Osman I (1259-1326) was the leader of a tribe of conquering warriors, who formed an independent state out of which arose the great Ottoman Empire.

Contributed by Catherine Briggs, M.A. in History, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Name variations: Othman; Ottoman is the Italian derivative of the Turkish Uthman. Born 1259 at Sogut in northeast Anatolia (roughly present-day Turkey); died in 1326; son of Ertogrul (Ertughrul); married: Malkhatun; children: two sons, Orhan and Alaeddin. Descendants: Sultans (leaders) of the Ottoman Empire. Successor: Orhan (son).

Born in 1259, Osman I entered a world desperately in need of a leader. In Eastern Europe and the Middle East several great empires were declining. The Byzantine Empire--the eastern Roman Empire based around the capital city of Constantinople (Istanbul)--had endured for nine centuries but was beginning the long process of decline. During the Fourth Crusade of 1204, Constantinople fell for the first time to...