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Ankara July 28, 1402
Strategic Context
The clash between the Timurid and Ottoman Empires is not surprising in the early 1400s. Tamerlane’s Timurids conquer Syria and Iraq while Bayezid I’s Ottomans conquer eastern Anatolia. When Tamerlane invades eastern Anatolia in early summer 1402, Bayezid breaks off his siege of Byzantine Constantinople and marches east to face him. Along the way, he abandons a strong position at Ankara only for the Timurid army to vanish. Tamerlane completely evades Bayezid to only to reappear behind the Ottoman army at Ankara. Bayezid marches his exhausted army west to meet the Timurid invaders. Tamerlane diverts the Cubuk Creek and destroys all the wells around Ankara while he awaits his opponent; the Ottomans arrive at Ankara to find deceivingly sufficient fresh water.
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Stakes
+ A Timurid victory would force the Ottoman Empire to abandon any immediate campaigns against Byzantium.
+ An Ottoman victory would strengthen the Empire as a whole and eliminate the Timurid threat to western lands.
By Jonathan Webb, 2009

2. Ankara, 1402 Strength Timurids Well Ottomans Exhausted Dehydrated
Tamerlane
Bayezid I
80,000
100,000
32 war elephants
By Jonathan Webb, 2009

3. Map of the Middle East c. 1400

4. Timurids (Tamerlane) Ottomans (Bayezid)
The battlefield consists of a large plain cornered by mountains on two sides. The Cubuk Creek runs down from the western mountains into a reservoir and then runs south across the plain; there are also numerous other shallow canals running east off the Cubuk Creek (not shown). The only town is tiny Cubuk between the mountains, while Ankara is southeast off-map. The key terrain is the Cubuk Creek reservoir the only fresh water source near the battlefield. Access to water can be controlled by any side which occupies the reservoir and is able to divert its flow.
Timurids
(Tamerlane)
Cubuk
Cubuk Creek
Ottomans
(Bayezid)

5. War elephants Janissary infantry
Tamerlane launches an attack with his center and envelops the Ottoman position with his cavalry wings. Bayezid’s infantry flee but the majority of his cavalry stay to assist the determined Janissaries, which are nearly surrounded.
The Timurid cavalry wings defeat their counterparts and completely surround the Janissary position. Tamerlane’s war elephants and infantry break through the Janissary entrenchment, forcing them to withdraw. Their withdrawal is blocked by Timurid cavalry. Bayezid and his elite formation fight on but – attacked on all sides – must surrender.
The attack on the Timurid right wing is fierce but falters when the Black Tartar cavalry, serving on the Ottoman left wing, betray Bayezid. The Ottoman left wing ceases to exist while the right wing is counterattacked by Tamerlane’s left wing, reinforced by his reserve. The Ottoman right wing is routed, leaving Bayezid with only his center forces.
Bayezid orders his two wings to attack the opposing Timurid wings. On the Ottoman right wing, Tamerlane uses a barrage of arrows and naphtha fireballs to disorder the Ottoman attack before it is counterattacked by the Timurid left wing. Meanwhile, the Ottoman left wing succeeds in engaging the Timurid right wing with an initially strong attack.
Tamerlane anchors his line on two safe flanks, a river and a height. He places his war elephants in front of his infantry in the center, flanked by cavalry with a vanguard of cavalry for each wing. Tamerlane holds a cavalry force back as a reserve. Bayezid deploys his army in a crescent formation to envelop the Timurid force. Bayezid centers his position around his entrenched, protected, elite Janissaries. They are flanked by infantry and backed by cavalry, the wings consisting of strong cavalry forces. The Ottomans’ fresh water sources suddenly dry up due tf Tamerlane’s diversion of the Cubuk Creek and well sabotage.
Timurids
(Tamerlane)
80,000
Ottomans
(Bayezid I)
100,000
Timurids
(Tamerlane)
Cubuk
Timurids Ottomans
Cavalry Cavalry
Infantry Infantry
War elephants Janissary infantry
Cubuk Creek
Symbol guide
Ottomans
(Bayezid)
Landmarks

6. Ankara, 1402 Casualties & Aftermath
Timurids:
Ottomans:
15,000 or
13%
40,000 or
40%
Tamerlane refused to ransom Bayezid after the battle, preferring to humiliate him until his death in Tamerlane planned an invasion of China thereafter but died before he could realize his ambition. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire was left to be bickered over by Bayezid’s sons in a civil war until a central authority emerged to regain control.
By Jonathan Webb, 2009

7. The Art of Battle: Animated Battle Maps
By Jonathan Webb, 2009