Database: Prince Selim

As the youngest of the Sultan's five sons, Prince Selim grew into adulthood with little hope of ever achieving his father's blessed position. But by 1509, his fortunes had changed considerably. Two of his brothers were dead and a third - Kolkut - was too ineffectual and politically isolated to pose a threat. Only Ahmet, the Sultan's favored son, stood in his way. A grim but canny man, bursting with ambition and a love for the craft of war, Selim weighed his options for some time before making his move.

Gathering an army, Selim formulated a plan to attack Constantinople from the north. With his ailing father Bayezid II residing in Edirne to the northwest, he assumed the Janissaries would welcome him into the city and demand that Bayezid step aside. What he did not count on, however, was his father's sudden and renewed vigor for battle. Leaping to defend his throne - and by proxy Ahmet's future as Sultan - Bayezid commanded his own army to stop Selim's advance, which they did with stunning speed. Flustered, Selim retreated to Kefe, north of the Black Sea, to regroup and rethink his strategy, more determined than ever to assume the reins of the Empire.身为苏丹五个儿子中最小的一个，塞利姆王子直到成人都对于继任父亲王位一事不抱什么希望。但是在1509年，他的运气发生明显的改变。他的两个哥哥死了，而第三个哥哥 – 柯古特 - 因为太没用，加上在政治上遭到孤立，因此不构成任何威胁。只有苏丹最宠爱的儿子艾哈迈德阻挡他的即位之路。塞利姆是一个冷酷而且精明的人，充满了野心和对战争的狂热，在每一步行动之前都会经过深思熟虑。

塞利姆召集一支军队，打算从北面进攻君士坦丁堡。由于年老体衰的巴耶济德二世住在西北方的埃迪尔内，他认为禁卫军会欢迎他进城，并要求巴耶济德退位。然而他没有料到的是，他的父亲突然恢复了战斗的精神。巴耶济德反应过来，捍卫自己的王座－以及保护艾哈迈德将来的王位－他命令自已的军队前去阻止塞利姆前进，并以神速般的速度完成命令。在挫折之下，塞利姆退回黑海北方的卡法，重新集结并重新思考他的战略，比以往更加坚定地要取得帝国的统治权。