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Bayezid was born in Demotika in Thrace. The son of Mehmed II the Conqueror, Bayezid ascended the Ottoman throne in 1481. Like his father, Bayezid was a patron of western and eastern culture and unlike many other Sultans worked hard to ensure a smooth running of domestic poltics which earned him the epithet of "the Just". Throughout his reign, Bayezid engaged in numerous campaigns to conquer the Venetian-held despotate of Morea, accurately defining this region as the key to future Ottoman naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean. The last of these wars ended in 1501 with Bayezid in control of the main citadels of Mistra and Monemvasia.

Bayezid's overriding concern was the quarrel with his brother Cem, who claimed the throne and sought military backing from the Knights of St John in RhodesThis article is about the Greek island of Rhodes. For other uses, see Rhodes (disambiguation). Rhodes Greek (Rodos), is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and easternmost of the major islands of Greece in the Aegean Sea. It lies approximately 11 miles. Eventually the Knights handed Cem over to Pope Clement VIIIClement VIII ne Ippolito Aldobrandini ( March 1536 March 5, 1605) was pope from 1592 to 1605. Born Ippolito Aldobrandini, Clement VIII was elected on January 30, 1592. The most remarkable event of his reign was the reconciliation to the church of Henry IV. The Pope thought of using Cem as a tool to drive the Turks out of Europe, but as the Papal Crusade failed to come to fruition, Cem was left to fester and die in a Neapolitan prison.

Rebellions in the east, such as that of the Kizil BashKizil Bash or quizilbash or "Red Heads" because they wore a distintive red had with 12 pleates. They accepted the nomadic Turkish conception of leadership that was elicited by "Twlever Shi ism". Turks loved strong leaders even if propaganda played a role, plagued much of Bayezid's reign and were often backed by the ShahShah (Persian: ), from the Avestan word khshathra "king", is the Persian term for a monarch and used by the former rulers of Persia (present-day Iran) as well as the rulers of the Persian Empire. The title roughly translates as Emperor in English as the m of PersiaPersia is the historical name for the state of Iran. The name was used in the West due to the ancient Greek name for Iran, Persis''. Persia is used to describe the nation of Iran, its people, or its ancient empire. The name Persia comes from a province in, Ismail , who was eager to promote Shi'ismShi‘as (the adjective in Arabic is ''shi‘i English has traditionally used Shiite make up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 20% 25% of all Muslims. The largest sect, the Sunni Muslims, make up about 75% of all Muslims). to undermine the authority of the Ottoman state. Ottoman authority in AnatoliaAnatolia ( Greek ανατολη anatole for "rising of the sun" or "East"; compare " Orient" and " Levant", by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana "mother" and dolu "filled"), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor was indeed seriously threatened during this period, and at one point Bayezid's grand vizier, Ali Pasha, was killed in battle against rebels.

On September 14, 1509, Constantinople was devastated by an earthquake. Bayezid's final years saw a succession battle between his sons Selim and Ahmed. Ahmed, the older of the two claiments had won a battle against the Karaman Turks and their Safavid allies in Asia Minor and now marched on Constantinople to exploit his triumph. Fearing for his safety, Selim staged a revolt in Thrace but was defeated by Bayezid and forced to flee to the Crimea ( 1511). At this point, Bayezid developed fears that Ahmed might in turn kill him to gain the throne and refused to allow his son to enter Constantinople.

Selim returned from the Crimea and, with support from the Janissaries, defeated and killed Ahmed. Bayezid then abdicated the throne on April 25, 1512. He departed for retirement in his native Demotika, but he died along the way.