Selim I and the Mamluk Conquests (1512–1520)

1. Selim I deposes Bayezid II

   Apr 24, 1512Labels: Selim I, Bayezid II

   Selim I secured the Ottoman throne after forcing Bayezid II to abdicate, inaugurating a reign defined by rapid eastern and southern expansion.

   • Britannica
   • Britannica

2. Battle of Chaldiran defeats the Safavids

   Aug 23, 1514Labels: Battle of, Shah Ism

   Selim I’s army defeated Shah Ismāʿīl I at Chaldiran, establishing Ottoman military superiority (notably through artillery and firearms) and strengthening Ottoman control in eastern Anatolia—an important prelude to the campaign against the Mamluks.

   • Britannica
   • Britannica

3. Battle of Turnadağ ends Dulkadir beylik

   Jun 13, 1515Labels: Battle of, Dulkadirids

   Ottoman victory over the Dulkadirid principality removed a long-standing buffer tied to Mamluk influence, sharpening Ottoman–Mamluk rivalry on the Anatolian-Syrian frontier.

   • Turnada
   • Britannica

4. Ottomans defeat Mamluks at Marj Dabiq

   Aug 24, 1516Labels: Marj Dabiq, Mamluk Sultanate

   At Marj Dabiq, Selim I’s forces won a decisive victory over the Mamluks, opening the Levant to Ottoman occupation and marking a turning point in the Ottoman–Mamluk War.

   • Britannica
   • Marj Dabiq

5. Ottomans capture Damascus

   Sep 27, 1516Labels: Damascus, Ottoman Syria

   Following Marj Dabiq, the Ottoman army advanced into Syria and took Damascus, consolidating Ottoman control in the Levant and undermining the remaining Mamluk defensive line.

   • Damascus 1516

6. Ottomans defeat Mamluks at Khan Yunis

   Oct 28, 1516Labels: Khan Yunis, Mamluk forces

   The Battle of Yaunis Khan (Khan Yunis) saw Ottoman forces defeat a Mamluk attempt to halt the Ottoman march toward Egypt, further clearing the route for the invasion.

   • Khan Yunis
   • Ottoman Mamluk

7. Battle of Ridaniya decides the Egyptian campaign

   Jan 22, 1517Labels: Battle of, Tuman Bay

   Near Cairo, Selim I defeated Sultan Tuman Bay II at Ridaniya, collapsing organized Mamluk resistance in Egypt and setting the stage for the occupation of Cairo.

   • Britannica
   • Ridaniya

8. Selim I recognized as Custodian of Holy Cities

   Jan 22, 1517Labels: Custodian of, Sharif of

   In Cairo, the sharif of Mecca presented Selim I with the keys to Mecca, a symbolic act that reinforced Ottoman leadership over Islam’s holy places after the Mamluk defeat.

   • Britannica
   • Britannica

9. Ottomans capture and sack Cairo

   Jan 27, 1517Labels: Cairo, Ottoman occupation

   Ottoman forces entered Cairo after Ridaniya; the city’s fall finalized the military conquest of the Mamluk capital and enabled direct Ottoman administration in Egypt.

   • Cairo 1517
   • Ottoman Mamluk

10. Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil III taken to Istanbul

    Jan 30, 1517Labels: al-Mutawakkil III, Caliphate

    After the conquest of Egypt, the Abbasid caliph in Cairo, al-Mutawakkil III, was captured and transported to Constantinople. Later narratives of a formal “transfer” of the caliphate to Selim emerged much later and are treated critically by modern scholarship.

    • Mutawakkil
    • Selim I

11. Execution of Tuman Bay II at Bab Zuweila

    Apr 15, 1517Labels: Tuman Bay, Bab Zuweila

    The last reigning Mamluk sultan, Tuman Bay II, was executed in Cairo, symbolizing the end of Mamluk sovereignty even as former Mamluk elites continued to play major roles under Ottoman rule.

    • Tuman Bay
    • Ottoman Mamluk

12. Selim I dies; Süleyman I succeeds

    Sep 22, 1520Labels: Selim I, S leyman

    Selim I died at Çorlu in 1520; his son Süleyman I inherited an expanded empire whose incorporation of Syria and Egypt had permanently shifted Ottoman strategic priorities toward the Middle East.

    • Britannica
    • Selim I