Ertuğrul Ghazi

 

Ottoman Empire ruled much of  Southeastern Europe, Westervn Asia,  

and Northern Africa for over 600 years.  The name of the empire came from Osman ,  

but the foundation of the empire was laid  down by Ertugrul Ghazi in the town of Sogut.

Early life Ertugrul Ghazi  

was the father of Osman 1, the founder of the  ottoman empire. The date of birth of Ertugrul  

is unknown to historian and very little is  known about the early life of him. According  

to some sources he was the son Suleman Shah, who  was the leader of a Turkish tribe named Kayi.

Kayi Tribe: Kayi was a small nomad  

tribe in central Asia, people of Kayi tribe made  their living by grazing sheep and selling handmade  

carpets. They used to migrate from place to  place in search of water and fertile land.  

Young men of the Kayi Tribe were valiant,  brave, and were experts in sword fighting  

and shooting arrows. for young men, it was  compulsory to take formal training of Soldiers.  

Turkish term for a soldier is Alp. The 13th century was the age of Mongols. 

Mongols were brutal and their aim  was to conquer the whole world.  

After capturing more than half of the World  explored at that time, Mongols decided to  

capture the Muslim states which were ruled by the  Seljuq empire. Kayi tribe migrated from central  

Asia to Iran and then from Iran to Anatolia (The  modern Day turkey) to escape the Mongols raid.m

Ertugrul’s personal life:

Ertugrul’s wife was halime hatun, but  this matter is disputed among historians.  

There is a grave outside the tomb of ertugrul  which bears the name of Halime Hatun.  

Some historians believe that he had more than  one wife. Ertugurl had three sons Gunduz,  

Savci and Osman. Osman was his youngest son who  continued his legacy and became the founder of the  

Ottoman Empire. His son Savci died at a young age.  Ertugrul was a valiant warrior and pious Muslim.  

Ghazi at the end of his name represents “a  heroic champion fighter for the cause of Islam”. 

Ertugrul became the leader of Kayi

Suleman Shah(the father of ertugrul) was suffering  from cancer, he died while crossing the Euphrates  

River with his sons. After the death of Suleman  Shah, a dispute aroused among the sons of Suleman  

Shah. Kayi Tribe was divided into two. Two  of his son, along with their families and  

many companions went to ahlat, while Ertugrul with  his mother and 400 companions went to Asia Minor.

Ertugrul encounter with sultan Kaykabad: On his way to Asia minor, Ertugrul and his  

companion saw two forces fighting with each other.  He didn’t know who they were. Still, he decided  

to support the weak force. His support turned  the tables and Army which was about to lose the battle turned victorious. That army was of Sultan  Aladdin kayqubad(the leader of Seljuq Empire)

Views of historians about the opponent Army  are disputed, some say the opponent Army was  

of Byzantine empire, while most of the historians  believe Army was of Mongols. Sultan Keykabud got  

impressed by the Ertugrul and his Alps and granted  him land in Karaca da. It is said that Sultan awarded him that area to secure the border of the  Seljuq empire, as that area was adjacent to the byzantine empire. Ertugrul defeated Mongols and  captured various castles of the Byzantine Empire.  

Later the Sultan of Seljuq Empire Aladin kayqubad  allotted him with new territory in the town of  

Sogut which was on the frontier with the  Byzantines. Ertugrul captured sogut along  

with its surrounding lands. Later this town sogut  became the Ottoman capital under his son, Osman

Fall of Seljuq and the rise of Ottomans

Ertugrul became a close ally of Sultan  Aladdin kayqubad. After his death, his  

young son Keykavus took his throne. Though Sultan  Keykavusn was young when took his father’s place,  

still, he resisted well against the invasion  of Mongols and Byzantines. Keykavus was the  

last powerful Sultan of Seljuq Empire. After  Keykavus, power fell into the hands of Mongols.  

In 1258, Mongols sacked Baghdad (capital of  the Abbasid caliphate), killed its caliph  

Al-Musta’sim and massacred residents of the city.  Leaders of the Seljuk empire wanted to avoid the  

fate of Baghdad and agreed to pay heavy taxes to  Mongols to avoid their invasion on Seljuk’s land.

Advertisement Seljuq empire  

became a dummy empire and was controlled by  

Mongols. Seljuq leaders cannot make a single  decision without the permission of Mongols.  

This led to the fall of the Seljuq empire. Ertugrul was in sogut at that time.

Seeing the miserable condition of his state. He  decided not to pay taxes to Mongols and built  

his own state in sogut. This vision of Ertugrul  was later taken by his youngest son Osman which led to the rise of another empire The Great  ottoman empire. which ruled till World war

Death Ertugrul was died in 1281 at the age  of 90. Tomb and mosque dedicated to  Ertuğrul had been built by Osman I at Söğüt. The last will of Ertugrul Gazi to his son,  

Osman Gazi, in front of his tomb, reads: Lo, son! Offend me, offend not Shaykh Edebali.  

He is the light of our clan. His balance does  not err by a dirham. Oppose me, oppose him not.

If you oppose me, I will be sad and hurt. If  you oppose him, my eyes will not look at you,  

even if they look they will not see. Our words are  not for Edebali but for you dear. Consider what I

have said my last will.

         (Ertuğrul Gazi)