Osman I, Osman Gazi or
Othman I El-Gazi (1258, Söğüt
, Anatolia
, Turkey
– 1324,
Söğüt) Ottoman:
عثمان بن أرطغرل, or Osman Bey or I.Osman or
Osman Sayed II) was the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the
Ottoman Empire. The Empire,
named after him, would prevail as a worldpower for over six
centuries.
Osman declared the independence of his own small kingdom from the
Seljuk Turks in 1299.
The westward drive of
the Mongol invasions had pushed
scores of Muslims toward Osman's Anatolian principality, a power base that Osman was quick to
consolidate. As the
Byzantine
Empire declined, the Ottoman Empire rose to take its
place.
Origins of empire
Ertuğrul, Osman's father, led the Turkic
Kayi tribe west into Anatolia, fleeing the
Mongol onslaught. His mother was named
Khaima. He pledged allegiance to
Sultan
Kayqubad I of
the Seljuk principality of Rum, who gave him permission to
establish an
emirate and expand it if he
could, at the expense of the neighboring
Byzantine provinces. This location was auspicious,
as the wealthy Byzantine Empire was weakening to his West, while in
the east, Muslim forces under the Seljuk Turks were splintered and
distracted in the face of relentless Mongol aggression and internal
bickering.
Baghdad had been sacked
by
Hulagu Khan in 1258, the very year
Osman I was born.
In 1231, Ertuğrul conquered the (Nicean)
Byzantine town of Thebasion, which was renamed to Söğüt and became the initial capital of his
territory.
Osman became chief, or
Bey, upon his father’s
death in 1281. By this time, mercenaries were streaming into his
realm from all over the Islamic world to fight against and
hopefully plunder the weakening Orthodox empire. In addition, the
Turkic population of Osman's emirate were constantly reinforced by
a flood of refugees, fleeing from the Mongols. Of these, many were
Ghazi warriors, or fighters for
Islam, border fighters who believed they were fighting for the
expansion or defense of Islam. Under the strong and able leadership
of Osman, these forces quickly proved a formidable force, and the
foundations of the Empire were quickly laid.
24 years of age at his accession, Osman had already proven his
skill as a leader and warrior. His early fortunes and exploits are
favorite subjects of Oriental writers, especially in love stories
of his wooing and winning the fair
Mal
Hatun. These legends have been romanticized by the poetical
pens which recorded them in later years. The Ottoman writers
attached great importance to this legendary, dreamlike conception
of the founder of their empire.
Ottoman historians often dwell on the prophetic significance of his
name, which means "bone-breaker", signifying the powerful energy
with which he and his followers appeared to show in the following
centuries of conquest. "Osman" also refers to
a large species of
vulture, commonly called the royal vulture, which is
considered the emblem of sovereignty and warlike power in the East,
comparable to the eagle in the nations of the West. On the other
hand, the name Osman is the Turkish variation of the Muslim name
Othman, or
Uthman.
After the
last prince of the family of Alaeddin, to whom Osman's empire was
indebted for its foundation in Asia Minor
, died, there was no one to compete with Osman for
the headship of the Turkish people of the region and dominion over
the whole peninsula, save the Emir of Karamanoğullari. A long and fierce
struggle between the descendants of Osman and Karamanogullari
princes for ascendancy commenced in Osman’s lifetime, extending
through the reigns of many of his successors. Osman himself had
gained some advantages over his Karamanli rival; but the weak and
wealthy possessions of the Byzantine Emperor in northwest Asia
Minor were more tempting marks for his ambition than the
Karamanoglu plains, and it was over the cities and armies of the
ailing Byzantine Empire that the triumphs of the last 26 years of
Osman’s life were achieved.
Osman I left his mark on the history of the region. He is
remembered as the founder of a powerful empire and one of the
symbols of the
Ghazi tradition. A considerable
portion of the
Turkish people called
themselves
Osmanlı (Ottoman) until the
dissolution of the Ottoman
Empire.
Military victories
In 1302, after soundly
defeating a
Byzantine force near
Nicaea, Osman began
settling his forces closer to
Byzantine
controlled areas. Large numbers of
Ghazi
warriors,
Islamic scholars and
dervishes began settling in Osman-controlled
areas, and migrants composed the bulk of his army. The influx of
Ghazi warriors and adventurers of differing backgrounds into these
lands spurred subsequent Ottoman rulers to title themselves
"
Sultan of
Ghazis".
Alarmed by Osman's growing influence, the
Byzantines gradually fled the
Anatolian countryside and dedicated their
resources to the Navy instead. Byzantine leadership was determined
to prevent Osman from crossing into
Europe
and attempted to contain Ottoman expansion westward.
Osman however
continued to press westward and captured the Byzantine city of
Ephesus
near the Aegean Sea
.Further strengthened by the influx of
migrants into his territory, Osman also moved eastward and seized
Byzantine domains in the Black Sea
region of Anatolia.
Osman's
last campaign, before dying of old age, was against the Byzantines
in the city of Bursa
.
Although
Osman did not physically participate in the battle, the victory at Bursa proved to be extremely
vital for the Ottomans as the city served as a staging ground
against the Byzantines in Constantinople
, and as a newly adorned capital for Osman's son,
Orhan.
A sleepless night
There is a well known story about a sleepless night Osman spent
before taking the throne. One day, when he was 19-years old,
Ertugrul went to visit a distant friend
with his family, where he would remain overnight. The host of the
house shows Osman his room and everyone retires for the night. Just
after he prepares to go to sleep Osman notices the
Quran hanging on the wall. His respect for the holy
book of
Islam keeps him from laying down, and
as he is a visitor, he cannot take the Quran out of the room. He
decides not to sleep until morning and sits beside the sofa. He
cannot bear to stay awake and falls asleep for a short time just
before dawn.
As he sleeps, he dreams he sees a crescent coming out of the chest
of his mentor,
Sheik Edebali, and
going into his body. Afterwards an enormous plane tree emerges from
his chest and covers all the sky, shading the earth, the people
enjoying and benefiting from his shade. He then wakes. When he and
his family get back to their village he recounts this dream to his
mentor, Sheik Edebali, who smiles after hearing the dream and tells
Osman that
Allah would grant him and his
descendants an enormous empire and he will see the hand of Sheikh
Edebali's daughter in marriage.
Last testament
In directing his son to continue the administrative policies set
forth by
Sheik Edebali, Osman
stated:
The Sword of Osman
The Sword of Osman ( ) was an important
sword of state used during the coronation
ceremony of the
sultans of the
Ottoman Empire. The practice started
when Osman was girt with the sword of Islam by his mentor and
father-in-law
Sheik Edebali. The
girding of the sword of Osman was a vital ceremony which took place
within two weeks of a sultan's accession to the throne.
It was
held at the tomb complex at Eyüp
, on the
Golden
Horn
waterway in the capital Constantinople. The fact that the emblem by which a sultan
was enthroned consisted of a sword was highly symbolic: it showed
that the office with which he was invested was first and foremost
that of a warrior.
The Sword of Osman was girded on to the new
sultan by the Sharif of Konya
, a Mevlevi dervish, who was
summoned to Constantinople for that purpose. Such a privilege was
reserved to devout religious leaders from the time Osman had
established his residence in Konya in 1299, before the capital was
moved to Bursa and later to
Constantinople.
Marriages and Children
He married in 1280
Valide Sultan
(1324)
Mal Hatun, daughter of Abdulaziz
Bey. He also married a daughter of Sheikh Edebali.
- Ala ed-din or Alaeddin, died in 1333
- Orhan I - son of Kamariya Sultana
Mal
- Kashif
- Tchioban
- Melik
- Hamid
- Pazarlu
See also
References
- The Fall of Constantinople 1453 by Steven Runciman, pg
32
- The Fall of Constantinople 1453 by Steven Runciman, pg.
33
- Hasluck 2007, pp.
604–622
- Bagley 1969, p. 2
- Incorporates text from History of Ottoman Turks (1878)
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