Osman I
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| Osman I | |
| Sultan of the Ottoman Empire | |
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| Reign | 1299–1326 (27 years) |
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| Coronation | 1299 |
| Full name | Osman Gazi |
| Born | 1258, Sogut |
| Died | 1326, Sogut (aged 68) |
| Predecessor | Ertuğrul |
| Successor | Orhan I |
| Royal House | House of Osman |
| Father | Ertuğrul |
Osman I (1258, Sogut, Anatolia, Turkey –1326, Sogut) Ottoman: عثمان بن أرطغ, Turkish:Osman Gazi 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.
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[edit] Military victories
In 1301, after soundly defeating a Byzantine force near Nicaea, Osman began settling his forces closer to Byzantine controlled areas.[1] 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".[2].
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.[3] Further galvanized 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.[4] 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.
[edit] Potential rivalry
Osman’s uncle Dundar, reputed to have marched with Ertugrul from the Euphrates 70 years before, was still alive when Osman in 1299 summoned a council of his principal followers and announced to them his intention to attack the Greek fortress Keaprihissar. His uncle opposed this enterprise, concerned that it could provoke neighboring rulers, Turkish as well as Greek, to the detriment and possible destruction of Osman's tribe. Osman reportedly spoke not a word in reply but killed his old uncle on the spot, as a lesson to potential opponents.
[edit] 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 sheikh 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 sheikh 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. Because of his loyalty to Islam, his sharpness, his courage and generosity, he was nominated to be the ruler of the Kayi Clan.
[edit] Literature about Osman Ghazi
Osman has been celebrated by Oriental writers for his physical beauty, and for “his wondrous length and strength of arm.” Like Artaxerxes Longimanus of the old dynasty of Persian kings, Liu Bei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Gautama the Buddha, and the Highland chieftain of whom William Wordsworth sang, Osman is said to have been able to touch his knees with his hands when standing upright.
He was often depicted as unsurpassed in skill and grace as a horseman; and the jet black color of his hair, his beard, and eyebrows, gained him in youth the title of “Kara” (“Black”) Osman. The epithet “Kara,” a frequent occurrence in Turkish lore, implies the highest degree of manly beauty, when applied to a person. He dressed simply, in the tradition of the first warriors of Islam, and like them he wore a turban of white linen, wreathed round a red center. His loose flowing kaftan was of one color, and had long open sleeves.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Incorporates text from History of Ottoman Turks (1878)
[edit] External links
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Osman I
Born: 1258 Died: 1326 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Ertuğrul |
Leader of the Kayı Turks 1281 – 1299 |
became Sultan |
| New title |
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1299 – 1326 |
Succeeded by Orhan I |
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