Rise of The Ottoman Empire - Under The Leadership of Osman I

Under The Leadership of Osman I

The reign of Osman I marks the official beginning of the rule of the Ottoman dynasty which lasted for six centuries. In 1265 the Byzantine city Thebasion, Söğüt in Turkish, fell to Osman I. It was but the first of many cities and villages captured by the Ottoman Turks during the 1300s and 1310s. Osman also conquered some of the nearby Turkish emirates and tribes. During the late 1310s Osman I laid siege to several important Byzantine forts.

Yenişehir was captured and with it as a base the Turks could lay siege to Prousas (Bursa) and Nicaea (Iznik), the largest Byzantine cities in Anatolia. Bursa fell in 1326, just before Osman's death.

See also: Battle of Bapheus, Siege of Brusa