Osman I

Osman I (1258-1326) was the founder of the Ottoman Empire. He was born in 1258 and got the title bey (chief) from his father, Ertoğrül;, as the ruler of the village of Söğüt; in 1281. The birth of the empire originated with the conquest of the Turkish tribe of Eskenderum and the city of Eskişehir (Turkish for 'Old Town') in 1301-1303. With the fall of the Byzantine fort at Yenişehir ('New Town') the Turks where ready to launch a siege at the large Byzantine towns of Bursa and Nicaea (now İznik). Osman I died in 1326, the same year that the two cities fell. He was after his death given the title of ghazi (holy islamic warrior) by his successors.