Sultan Usman I is also called Osman Gazi. Born in 1258 to Ertugrul, chief of a Turkish Qai tribe. Proved to be superior to his father in his attributes and qualities. You had all the qualities like courage, leadership, justice and fairness. He participated in many wars under his father till 1281 AD.
Then after the death of his father he became rich.
As soon as Sultan Uthman came to power, he began to conquer the frontier areas of the Byzantine Christian Empire. The reason for attacking the Byzantine territories was that they were right next to the Ottoman territory. In the beginning, Uthman’s actions were defensive. The Byzantine fortresses invaded the frontier areas of the Seljuk Empire, and Uthman, as the Seljuk sultan’s deputy, had to fight them. But he never lost the war.
Osman’s first major victory (Qaraja Hesar):
Osman laid siege to the fortress of Qaraja and soon conquered this Byzantine fortress. After his conquest, Uthman warned the Byzantines well that their competition was not easy. The Seljuk Sultan was very happy with this victory and he gave Osman the possession of Qaraja Hesar and all the surrounding area, which Uthman had acquired by force of sword. And called it “Nezbek”. Usman was allowed to issue his own coin in this area. Thus all the accessories of the kingdom became available to Uthman. In 1299, Sultan Uthman declared his independence.
In 1300, the Seljuk Empire was overthrown by the Tatar invasion of Asia Minor, and Uthman became completely independent. After that, Uthman made all the victories like an independent ruler.
The deeds of Sultan Osman
Sultan Usman Ghazi’s aim was not only to conquer other states but for a long time he was engaged in the administrative affairs of cities. Established various departments of government. Worked a lot for the welfare of the people. Some Turkish chiefs who considered this silence a weakness of Uthman were afraid of Uthman’s growing power. They started attacking the conquered areas of Uthman. In 1298, he dispelled the misconceptions of all chiefs. Appeared to beat everyone.
In 1300, he conquered the city of Yenişeher, a district of Barsa, and made it the
capital of his fledgling empire.
In 1301, Sultan Uthman defeated the Byzantine emperor’s large army at the site of The siege of Qarj.
Within 6 years, Uthman conquered the Byzantine forts and reached the Black Sea. All areas around Bursa, Nicaea, and Nicomedia were destroyed. (All these cities were later conquered by Sultan Orkhan)
Under these circumstances, the Byzantine emperor incited the Tartars to attack ‘Uthman. The Tatars invaded the conquered territories of Uthman. This time Uthman sent his son Orkhan to fight the Tartars. Orkhan defeated the Tatars. Thus the hopes of all the enemies of Sultan Uthman, including the Byzantines, were dashed.
Siege of Barsa:
In 1317, Sultan Usman Ghazi laid siege to Barsa, a very important city. The siege lasted a long time. Even 6 years later, during the same siege, Sultan Uthman died in 1323. At the time of his death, he appointed his son Orkhan as Anna’s successor. Sultan Orkhan continued the siege of Barsa and was conquered in 1326 during the reign of Barsa Orkhan. That is, the siege of Barsa lasted for about ten years.
Death of Sultan Osman:
There are two traditions regarding the death of Sultan Uthman. Sultan Uthman died in 1323 or 1324. According to some traditions, he was on his death bed at the time of Barsa’s conquest. He died after the conquest of Barsa. Before he died, he gave a long admonition to his son Orkhan. He preached justice among the people.
Sultan Uthman’s tomb is in Barsa, Turkey.
Sultan Osman’s dream, marriage, wealth:
When Usman was a boy, Sheikh Edebali was a famous Turkish scholar and influential Sufi. Sheikh Ada Bali was also an old friend of Usman’s father Ertugrul. Ada Bali often talks to Ertugrul. Sheikh Ada Bali also had a hand in Usman’s religious training. In addition, Usman was also a guest of Sheikh many times. Once Usman saw the Sheikh’s daughter and as soon as he saw her he chose her for himself. And sent a marriage message to Sheikh but Sheikh Ada Bali because he liked dervish life so he refused to marry his daughter to Osman. One night Usman Sheikh Ada was sleeping at the shrine of Bali when he had a dream, he saw that:
A crescent moon came out of the chest of Sheikh Ada Bali and gradually it became the moon of Badr and became attached to the chest of Uthman. The four great rivers of the world flowed from the roots of this tree, and the branches of this tree supported the four great mountains. The leaves of this tree resembled swords. They turned towards the continent. That continent looked like a ring. Usman just wanted to wear this ring and his eye was opened. “
Usman narrated this dream to Ada Bali. After hearing the dream, Sheikh immediately married his daughter to Usman. Now here again in history there is disagreement. According to some, the Sheikh’s daughter was a wealthy woman and from them Orkhan was born. According to some, she was Usman’s second wife, Rabia Bala Khatun. From whom his second son Aladdin was born and the wealthy woman’s father is “Omar Bay”. Anyway this
Everyone agrees with the dream. This dream is known as Osman’s Dream which was a divine sign from God to the Ottoman Empire.
Attributes and virtues of Sultan Osman Ghazi:
Sultan Uthman possessed all the qualities necessary for a founder. Your courage and bravery was extraordinary. He himself fought in the war with such fervor that he breathed new life into the soldiers. Your justice is very famous. All were equal in justice. You never even accumulated your personal wealth. They also distributed their booty. No gold, money, etc. were found in your house after your death. Only a kaftan, a salt shaker, a cotton turban, a wooden spoon and a few Arabian horses were found. However, one of his swords, which was given by Sheikh Ada Bali, still exists today. This sword of Sultan Uthman was given to every sultan who came after him and in this ceremony it was prayed that Allah create in you the same qualities as Uthman.
Murder of his uncle:
Sultan Osman shot and killed his uncle Dündar Bey himself. This was the first assassination of his own family in the Ottoman Empire. Dandar was killed because he was allying with the Byzantine emperors. In addition, he was demoralizing the army. In the meeting of Sultan Uthman, he used to call the enemy powerful and advise them not to fight. To us today this murder would seem very flawed but in terms of that era it was a minor incident.
Sultan Uthman also built a mosque in his early days which is the first mosque of the Ottoman Empire.
