Selim I the Grim: the conqueror of Egypt

Selim I reigned for only eight years¹, but in that short time he greatly enlarged the Ottoman Empire (by some 70 percent, by one scholarly estimate). He broke the power of Safavid Persia in the east, conquered Mamluk Syria and Egypt in the south, and brought the holy cities of Islam under Ottoman protection. His resolve, and his readiness to shed blood to secure the throne, earned him the name the Grim.

Chaldiran

Selim's first great war was against the rising Shia power of Safavid Persia. In 1514, at Chaldiran, he met the army of Shah Ismail¹. Selim's disciplined infantry, protected by chained cannon and armed with muskets², shattered the proud Safavid cavalry¹, a landmark victory of gunpowder over the charge, and checked the Safavids on the eastern frontier.

A portrait of Selim I — Selim I in an early 19th-century engraving. Public domain.

In eight short years he greatly enlarged the empire, from the Safavid frontier to the Nile.

The conquest of Egypt

Selim then turned south against the Mamluk Sultanate, the old power of Syria and Egypt. In two swift campaigns in 1516 and 1517³ he destroyed the Mamluk armies and took Damascus, Jerusalem and Cairo³. Egypt, one of the richest lands on earth, became Ottoman, and with it came guardianship of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina⁴.

Ottoman miniature of horsemen with spears and bows fighting, framed by Persian script — Ottoman troops battle Mamluk cavalry at Ridaniya in 1517, a miniature from the Selimname of Şükri-i Bitlisi, painted around 1525 to 1530. Public domain

The Grim

Selim was a hard and formidable ruler, and his path to the throne and his purges of rivals⁴ gave him his grim reputation. But he was also a soldier of the first rank, whose gunpowder armies and relentless drive expanded the empire faster than any sultan before him.

Ottoman miniature of two armies of horsemen clashing beneath banners — Selim fights his brother Ahmed for the throne at Yenişehir in 1513, a miniature from the Selimname of about 1525 to 1530. Public domain

The measure of the man

Selim died in 1520, leaving to his son⁵ Suleiman the Magnificent an empire vastly enlarged and enriched, poised for its golden age⁶. In a reign of only eight years he had changed the shape of the Middle East.

Ottoman miniature of the sultan lying on a bed under an arch with courtiers standing around — Selim I on his deathbed in 1520, with attendants around him, in the Selimname of Şükri-i Bitlisi. Public domain

See his great victory at Chaldiran, or meet the other great commanders of the Ottoman Empire.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Selim I?

He was the Ottoman sultan (1470 to 1520) known as the Grim, who defeated Safavid Persia at Chaldiran in 1514 and conquered Mamluk Syria and Egypt, greatly enlarging the empire.

What is Selim I famous for?

For his victory over Safavid Persia at Chaldiran in 1514 and his conquest of Syria and Egypt, which greatly enlarged the Ottoman Empire (by some 70 percent, by one scholarly estimate) and brought it the Muslim holy cities.

What happened at the Battle of Chaldiran?

In 1514 Selim's infantry, cannon and muskets defeated the cavalry army of the Safavid Shah Ismail, a decisive victory of gunpowder over the charge that checked the Safavids on the eastern frontier.

Why is Selim I called the Grim?

'Yavuz', often rendered the Grim or the Stern, was his epithet for his hard resolve and the ruthlessness with which he secured and held the throne.

How did Selim I change the Ottoman Empire?

In only eight years he greatly enlarged it (by some 70 percent, by one scholarly estimate), conquering Syria and Egypt, and brought the holy cities of Mecca and Medina under Ottoman protection.

Whose father was Selim I?

He was the father of Suleiman the Magnificent, to whom he left a greatly enlarged empire on the eve of its golden age.

Sources and notes

Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.

Encyclopaedia Iranica, “ČĀLDERĀN, battle of” ↩ a b c

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Battle of Chāldirān” ↩

Caroline Finkel, Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire 1300-1923 (John Murray, 2005). ↩ a b

Alan Mikhail, God's Shadow: Sultan Selim, His Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World (Liveright, 2020). ↩ a b

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Süleyman the Magnificent” ↩

Halil İnalcık, The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1973). ↩

World History Encyclopedia, “Ottoman Empire”

Wikipedia, “Selim I, Wikipedia”