Hello dear steem historians! I myself am not an historian, but rather an enthusiast of history. I am starting a series where i will cover mostly the history of Turks, Anatolia and Balkans. That being said, i want to start with the Sultans of Ottoman Empire, which was a turkic empire, based in Anatolia and Balkans. So with this intro, i will shortly write about the House of Osman and then start writing the sultans with the next post. Enjoy!
The House of Osman (Ottoman Dynasty)
The Ottomans were a family originated from the Kayı Tribe of Oghuz Turks. Osman, who was the first of this family, gave his name both to the dynasty and the empire. The term "Devlet-i Âli Osman" which was used interchangeably with the term Ottoman Empire, means "State of Osman's Breed". The family migrated west, along with the other turkic families, who fled from central asia after the Mongol invasion. When they reached Anatolia, father of Osman, Ertugrul, was the head of the family and he was appointed by the Seljuks of Rum as a margrave (Uçbeyi) across the Byzantine border, because the Kayı tribe was accustomed to fighting and were quick to adapt to new circumstances. The border they settled was in northwest Anatolia, namely Söğüt and Domaniç.
A Portrait of Ertugrul, father of Osman (Wikipedia)
After the death of Ertugrul in 1281, Osman became the leader of the family. Osman, who was a great warrior and adept in state affairs, quickly made the borders bigger. By the time Osman became the leader of the family, the authority of Seljuks of Rum was diminished and most of other Bey's declared independence. Osman seized the opportunity and declared independence from the Seljuks, establishing the Ottoman State. Historians argue about the exact date, but 1299 and 1302 are two dates accepted by most of them.
The borders and it's expansion during Osman's reign (Wikipedia)
Osman was the first of 36 Ottoman Sultans. The dynasty he found ruled over a Anatolia and Balkan based state, for over 600 years. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the members of dynasty were exiled and were forced to live under terrible circumstances. But lately their economic situation got better and they were embraced by the Turkish state. Still, only a small portion of the dynasty members live in Istanbul and most of them still reside in foreign countries. Some of them were married with foreigner and lost their national and religious identity. The dynasty members still uses the titles of "şehzade" (heir), "sultan" and "sultanzade" (child of sultan) to this day.
The family tree of the House of Osman, from Mahmud the second, showing both deceased and alive members of the dynasty. (Source)
List of Ottoman Sultans
| Place | Sultan | Accession to Throne | End of Reign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osman Gazi | 1299 | 1326 |
| 2 | Orhan Gazi | 1326 | 1361 |
| 3 | I. Murad (The Devotee of God) | 1360 | 1389 |
| 4 | I. Bayezid (The Thunderbold) | 1389 | 1402 |
| - | Ottoman Interregnum | 1402 | 1413 |
| 5 | I. Mehmet (The Affable) | 1413 | 1421 |
| 6 | II. Murat | 1421 | 1444 |
| 7 | II. Mehmet (The Conqueror) | 1444 | 1446 |
| - | II. Murat | 1446 | 1451 |
| - | II. Mehmet (The Conqueror) | 1451 | 1481 |
| 8 | II. Bayezid | 1481 | 1512 |
| 9 | I. Selim (The Grimm) | 1512 | 1520 |
| 10 | I. Suleyman (The Magnificient) | 1520 | 1566 |
| 11 | II. Selim | 1566 | 1574 |
| 12 | III. Murat | 1574 | 1595 |
| 13 | III. Mehmet | 1595 | 1603 |
| 14 | I. Ahmet | 1603 | 1617 |
| 15 | I. Mustafa | 1617 | 1618 |
| 16 | II. Osman (The Young) | 1618 | 1622 |
| - | I. Mustafa | 1622 | 1623 |
| 17 | IV. Murat | 1623 | 1640 |
| 18 | İbrahim | 1640 | 1648 |
| 19 | IV. Mehmet | 1648 | 1687 |
| 20 | II. Suleyman | 1687 | 1691 |
| 21 | II. Ahmet | 1691 | 1695 |
| 22 | II. Mustafa | 1695 | 1703 |
| 23 | III. Ahmet | 1703 | 1730 |
| 24 | I. Mahmut | 1730 | 1754 |
| 25 | III. Osman | 1754 | 1757 |
| 26 | III. Mustafa | 1757 | 1774 |
| 27 | I. Abdulhamid | 1774 | 1789 |
| 28 | III. Selim | 1789 | 1807 |
| 29 | IV. Mustafa | 1807 | 1808 |
| 30 | II. Mahmud | 1808 | 1839 |
| 31 | Abdulmecid | 1839 | 1861 |
| 32 | Abdulaziz | 1861 | 1876 |
| 33 | V. Murad | 1876 | 1876 |
| 34 | II. Abdulhamid | 1876 | 1909 |
| 35 | V. Mehmet (Reşat) | 1909 | 1918 |
| 36 | VI. Mehmet (Vahdeddin) | 1918 | 1922 |
This was an intro for the Sultans of Ottoman Empire series. Next post in this series will be about the founder of the House, Osman I.
If you liked this and want more history posts, please be sure to upvote, resteem and comment. I welcome all of the steemit history community to share their thoughts and make this a better work :)