Osman I

Osman I (ōsmän`) or Othman I (ōthmän`), 1259–1326, leader of the Ottoman Turks and founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire. The Osmanli or Ottoman Turks derive their name from Osman. He proclaimed (1290) his independence from his overlord, the Seljuk Turks, upon the collapse of their empire. Aided by an influx of Muslim warriors, he expanded his state in NW Asia Minor at the expense of the petty Christian lords who were his neighbors. He nevertheless inaugurated a policy of religious tolerance. Just before his death in 1326, his son and successor, Orkhan, took the city of Bursa from the Byzantines.

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Osman I, Othman I

1259--1326, Turkish sultan; founder of the Ottoman Empire

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Osman I 

(Othman I). Born circa 1258; died 1324 or in 1326, in Bursa. Turkish sultan from 1299 or 1300. Founder of the Osman (Ottoman) dynasty of Turkish sultans.

In about 1281, Osman I inherited from his father, Ertogrul, a border principality (uc) in the northwestern part of the sultanate of Konya. When the sultanate collapsed, he became the independent ruler of the Osman principality, after which the Ottoman Empire was named. The name “Osmans” (“Osmanli” in Turkish) extended to the Turkish Kayi tribe headed by Osman. Later it was applied to other Turks, who were the predominating nationality in the Ottoman state. Sometimes the name included all subjects of the sultan.