66 Facts About Osman I

Osman I obtained the title of Uc beyligi or Uc bey.

Osman I sought to expand beyond the lands rewarded to him.

The exact date of Osman I'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.

The reason for the lack of information available about this stage of Osman I's life is due to the fact that the oldest-known source about this time period was written about a hundred years after Osman I's death.

Osman I then pledged allegiance to the Sultan of the Anatolian Seljuks, who granted him dominion over the town of Sogut on the Byzantine frontier.

The Ottoman historian Kemalpasazade mentioned that Osman I was Ertugrul's youngest son and that he was raised in the traditional nomadic Turkic ways: he learned wrestling, swordsmanship, horse riding, arrow shooting, and falconry, from an early age.

Osman I quickly mastered the previously mentioned skills, outperforming all his brothers.

Osman I was taught the principles of Islam, and was influenced by the teachings of Sufi sheikhs, mostly his mentor Sheikh Edebali, and this was reflected in his personality and lifestyle.

The first datable event in Osman I's life is the Battle of Bapheus in 1301 or 1302, in which he defeated a Byzantine force sent to counter him.

Osman I 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.

Osman I became Emir, or Bey, upon his father's death around 1281.

However, Osman I had to pull out his sword to kill his uncle for disobeying.

Osman I was warmly received by the Sufi mystic, who then ordered his release saying: "I have been waiting for someone like him for years".

From a military point of view, the location of Osman I's Beylik had a significant impact on his success as a conquering warrior.

Politically, Osman I showed great skills forming and applying new administrative systems in his beylik.

Osman I's beylik was relatively far from both the Mongol invasions and the influence of the powerful Turkoman beyliks in southern and southwestern Anatolia.

Osman I had a close relationship with a local religious leader of dervishes named Sheikh Edebali, whose daughter he married.

Osman I saw that a moon arose from the holy man's breast and came to sink in his own breast.

When Osman I awoke he told the story to the holy man, who said 'Osman I, my son, congratulations, for God has given the imperial office to you and your descendants and my daughter Malhun shall be your wife.

When Osman I married Sheikh Edebali's daughter, he secured his control over the brotherhood, and soon became their new grandmaster.

Osman I reconstituted the political culture of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in line with the needs of his beylik.

Osman I was more creative than his Turkomen neighbours in combining Turkic, Islamic, and Byzantine traditions.

Osman I forged an agreement, so his clan, whenever they move between grazing areas in the summer, leave their belongings in the Byzantine fortress of Bilecik, and upon their return, they give its governor a token of appreciation, in the form of cheese and butter made from sheep milk and preserved in animal skins, or a good carpet made from wool.

Osman I allied with the Ahyan Rum brotherhood, they formed organized groups, members in each of which worked in a single trade.

Osman I enticed many Turkomen from the region of Paphlagonia to join his forces.

However, another section of these Turkomen did not have close ties to Islam for various reasons, thus Osman I entrusted them to several sheikhs and dervishes to be given proper Islamic education and be satiated with the values that glorify conquests aiming to spread the word of Islam.

Until the end of thirteenth century, Osman I's conquests include the areas of Bilecik, Yenisehir, Inegol and Yarhisar, and Byzantine castles in these areas.

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

Meanwhile, Osman I 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 Marmara, achieving his objectives by 1308.

Ottoman tradition holds that Osman I died just after the capture of Bursa, but some scholars have argued that his death should be placed in 1324, the year of Orhan's accession.

Osman I focused on expanding at the expense of the Byzantines, and since that time, the primary Ottoman goal became the conquest of the remaining Byzantine lands.

Some accounts indicate that the first battle Osman I launched against the Byzantines was aimed to revenge a defeat that he suffered in the spring of 1284 or 1285, where the Byzantines, led by the Tekfur of Bursa, ambushed him and his men.

Osman I made his new city a staging base of his military campaigns against the Byzantines, and ordered that his name be delivered at the Friday khutbah, which was the first manifestation of his sovereignty and authority.

Osman I received several gifts from the Sultan reflecting the new high stature to the Seljuk court.

Many argue that during this time, Osman I received a message from his Byzantine friend Kose Mihal, warning him of a secret conspiracy that was being prepared by the tekfurs of Bilecik and Yarhisar.

Osman I devised a plan to escape the trap and take over the fortress.

Osman I sent forty of his soldiers carrying some of the clan's belongings to be kept in Bilecik, while most of its inhabitants were outside attending the wedding.

Osman I ordered the execution of Inegol's tekfur since he was known for persecuting his Muslim neighbours, then placed a new garrison for the town, and distributed the loot among his men.

Osman I aspired, after his multiple victories, to expand on two axes, aiming to isolate the Byzantine cities he was looking to conquer.

Osman I gave Eskisehir to his brother Gunduz bey, Karacahisar to his son Orhan, Yarhisar to Hasan Alp, and Inegol to Turgut Alp.

Osman I sent a large campaign to the fortress of Yavandhisar and annexed it.

Osman I gave the orders to start building two forts overseeing and surrounding the city, then, when the construction was completed, Osman provided the forts with large garrisons.

Osman I captured the city of Praenetos on the southern coast of Izmit, changing its name to Karamursel, after the Muslim leader who took it "Karamursel Bey".

Osman I converted to Islam and was given the title of "Bey" out of respect to his courage and patience during the long siege.

Osman I wished to attack the local Christian lord of Bilecik, while Dundar opposed it, arguing that they already had enough enemies.

Osman I had two known consorts, who were both his legal wives, and some unknown concubines:.

The fact that the Kayi tribe became known by the name of Osman I, suggests that the tribe became powerful because of his excellent leadership.

Orientalist R Rakhmanaliev writes that the historical role of Osman was that of a tribal leader, who enjoyed enormous success in uniting his people around him.

Historian F Uspensky notes that Osman relied not only on force, but cunningness.

Historian and writer Lord Kinross writes that Osman I was a wise, patient ruler, whom people sincerely respected and were ready to serve him faithfully.

Osman I had a natural sense of superiority, but he never sought to assert himself with the help of power, and therefore he was respected not only by those who were equal in position, but those who exceeded his abilities on the battlefield or on wisdom.

Herbert Gibbons believed that Osman I was "great enough to exploit masterful people".

Once he reached it, he was immediately summoned to Osman I, who was on his death-bed.

However, Osman I managed to name Orhan to be his successor, although the latter was not Osman I's first-born.

The 15th-century Ottoman historian Rouhi Celebi, who wrote down the history of the Ottoman Empire until 1481, indicates that Osman I died in 1320.

However, Uruc adiloglu, another Ottoman historian who lived during the time of Sultans Mehmed the Conqueror and Bayezid II up until 1502, says that Osman I died in 1327.

Once Osman I died, Orhan ordered the transfer of his body to Bursa, his new capital.

Osman I's grave is located today in the neighbourhood of Tophane.

The reason behind the transferring Osman I's body was due to a will Osman I did tell his son about during the early years of besieging Bursa: "My Son, when I die, bury me under that silver dome in Bursa".

Sultan Abdulhamid II constructed a shrine in Sogut where Osman I was buried for a while before he was moved to Bursa.

One endowment written in Persian and dating back to 1324, indicates that Osman I was given the titles Muhiuddin and Fakhruddin.

Osman I's descendants are distributed today in several American, European and Arab countries after the royal Ottoman family was expelled from Turkey in 1924 shortly after the declaration of the Republic, by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The Sword of Osman I was an important sword of state used during the coronation ceremony of the Ottoman Sultans starting with Sultan Murad II.

The practice started when Osman I was girt with the sword of Islam by his father-in-law Sheik Edebali.

The girding of the sword of Osman I was a vital ceremony which took place within two weeks of a sultan's accession to the throne.

The Sword of Osman I was girded on to the new sultan by the Sharif of Konya, a Mevlevi dervish, who was summoned to Constantinople for that purpose.