Rise of the Ottoman Empire

The formation and early expansion of the Ottoman state from a frontier principality in Anatolia into a major empire, culminating in the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

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Ottoman beylik: The small Turkmen principality in northwestern Anatolia from which the Ottoman state emerged. Its frontier position beside Byzantine territory offered room for expansion.
Osman I: The founder of the Ottoman dynasty, who ruled a small principality in northwestern Anatolia around the turn of the fourteenth century. His frontier principality became the foundation of the expanding state.
Siege of Bursa: The Ottoman campaign that captured Bursa from Byzantine control in 1326. The city became an early Ottoman capital and a base for further expansion.
Murad I: An Ottoman sultan who ruled from 1362 to 1389 and expanded Ottoman power in the Balkans. His campaigns established a lasting Ottoman presence in southeastern Europe.
Ottoman Empire: A multiethnic empire ruled by the Ottoman dynasty from the late thirteenth century until 1922. The early principality’s expansion created the empire that endured for centuries.
Ghaza: A concept of warfare on behalf of Islam, interpreted differently by Muslim rulers and chroniclers. It supplied one language for legitimizing campaigns against neighboring Byzantine lands.
Orhan: The second Ottoman ruler, who expanded into northwestern Anatolia and established a foothold in Europe. His reign converted dynastic beginnings into territorial and institutional growth.
Battle of Kosovo: A 1389 battle between Ottoman forces and a coalition led by Serbian rulers in Kosovo. Its outcome advanced Ottoman influence in the Balkans, despite the death of Sultan Murad I.
Bayezid I: An Ottoman sultan who ruled from 1389 to 1402 and rapidly extended Ottoman authority in Anatolia and the Balkans. His conquests brought the state near imperial scale before Ankara reversed them.
Byzantine Empire: The medieval Greek-speaking state centered on Constantinople, which ended with the Ottoman conquest in 1453. Its shrinking Anatolian and Balkan territories became central arenas of Ottoman expansion.