THE COURAGE, FAITHFULNESS AND HEROISM OF GHAZI SULTAN YLDIRIM BAIEZID I (1389-1413)

[Shahzad Shameem]

May Allah bless us with Sultans and Generals like Bayazid, Salahuddin
and Nuruddian Zangi!! Those were our forefathers and our leaders. We
are humiliated today because we have the likes of Zardari as our
leaders, astaghfurullah!!

THE COURAGE, FAITHFULNESS AND HEROISM OF GHAZI SULTAN YLDIRIM BAIEZID
I (1389-1413)

When the united Crusader army entered the Ottoman lands with the aim
of destroying the Ottomans, rescuing Byzantine and taking back
Jerusalem which was in the hands of the Muslims, they laid siege to
the fortress of Nikopol on the shore of the Danube River.

When Yildirim Bayazid was informed of this,
he immediately went to Nikopol as fast as lightning as befitting his
name83. In fact in order to command the Muslims not to cede the
fortress he mounted his horse in the middle of the night and
stealthily rode through the enemy forces to reach the fortress where
he called out to the commander of the fortress:

“Look here Dogan!”

Dogan Bey who recognised the voice of the Sultan immediately, answered
in great surprise:

“At your service your Majesty”

Sultan Yildirim Bayazid gave his commands briefly:

“Dogan! I have come here with my army. Under no circumstances are you
to surrender this fortress”.

And then he quickly returned amongst the darkness and disappeared. The
next day the bloody battle that took place between the large crusader
army ended with the clear victory of Yildirim Bayazid. All of the
European nations, large and small, had sent soldiers to this army of
Crusaders. Amongst them were ten thousand French knights who had
boasted:

“If the skies come crashing down we will hold them up with our spears”.

But it was not to be for the Crusaders melted away in the face of the
manoeuvres of the Ottomans, kneaded by their faith.

That day Yildirim Bayazid was wounded in many different parts of his
body and when his horse was also wounded he fell to the ground.
However he took no heed of this and mounted another horse and
commanded the battle with all his strength until they were bestowed
with victory.

After the victory at Nikopol, Yildirim Bayazid Han took many knights
and noblemen as prisoners of war. Amongst the prisoners was the famous
French knight, Fearless Jean. Yildirim Bayazid Han let them go free in
return for a ransom. In addition the day they were to return to their
homelands he gave them a feast. When they reflected on the humane
behaviour of the Sultan and then considered their own torturous and
vile treatment of their own prisoners, all of the knights felt very
ashamed and said:

“From this moment on we swear on our honour that we will never again
stand against the Sultan of Anatolia and Rumelia nor use our swords
against him…”

Upon these words which they had spoken out of gratitude, the great
Sultan Yildirim Bayazid Han, a model of courage against the
unbelievers, addressed the knights with his strong voice:

“I am returning the oath made by Fearless Jean and his friends that
they will never again take up arms against me. No, indeed! I say go
back, gather up new armies and come back against me. Know that this
act of yours will bring another opportunity for victory for me. For I
am a Sultan conscious of the fact that I have come to this world in
order to gain the pleasure of Almighty Allah by exalting His religion.
So from this aspect the help and providence of Allah is with us. And
whoever’s helper is Allah there is no force or might who can defeat
them!...”
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Photo: May Allah bless us with Sultans and Generals like Bayazid,
Salahuddin and Nuruddian Zangi!! Those were our forefathers and our
leaders. We are humiliated today because we have the likes of Zardari
as our leaders, astaghfurullah!! THE COURAGE, FAITHFULNESS AND HEROISM
OF GHAZI SULTAN YLDIRIM BAIEZID I (1389-1413) When the united Crusader
army entered the Ottoman lands with the aim of destroying the
Ottomans, rescuing Byzantine and taking back Jerusalem which was in
the hands of the Muslims, they laid siege to the fortress of Nikopol
on the shore of the Danube River. When Yildirim Bayazid was informed
of this, he immediately went to Nikopol as fast as lightning as
befitting his name83. In fact in order to command the Muslims not to
cede the fortress he mounted his horse in the middle of the night and
stealthily rode through the enemy forces to reach the fortress where
he called out to the commander of the fortress: “Look here Dogan!”
Dogan Bey who recognised the voice of the Sultan immediately, answered
in great surprise: “At your service your Majesty” Sultan Yildirim
Bayazid gave his commands briefly: “Dogan! I have come here with my
army. Under no circumstances are you to surrender this fortress”. And
then he quickly returned amongst the darkness and disappeared. The
next day the bloody battle that took place between the large crusader
army ended with the clear victory of Yildirim Bayazid. All of the
European nations, large and small, had sent soldiers to this army of
Crusaders. Amongst them were ten thousand French knights who had
boasted: “If the skies come crashing down we will hold them up with
our spears”. But it was not to be for the Crusaders melted away in the
face of the manoeuvres of the Ottomans, kneaded by their faith. That
day Yildirim Bayazid was wounded in many different parts of his body
and when his horse was also wounded he fell to the ground. However he
took no heed of this and mounted another horse and commanded the
battle with all his strength until they were bestowed with victory.
After the victory at Nikopol, Yildirim Bayazid Han took many knights
and noblemen as prisoners of war. Amongst the prisoners was the famous
French knight, Fearless Jean. Yildirim Bayazid Han let them go free in
return for a ransom. In addition the day they were to return to their
homelands he gave them a feast. When they reflected on the humane
behaviour of the Sultan and then considered their own torturous and
vile treatment of their own prisoners, all of the knights felt very
ashamed and said: “From this moment on we swear on our honour that we
will never again stand against the Sultan of Anatolia and Rumelia nor
use our swords against him…” Upon these words which they had spoken
out of gratitude, the great Sultan Yildirim Bayazid Han, a model of
courage against the unbelievers, addressed the knights with his strong
voice: “I am returning the oath made by Fearless Jean and his friends
that they will never again take up arms against me. No, indeed! I say
go back, gather up new armies and come back against me. Know that this
act of yours will bring another opportunity for victory for me. For I
am a Sultan conscious of the fact that I have come to this world in
order to gain the pleasure of Almighty Allah by exalting His religion.
So from this aspect the help and providence of Allah is with us. And
whoever’s helper is Allah there is no force or might who can defeat
them!...”




--
*Shahzad Shameem*