No more than in the case of Mohammed could such far-reaching consequences have been detected in the obscure beginnings of the people over whom Osman began to rule as an independent prince. Nearly a century before, his ancestor Souliman had led a migration from Khorassan; with tribal adherents numbering 150,000, he took possession of lands near Erzendjan and Akhlath; then came the invasion of the Mongols, which brought ruin to these plans of settlement. Souliman, in his flight from the invaders, was drowned as he was crossing the Euphrates at a place called to-day Turk-Mesari, the tomb of the Turk. On his death the nomads who followed his leadership were dispersed; even his four sons failed to keep together. Two returned to the place from which they had come, while the other two, Dundar and Ertoghroul, keeping four hundred families with them, occupied territories near Erzeroum. But as the proximity of the Mongols held out no prospect of peaceful possession, the two brothers continued their march westward, and finally put themselves under the protection of Ala-ed-Din I, Sultan of the Seldjouks. (1219-1234.)
According to the legendary account, while Ertoghroul was making his way West, he found himself on the top of a mountain ridge, where, looking down on the plain, he saw two armies about to engage each other. He decided to help those who were weaker, and adding his warriors to those who were giving way, he put the enemy to flight. At the close of the battle he found that he had brought victory over a horde of Mongols to the armies of Ala-ed-Din I, who, as a reward for this unexpected aid, gave the newcomers the mountain regions of Toumanidj and Ermeni as a dwelling place in summer, and the plain of Soegud for their winter quarters. Ertoghroul showed his loyalty to his new sovereign by undertaking successful raids against the outposts of the Greek Empire of Nicæa in parts adjacent to his own lands. Although under a Moslem overlord, Ertoghroul and his people still continued faithful to their ancestral polytheism, but he showed such great respect for the sacred volume of Mohammed, that it was not surprising when his son and successor, Osman or Othman (1288-1326), became converted to the religion of Islam.
This important event was connected with his marriage with the daughter of a cheikh belonging to the Seldjouks, Edebali, who, according to the legends of the Ottoman race, mysteriously foretold the future greatness of his son-in-law, and worked actively for the conversion of all his people. Up to this time the followers of Osman were nothing more than a band of nomads of mixed race composed of Turcomans, probably containing two Mongol elements. This change of religion not only gave them unity, but enabled them in the critical period of the Mongol conquests to act as a center around which were gathered all those of the Turkish race who held to Mohammedan orthodoxy. The first step was the absorption of the Seldjouks, a process natural enough because of racial affinity, but as time went on religious professions, not racial relationship, became so predominant a characteristic in Ottoman rule, that converts of all nationalities, Greeks, Slavs, Albanians, Roumanians, and Magyars, were absorbed without prejudice as to racial origin, and from the mere fact of profession of Mohammedanism were recognized just as fully as Ottoman Turks as if they had descended from the parent stock.
The social phenomenon of Western Europe, where the cohesive force of Christianity brought together people of Germanic, Celtic, and Roman origin, found its counterpart in this new national development of Mohammedan orthodoxy. It took place, too, just at a time when the old supporters of Islam, the Arabs, the Persians, and the Berbers had entered upon a stage of decadence. As a political power Islam was going to pieces, when new vigor was infused into it by a fresh and warlike race of barbarians, who, as convinced converts with all the fanaticism of a recently acquired faith, restored the simpler traditions of the Koran that had been lost or weakened, wherever the disciples of Mohammed were brought in contact with civilizing influences or wherever, in their mutual divisions, they had made terms of alliance with Christian rulers.
Predatory warfare was the training which gave the Ottoman Turks their irresistible power as conquerors; they were organized as an army disciplined and ever ready to strike. No better field for such training could have been found than the territory of Anatolia when the empire of the Seldjouks disappeared, and a condition of affairs arose, of which Northern Spain, at a somewhat earlier period, is a parallel instance of prevailing anarchy and local turmoil.
Some of the semi-independent fortresses under Greek commanders, who presided over narrow territories in the same way as the feudal seigneurs of Western Europe, were reduced by Osman. With these additions to his domains he had no hesitation in proclaiming himself an independent prince on the death of Ala-ed-Din. Soon afterward he conquered all the region near the river Songora, which gave approach to the sea coast and so offered an opportunity for equipping piratical expeditions that terrorized the islands and shores of the Greek Empire and the Latin states of the East. At this time the emirate under Osman covered the greater part of the ancient provinces of Galatia and Bithynia.
To this position of mastery must be ascribed the rapid acquisition of leadership by Osman. The territory he now governed was close to the important centers of Greek rule. Broussa, Nicæa, and Nicomedia were the specially selected points of attack in this effort to extend Moslem power over Northwestern Asia, which still remained in Christian hands. The prizes were great and the religious merit considerable; there was enough, then, to attract the most valiant warriors who joined the army of Osman from other emirates. Even mercenary troops of Greek, Slavic, and Latin origin served under the Turkish banner.
The plan of conquest showed skilful and cautious strategy. Osman adopted the policy of overshadowing the great fortresses of the Greek Empire by placing near them strongholds of his own garrisoned with men ready to surprise their opponents at the first favorable opportunity. Broussa soon found itself within the grasp of the Turk. There were two forts dominating its very gates, one on the east, the other on the west. An important town near it, Edrenos, was taken when Osman’s son, Ourkhan, forced the city to capitulate, the inhabitants being given, in return for 30,000 pieces of gold, the right to retire with their property. The governor became a convert to Islam—a detail which is typical of the Turkish conquests. These new supporters found it to their advantage to change their allegiance. Such cases are often mentioned in these early years of the expansion of the Ottoman emirate, and they are indicative of a well-devised policy to sap the foundations of resistance.
Another even more striking example of the results of a change of allegiance from Christianity to Mohammedanism is found in the case of Mikhal-Koeze (Michael with the pointed beard), the Greek governor of the castle, who, after becoming a prisoner of war, was most kindly treated by Osman. The bonds of friendship between the two grew so strong that Mikhal embraced Islamism and signalized himself by his fidelity as an ally and subordinate officer. He is the ancestor of the family of Mikhal Oghli (sons of Michael), who in a long line of descent held the command of the irregular troops in the Turkish army.
The close of Osman’s career had nothing to record in the way of an exploit equal to the capture of Broussa. In 1326 the conqueror died and was buried in the city, the possession of which marked the chief success of his remarkable reign. Here in after generations were shown the chaplet of rough-ground wood, the enormous drum given him by Ali-ed-Din, and the great carved double-edged sword wielded by the founder and champion of the Ottoman Empire. But the rapidity and importance of Osman’s conquests had not changed the tastes of the tribal chieftain; all that he left to his heirs were horses, oxen, some sheep, a spoon, a salt cellar, an embroidered kaftan, and a turban.