The Islamic World to 1600
The Ottoman Empire grew out of the remnants of the Seljuk Turkish realm following the collapse of Mongol rule in Asia Minor in the late 13th century. As we saw in Chapter 3, the Seljuks were the first Turks to inhabit Asia Minor, as well as the first dynasty to unite the traditionally nomadic Turkish people into a settled community under one leader. The Seljuks could not match the military skill of the Mongols, however, who first invaded Seljuk territory in 1243. The Seljuks were quickly defeated by the Mongols, and they became vassals of the expanding Il-Khanate, led by the Mongol, Hulegu. The Mongol invasion from the east pushed much of the Seljuk population further west in Asia Minor, closer to the Byzantine Empire, which quickly became a favourite target for raids by Turkish gazi warriors.
 |
Gazi Warriors |
Osman Courtesy of www.informatik.uni-bremen.de/~sami/ |
As the 13th century came to a close, both the Seljuks and Mongols had essentially lost control of their Turkish subjects. Asia Minor was not an important territory for the Mongols, and thus they did not spend much energy and resources on its administration. Out of this gradual collapse of central authority in Asia Minor rose a number of Turkish principalities, or emirates, many of which were led by gazi warriors. One such warrior, Osman Gazi, proved particularly successful at defeating the Byzantine Empire or other smaller states in his raids. His small emirate was closer geographically to the Byzantine Empire than any other, and thus he had many chances to prove his abilities as a gazi warrior against them. Although he began as the leader of only one Turkish emirate among several, his name soon became the most famous of the gazi warriors, for his continuous victories in battle. Gazis from neighbouring emirates flocked to Osman to take part in these victories and obtain their share of the spoils.
| Proceed to Ottoman Empire: Empire Building, 1301-1402 |  |