This book is the first detailed reconstruction of the events and political culture of the Ottoman civil war of 142-1413. After Timur defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Ankara and dismembered their empire, the sons of Bayezid the Thunderbolt fought bloody battles for his throne, using literature and other means to justify their claims against each other. An analysis of the literature in question, which is among the earliest in Ottoman history, reveals fascinating attitudes on matters such as dynastic fratricide and power-sharing.

Dimitris Kastritsis, Ph.D. (2005) History and Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, is Academic Fellow in Ottoman History at the University of St Andrews.