The Ottomans are reduced to Mongol vassals …
Years: 1402 - 1402
The Ottomans are reduced to Mongol vassals but their empire in Europe is left largely untouched.
However, Bayezid's capture by Timur has thrown the young Ottoman state into a condition of near-collapse.
At this time, a strong European crusade might manage to push the Ottomans out of Europe altogether, but weakness and division south of the Danube and diversion to other matters to the north leaves an opportunity for the Ottomans to restore what has been torn asunder without significant loss.
Internal divisions, however, are to hinder Ottoman efforts to restore their power during a period that will come to be known as the Interregnum (1402-13), during which four of Bayezid's sons will compete for the right to rule the entire empire.
His eldest son Süleyman has assumed control in Rumelia (Balkan lands under Ottoman control), establishing a capital at Edirne, and gained the support of the Christian vassals and those who had stimulated Bayezid to turn toward conquest in the East.
