expand Ottoman control in Anatolia, Bayezid I sought to establish a strong Turkish and Islamic foundation for his state by widening Ottoman suzerainty over the region's various Turkmen emirates. He achieved this by annexing several of these emirates and successfully defeating the Karaman emirate at the Battle of Akçay in 1397.1
These expansionist efforts ultimately brought Bayezid into direct conflict with the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who claimed authority over the Anatolian Turkmen rulers and provided refuge to those displaced by Bayezid's campaigns. This rivalry culminated in the Battle of Ankara in July 1402, where Bayezid was defeated by Timur and subsequently died in captivity.1