Instead, one of the bloodiest genocides in world history followed, with approximately a million casualties. The leader of a nearby Orghuz-Turkic clan, Ertugrul, heard of these atrocities and decided to leave the region. Arriving in the declining Seljuk Empire, the Seljuk Sultan at Konya gave him a piece of land near Sogut in exchange for his service.
Nobody could have foreseen it, but this band of refugees would establish the mighty Ottoman Empire. Initial Expansion (1301-1331) Chroniclers describe how in the early 14th century, under Osman Gazi, groups of Turkic nomadic warriors accumulated around the city of Sogut. They were one of many, often Islamic, Turkic tribes to settle on the peninsula.
The strongest actors surely were the decaying Byzantine Empire, the Rum Sultanate and the Mongol Ilkhanate. Smaller beyliks such as the Teke, Aydinids, Hamidids, Sarukhandids, Karamanids and Germiyanids all lay lodged between these states. Nothing yet gave away that a beylik of equal size and equal mediocrity, the beylik of Osman, would grow to be one of the strongest Empires the world has ever seen.
Osman first pops up in historical sources in descriptions of the 1301 Battle of Bapheus, fought between him and the Byzantines. He emerged victorious, with the most significant gain being that his beylik became an independent political unit.
He subsequently conquered fortresses in the region, cutting the connection between Bursa and Iznik, leaving them only able to communicate via small seaports. His victories made Osman famous and his name travelled far and wide, attracting nomadic warriors from all over the peninsula.
Byzantine emperor Andronicus II recognised the growing threat. He even offered a Byzantine’s princess’ hand to the Ilkhanid khan Ghazan and his brother in the hopes to receive support against the small beylik.
To no avail, because Osman’s son, Orhan, defeated an Ilkhan invasion in Eskisehir. In 1303 Andronicus hired Roger de Flor’s Catalan mercenaries to curb Osman’s ambition. There was a significant problem with mercenaries though: they often marauded on their own accord. They inflicted more damage on Byzantine territories than against the Ottomans, raiding the Dardanelles Straits and even raiding together with other Turkic tribes.
Byzantine governors in the periphery also realised they could not count on the old empire for their defence, and some defected to Osman. Others were persuaded with gifts, strategic alliances or the establishment of trading networks. The Seljuk Rum Sultanate and Ilkhanate suffered internal disorder and could not adequately respond to the growing Ottoman threat.
For the remainder of his reign, Osman expanded his territories towards the north to the Black Sea and southwest towards the Sea of Marmara. By the 1320s, Osman minted his own coins and established an advanced military and administrative infrastructure. Still, because of his lack of siege equipment, he could not capture large strategic cities or move confidently against other strong Turkic tribes such as the Aydin and Karasi.
Still, with the capture of Mudanya in 1321, Bursa was entirely cut off from the rest of Byzantium. Osman passed away in 1324, increasing his territory significantly while respecting the strong fortifications surrounding his territories. His son, Orhan, succeeded him. He embraced Sunni Islam as the foundation for the state he built: he erected theological schools, and administrators had to be familiar with Islamic law. Still, modern historiography considers the main impetus of expansion to have been the search for ‘booty, plunder and slaves,’ rather than any form of pure Holy Islamic War.
The fact intermarriages between Christians and Muslims were common supports this notion, not to mention Orhan’s adopted policy of using Christian mercenaries during military campaigns. Even Orhan himself married Theodora Kantakouzene, daughter of the Byzantine emperor. After years of strategic isolation, Orhan captured Bursa in 1326. He turned it into the capital of the Ottoman beylik and reburied his father there.
Moroccan scholar and explorer Ibn Battuta wrote that Orhan exceeded the other Turkic chieftains in wealth and territory by this time. Historiography marks this moment as the founding of the Ottoman Empire, and many centuries of military conquest followed. Although Ottoman territory rapidly expanded, they guaranteed enough soldiers to control territories and keep up prolonged besiegements in terms of supplies.
Even before incorporating gunpowder, the Ottomans were a force to be reckoned with thanks to their size and ability to cut off supply lines from besieged objectives. Subduing Byzantium (1327-1347) In 1327 the Bulgarian Tsar Michael Shishmann invaded Thracia, twice nearly capturing Adrianople.
Both attacks were repelled, and with newfound confidence, Emperor Andronicus took up arms against the Ottoman threat in the east. The subsequent battle of Izmit ended in a stalemate, and the city would not enter Ottoman hands for another decade. The major Byzantine force was routed towards Constantinople soon after. In 1331 the city of Iznik surrendered after a prolonged besiegement.
By 1337 the city of Izmit fell, and one year later, Uskudar was conquered. Orhan forged alliances with other Turkic tribes and Christians such as Genoese mercenaries, constantly increasing his manpower. And Byzantium couldn’t adequately respond. Andronicus passed away in 1341, and the already weakened empire descended into civil war as John VI faced the regents of Andronicus’ 9-year-old son. In addition, external forces preyed on Byzantium, such as Tsar Ivan Alexander and the Serbian Stefan Dusan.
Meanwhile, the Karasids controlled much of the Anatolian western coastline to the south and even conducted raids in mainland Byzantium. When the Karasids suffered from internal instability in the 1340s, instead of Byzantium using it to their advantage, Orhan swiftly annexed the strategically located beylik. The importance of gaining access to seaports cannot be overstated.
Orhan appointed his son Suleyman as bey of Karasi. Kantakouzenos realised the value of the Ottomans as allies. Bethrothing his daughter to Orhan in 1346, he secured military aid, some 6000 soldiers. With Orhan’s help, he won the civil war and was appointed as senior emperor John VI. Having been instrumental in his victory, Orhan received the right to cross the Dardanelles strait and raid Thrace.
John reigned for eight years, giving the Ottomans ample time to familiarise themselves with everything on the European shores. Into Europe (1354-1389) With virtually no opposition to raiding the European mainland, the Ottomans rapidly accumulated riches and expanded their wealth. Having the funds to afford a large military, even more Turkic people living in Anatolia joined their service. Suleyman was Orhan’s heir apparent.
This young man was the architect behind the expansion into Thrace. Under his command in 1352, the Ottomans routed a Serbian-Bulgarian force marching against John VI. As a reward, he received the fort of Tzympe, establishing a military base to launch raiding parties from the Gallipoli peninsula, which he seized in its entirety two years later.
There wasn’t much John VI could do, and internal instability soon led to his abdication. All the while, Suleyman launched raids as far as Adrianople. In 1357 during an unfortunate hunting accident, the heir apparent died. Five years later, Orhan too passed away, and a struggle broke out for control between the brothers Murad and Halil. Murad came out on top and had Halil executed, cementing his power.
The first years of Murad’s reign were marked by convincing other Turkic tribes to align themselves with the Ottomans. He backed up his requests with force, and captured lands to the west while also capturing black seaports. Then, having neutralised any opposition on the peninsula, he set his eyes on Europe.
Under Murad, the Ottoman threat first became apparent at European courts. In his thirst for expansion, he made up for what he lacked in literacy (the man could not even sign documents with his own name). With Gallipoli, he inherited the ideal base. He bypassed the fortified Constantinople and moved up north. Ottoman raids culminated in Lala Shahin Pasha’s conquest of Adrianople, a major Byzantine city, somewhere in the 1360s. Renaming it Edirne, the strategic location facilitated expansion into the Balkans.
Still, it would not be until 1376 for Murad to make it his capital. Bursa had served them well for nearly three decades, but it was time to focus on conquering new lands, with settlers from Anatolia moving to the new territories.
Capturing Philippopolis in 1363, he cut off the Bulgarians from Byzantium. John V could only look on as the Ottomans surrounded and cut off his city. To preserve his position, he acknowledged Murad’s suzerainty, rendering him no more than an Ottoman vassal. Three years later the Pope issued a bull proclaiming a Crusade against the Ottomans.
Only Count Amadeus II of Savoy answered the call, and with his fleet he managed to capture Gallipoli, handing it over to Byzantium. Still, actively encouraging Turkic tribesmen to reside in the Balkan and having a well-established position there, this loss didn’t affect Murad too much. Murad’s empire also came uncomfortably close to the Serbian empire, suffering from its own internal problems. In 1355 Serbian Emperor Stefan Dusan passed away. Internal turmoil followed, seeing his indecisive son Stefan Urosh V ascend to the throne, unable to control Serbian nobles.
Murad’s capture of Adrianople united the Bulgars, Serbs, Wallachians and Hungarians against him. In 1371 a multi-ethnic force of between 30 and 60-thousand soldiers under the Serbian king marched onto Adrianople. Close by the city, Murad’s forces ambushed them at night. This battle, the ‘Destruction of the Serbs’ as the Ottomans referred to it, led to thousands killed and drowned in the subsequent rout.
If anything, it confirmed the Ottoman’s position in the Balkans. Many smaller local lords and towns realised they would not be able to defeat the Ottomans. And Murad realised the potential of retaining the administrative infrastructure of territories, saving him the hassle of erecting a new system.
So he offered many regions the option to maintain their current rulers if they became Ottoman vassals, paying tribute, tax and supplying soldiers when required. Employing this tactic, Murad rallied smaller lords in the Balkan against the larger northern armies sent to try and expel the Ottomans. In 1371 he began his campaign against Macedonia.
He captured Monastir in 1382, three years later he captured Sofia and forced Sishman to accept Ottoman suzerainty. The new Byzantine emperor Andronicus had to renew the ties of vassalage, once again surrendering Gallipoli to the Ottomans. One year later, the Serbian city of Nis and Venetian-controlled Thessalonika surrendered. Among the feudal lords forced to accept Ottoman suzerainty was Lazar, controlling the most powerful state in the disintegrated Serbian Empire: Moravian Serbia.
He must have grown worried around the time the Ottomans captured Sofia, and the capture of Nis and vassalage of Serbian feudal lords didn’t contribute to his sense of security. In 1386, gathering a Serbian-Bosnian army, he defeated the local Ottoman commander Lala Sahin Pasha at Plotnik.
Achieving several minor victories, Wallachians, Bulgarians, Albanians and Hungarians joined the ranks of Lazar’s army to repel the Ottoman yoke. In response, Murad cut off Bulgaria from the league. Then, he began his march towards Lazar’s army, while dispatching Christian auxiliary and mercenary troops to crush an invasion by the Karaman tribe in Anatolia. On his way through the Balkan to meet Lazar’s army many feudal lords joined him, whether it was voluntary or under pressure.
Murad’s epic march culminated in the June 1389 Battle of Kosovo. The battle was a legendary one entering history books. Murad took personal command of his forces, joined by Bulgarian princes, lesser Serbian nobles and Turkoman princes. Lazar’s forces initially gained the upper hand, but during battle part of his army defected.
Murad was killed upon which his son Bayezid assumed command. Lazar of Serbia was captured and executed. Stefan Lazarevic, his son, succeeded him as a loyal Ottoman vassal. The Ottomans won the battle, crushing any organised resistance in the Balkan. Only three decades after Orhan had first crossed into Europe, the Ottomans controlled all of southeastern Europe except Bosnia, Albania and part of Greece. And with Bayezid, as the most ambitious leader of the Ottomans thus far, the history of the mighty Empire was about to begin…