Osman I

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Osman Gazi redirects here. For the municipality, see Osmangazi. For other uses, see
Osman Gazi (disambiguation).
Osman Gazi
????? ????
Bey
Ghazi
Osman Gazi2.jpg
An imagined portrait of Osman I
1st Ottoman Sultan (Bey)
Reign c. 1299 ? 13234
Successor Orhan
Born Unknown[1]
Died 13234[2]
Spouse Malhun Hatun
Rabia Bala Hatun
Issue See below
Full name
Osman bin Ertugrul
Ottoman Turkish ????? ?????
Turkish Osman Gazi
Dynasty Ottoman
Father Ertugrul
Mother Unknown[3]
Religion Sunni Islam
This article contains Ottoman Turkish text, written from right to left with some
Arabic letters and additional symbols joined. Without proper rendering support, you
may see unjoined letters or other symbols.
Osman I or Osman Gazi (Ottoman Turkish ????? ????? ?Osman Gazi; Turkish I. Osman,
Osman Gazi, Osman Bey, Osman Han, Osman Alp; died 13234),[1][2] sometimes
transliterated archaically as Othman, was the leader of the Ottoman Turks and the
founder of the Ottoman dynasty. He and the dynasty bearing his name later
established and ruled the nascent Ottoman Empire (then known as the Ottoman Beylik
or Emirate). The state, while only a small principality during Osman's lifetime,
transformed into a world empire in the centuries after his death.[4] It existed
until shortly after the end of World War I. Historians commonly mark the end date
at the abolition of the sultanate in 1922, or the proclamation of the Republic of
Turkey in 1923, or the abolition of the caliphate in 1924.

Due to the scarcity of historical sources dating from his lifetime, very little
factual information is known about him. Not a single written source survives from
Osman's reign.[5] The Ottomans did not record the history of Osman's life until the
fifteenth century, more than a hundred years after his death.[6] Because of this,
it is very challenging for historians to differentiate between fact and myth in the
many stories told about him.[7] One historian has even gone so far as to declare it
impossible, describing the period of Osman's life as a black hole.[8]

According to later Ottoman tradition, Osman's ancestors were descendants of the

Kayi tribe of Oghuz Turks.[9] The Ottoman principality was just one of many
Anatolian beyliks that emerged in the second half of the thirteenth century.
Situated in the region of Bithynia, Osman's principality was particularly well-
placed to launch attacks on the vulnerable Byzantine Empire, which his descendants
would eventually go on to conquer.

Contents [hide]
1 Osman's name
2 Origin of the Ottoman Empire
3 Osman's Dream
4 Military victories
5 Family
5.1 Marriages
5.2 Sons
5.3 Daughter
6 The Sword of Osman
7 See also
8 References
9 Bibliography
10 External links
Osman's name[edit]
Some scholars have argued that Osman's original name was Turkish, probably Atman or
Ataman, and was only later changed to ?Osman, of Arabic origin. The earliest
Byzantine sources, including Osman's contemporary George Pachymeres, spell his name
as ?t???? (Atouman) or ?t?? (Atman), whereas Greek sources regularly render both
the Arabic form ?Uthman and the Turkish version ?Osman with ?, t?, or ts. An early
Arabic source mentioning him also writes ? rather than ? in one instance. Osman may
thus have adopted the more prestigious Muslim name later in his life.[10]

Origin of the Ottoman Empire[edit]

For more details on this topic, see Rise of the Ottoman Empire and Gaza Thesis.

18th century bust of Osman Gazi

The exact date of Osman's birth is unknown, and very little is known about his
early life and origins due to the scarcity of sources and the many myths and
legends which came to be told about him by the Ottomans in later centuries.[1][11]
He was most likely born around the middle of the thirteenth century, possibly in
12545, the date given by the sixteenth-century Ottoman historian Kemalpasazade.[12]
According to Ottoman tradition, Osman's father Ertugrul led the Turkic Kayi tribe
west from Central Asia into Anatolia, fleeing the Mongol onslaught. He then pledged
allegiance to the Sultan of the Anatolian Seljuks, who granted him dominion over
the town of Sgt on the Byzantine frontier.[13] This connection between Ertugrul
and the Seljuks, however, was largely invented by court chroniclers a century
later, and the true origins of the Ottomans thus remain obscure.[14]

Area of the Ottoman Beylik during the reign of Osman I.

Osman became chief, or Bey, upon his fathers death (c. 1280).[13] Nothing is known
for certain about Osman's early activities, except that he controlled the region
around the town of Sgt and from there launched raids against the neighboring
Byzantine Empire. The first datable event in Osman's life is the Battle of Bapheus
in 1301 or 1302, in which he defeated a Byzantine force sent to counter him.[15]

Osman appears to have followed the strategy of increasing his territories at the
expense of the Byzantines while avoiding conflict with his more powerful Turkish
neighbors.[13] His first advances were through the passes which lead from the
barren areas of northern Phrygia near modern Eskisehir into the more fertile plains
of Bithynia; according to Stanford Shaw, these conquests were achieved against the
local Byzantine nobles, some of whom were defeated in battle, others being absorbed
peacefully by purchase contracts, marriage contracts, and the like.[16]

These early victories and exploits are favorite subjects of Ottoman 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.[citation needed]

Osman's Dream[edit]
Main article Osman's Dream
Osman I had a close relationship with a local religious leader of dervishes named
Sheikh Edebali, whose daughter he married. A story emerged among later Ottoman
writers to explain the relationship between the two men, in which Osman had a dream
while staying in the Sheikh's house.[17] The story appears in the late fifteenth-
century chronicle of Asikpasazade as follows

He saw that a moon arose from the holy man's breast and came to sink in his own
breast. A tree then sprouted from his navel and its shade compassed the world.
Beneath this shade there were mountains, and streams flowed forth from the foot of
each mountain. Some people drank from these running waters, others watered gardens,
while yet others caused fountains to flow. When Osman awoke he told the story to
the holy man, who said 'Osman, my son, congratulations, for God has given the
imperial office to you and your descendants and my daughter Malhun shall be your
wife.[18]

The dream became an important foundational myth for the empire, imbuing the House
of Osman with God-given authority over the earth and providing its fifteenth-
century audience with an explanation for Ottoman success.[19] The dream story may
also have served as a form of compact just as God promised to provide Osman and his
descendants with sovereignty, it was also implicit that it was the duty of Osman to
provide his subjects with prosperity.[20]

Military victories[edit]

Illustration of Osman rallying Gazi warriors into battle.

According to Shaw, Osman's first real conquests followed the collapse of Seljuk
authority when he was able to occupy the fortresses of Eskisehir and Karacahisar.
Then he captured the first significant city in his territories, Yenisehir, which
became the Ottoman capital.[16]

In 1302, after soundly defeating a Byzantine force near Nicaea, Osman began
settling his forces closer to Byzantine controlled areas.[21]

Alarmed by Osman's growing influence, the Byzantines gradually fled the Anatolian
countryside. Byzantine leadership attempted to contain Ottoman expansion, but their
efforts were poorly organized and ineffectual. Meanwhile, Osman spent the remainder
of his reign expanding his control in two directions, north along the course of the
Sakarya River and southwest towards the Sea of Marmora, achieving his objectives by
1308.[16] That same year his followers participated in conquest of the Byzantine
city of Ephesus near the Aegean Sea, thus capturing the last Byzantine city on the
coast, although the city became part of the domain of the Emir of Aydin.[21]

Osman's last campaign was against the city of Bursa.[22] 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.

Family[edit]

Trbe (tomb) of Osman Gazi in Bursa

Due to the scarcity of sources about his life, very little is known about Osman's
family relations. According to certain fifteenth-century Ottoman writers, Osman was
descended from the Kayi branch of the Oghuz Turks, a claim which later became part
of the official Ottoman genealogy and was eventually enshrined in the Turkish
Nationalist historical tradition with the writings of M. F. Kprl.[23] However,
the claim to Kayi lineage does not appear in the earliest extant Ottoman
genealogies. Thus many scholars of the early Ottomans regard it as a later
fabrication meant to shore up dynastic legitimacy with regard to the empire's
Turkish rivals in Anatolia.[9]

It is very difficult for historians to determine what is factual and what is

legendary about the many stories the Ottomans told about Osman and his exploits,
and the Ottoman sources do not always agree with each other.[24] According to one
story, Osman had an uncle named Dndar with whom he had a quarrel early in his
career. Osman wished to attack the local Christian lord of Bilecik, while Dndar
opposed it, arguing that they already had enough enemies. Interpreting this as a
challenge to his leadership position, Osman shot and killed his uncle with an
arrow.[25] This story does not appear in many later Ottoman historical works. If it
were true, it means that it was likely covered up in order to avoid tarnishing the
reputation of the Ottoman dynasty's founder with the murder of a family member. It
may also indicate an important change in the relationship of the Ottomans with
their neighbors, shifting from relatively peaceful accommodation to a more
aggressive policy of conquest.[26]

Marriages[edit]
Malhun Hatun, daughter of mer Abdlaziz Bey.[citation needed]
Rabia Bala Hatun, daughter of Sheikh Edebali[citation needed]
Sons[edit]
Alaeddin Pasha died in 1332, son of Rabia Bala Hatun[citation needed]
Orhan I son of Malhun Hatun.[27]
oban Bey[28] (buried in Sgt);[29]
Melik Bey[28] (buried in Sgt);[29]
Hamid Bey[28] (buried in Sgt);[29]