The Ottoman dynasty rule lasted for as long as six centuries. The following are the famous leaders who helped the Empire flourish-

1) Osman I -

Osman I founded the Ottoman dynasty in 1299. In fact, the dynasty has been named after him. He succeeded his father Ertrugrul in 1281. In 1302, Osman defeated the Byzantine army near Nicaea. By 1310, Osman had expanded the boundaries of the Empire, thus proving to be a capable leader and a warrior. Osman was looked upon as a symbol of Ghazi tradition.

2) Orhan I-

He succeeded Osman I him in 1324. In the early years of his reign, he concentrated on capturing the areas in northwestern Antolia which was under the Byzantine rule. Orhan won his first battle, the Battle of Pelekanon by defeating the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos. He conquered Nicaea in 1331 and Nicomedia in 1337. Orhan in 1321 captured the Mudanya, the port of Bursa and later invaded and occupied the city of Bursa. Orhan I was the longest living sultan of the Ottoman dynasty.

3) Murad I-

Orhan I before retiring to a peaceful life in Bursa had handed over the power of almost all the states to Murad I, who succeeded him in 1361. He defeated the Byzantine at the Battle of Adrianople between 1365-1369. Murad I brought most of the Balkan region under the control of Empire. He was responsible for organising the government of the Divan. From 1371 -1389, Murad fought many battles with the Serbs. The important ones were in 1371, at the battle of Maritsa and in 1389 at the Battle of Kosovo. On both events, Murad's army defeated the Serbs.

4) Bayezid I-

He succeeded his father in 1389 as the sultan of the Empire. Bayezid conquered the territories of Bulgaria and northern Greece between 1389-1395. In 1394 he laid siege to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Bayezid defeated the King of Hungary and Sigismund in the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. In the Battle of Ankara in 1402 Bayezid was captured and imprisoned by Timur.

5) Mehmed I-

He succeeded his father in 1413. He was responsible for bringing an end to the Interregnum. Mehmed wanted to restore the lost glory and power of the Ottoman Empire. He shifted the capital from Bursa to Edrine. He captured parts of Albania, Candaroglu and Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Mehmed I, for his contribution was known as the 'Second founder' of the Empire.

6) Murad II-

He was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421-1444 and 1446-1451. In 1444, he defeated the Polish-Hungarian army at the Battle of Varna. He signed a peace treaty by virtue of which a part of Albania was given to the Empire Wallachia and Bulgaria.

Anatolian states of Aydin, Germiyan, Menteshe and Teke were added to the Ottoman Empire territory. He defeated the Karamanid in 1428 and Venice at the second Siege of Thessalonica in 1430. In 1430 itself, he captured large areas in Balkan. In 1439 Murad II invaded Serbia. He defeated the Christian coalition at the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448.

7) Mehmed II-

He was the sultan of Ottoman Empire from 1444-1446 and 1451-1481. Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conqueror captured Constantinople in 1453. He made it the Ottoman capital and ended the Byzantine rule. Mehmed brought about thye unification of the Antolian Beyliks which was lost the Battle of Ankara in 1402. He conquered the Despotate of Morea in the Peloponnese in 1460 and in 1461, he captured the Empire of Trebizond.

He conquered Bosnia in 1463. Albania and Kruje were invaded in 1478. in 1480, Italy was invaded. He merged the old Byzantine administration into the Ottoman Empire and established an autonomous religious community.
8) Selim I-
He took over as the sultan of the Ottoman Empire after his father, Bayezid II in 1512 and continued to rule until 1520. Selim and his army defeated the Safavids and Shah Ismail at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514. He established Ottoman rule in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. Selim I conquered the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He also created a naval presence on the Red Sea.

9) Suleiman I-
He was the longest ruling sultan of the Ottoman dynasty and succeeded his father in 1520 and continued to rule until 1566. He was also known by the name of Suleiman the Magnificient. At an early age he was made the governor of a few Ottoman states. He captured Belgrade in 1521. In 1535, Baghdad was captured from the Persians. He initially conquered Rhodes, and in 1526, defeated Louis II of Hungary at the Battle of Mohacs.

The fall of Hungary made the Ottomans a supreme power in Eastern Europe. He also captured a large part of Middle east and Algeria. Ottomans controlled the region from Mediterranean to the Red sea and the Persian Gulf. Suleiman was responsible for completely reforming the legal system in the Ottoman Empire. He was also known as the 'Lawgiver' or Kanuni Suleiman. He established legal code known as the Kanuni Osmani or the Ottoman law.

By the Ottoman- Safavid war, territories of Bitlis and Tabriz were added to the Empire. In 1538, Aden in Yemen was conquered. He controlled the Red sea region and carried out trade activities with the Mughal Empire of South Asia. In 1538, under the command of Barbarossa, the Spanish army was defeated at the Battle of Preveza. By this victory, the Ottomans gained control over the Mediterranean. East of Morocco, Tripolitania, Tunisia and Algeria were added to the Empire. Nice was captured in 1543 by Barbarossa.

Suleiman gave importance to education and increased the number of primary schools in his capital. Even colleges were established. The period during the reign of Suleiman was regarded as the 'golden age' of cultural advancement. He was an accomplished poet and a few of his verses were later on used as Turkish proverbs.

This site covers all areas Ottoman Empire History Facts. Besides the popular Ottoman topics like rise and fall, leaders, society, economy, Inventions, Religion, it also covers several other areas like comparison with other empires.

Armenians In The Ottoman Empire	Crimean War Ottoman Empire	British Ottoman Empire
End Of The Ottoman Empire	Decline Of Ottoman Empire Part2	Napoleon Ottoman Empire
Osman of Ottoman Empire	Ottoman and Byzantine Empires	Ottoman Empire 1300 Part 2
Rise And Fall Of Ottoman Empire	Rise of The Ottoman Empire	Rise of The Ottoman Empire Part2
Ottoman Empire in 1566	Ottoman Empire in 16th Century	Ottoman After WW I
Ottoman Empire Allies	Ottoman Empire And Palestine	Ottoman Empire Arabs
Ottoman Empire in 1500	Ottoman Empire Armenian Genocide	Ottoman Empire Based Movies
Reasons For The Collapse Of The Ottoman Empire	Ottoman Empire Economics	Ottoman Empire Countries
Slavery In Ottoman Empire	Partitioning Of The Ottoman Empire	Ottoman Empire The War Machine
Ottoman Empire In Africa Part 1	Ottoman Empire In Africa Part 2	Ottoman Empire In The Balkans Part 1
Ottoman Empire In The Balkans Part 2	Ottoman Empire WW I	Ottoman Empire Janissaries
Ottoman Empire Jews	Ottoman Empire Vs Roman Empire Comparison	Ottoman Empire Nineteenth Century Part 1
Ottoman Empire Nineteenth Century Part 2	Ottoman Empire Primary Sources for History Study	Ottoman Empire Nationalism
Ottoman Empire Social Life And Society	Ottoman Empire Suleyman	Ottoman Empire Summary Part 1
Ottoman Empire Summary Part 2	Ottoman Empire Tanzimat

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