Osman I
Osman I was the founder of the
Ottoman Empire. He was born in
1258 and got the title
bey (chief) from his father, Ertoğrül, as ruler of the Söğüt tribe in
1299. (Osman's son Orhan renamed the tribe
Osmanli after his father). The birth of the empire originated with the conquest of the Turkish tribe of Eskenderum and the city of Eskişehir in
1301-
03. With the fall of the Byzantine fort at Yenişehir (transl.: New Town) the turks where ready to launch a siege at the large Byzantine towns of
Bursa and
Nicaea (now İznik). Osman I died in
1326, the year before the two cities fell. He was after his death given the title of
ghazi (holy islamic warrior) by his successors.