Recalled from Crimean exile after an aborted attempt to ensure his own succession, he defeated and killed his brother Ahmed in 1513. In 1514, responding to Safavid-inspired subversion in Asia Minor, he crushed a Persian army at Chaldiran. Turning against the Mamelukes, he next conquered Syria and Egypt and took the titles of caliph and protector of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.