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.