Orhan Bey

Orhan was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who ruled from 1323,4 to 1362. He was the son of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, and Malhun Hatun, a princess of the Kayı tribe. Orhan was born in Söğüt, a small town in northwestern Anatolia, where his father had established his principality. Orhan grew up as a warrior and a leader, who participated in his father's campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and the Mongols. He also married several women from different backgrounds, including Nilüfer Hatun, a Byzantine princess; Asporça Hatun, a Turkmen chief's daughter; and Theodora Kantakouzene, a niece of the Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos. Orhan had at least 13 children, among whom Süleyman Pasha and Murad I became his successors. Orhan inherited a small but growing state from his father, and he expanded it through conquests and alliances. He captured the important cities of Bursa, İznik, İzmit, and Ankara, and made Bursa his capital. He also established a navy and crossed the Dardanelles to occupy Gallipoli, the first Ottoman foothold in Europe. He supported his ally John VI Kantakouzenos in the Byzantine civil wars, and gained the right to garrison some fortresses in Thrace. He also fought against the Karamanids, the Mamluks, and the Ilkhanids, and consolidated his authority over the Anatolian beyliks. Orhan was not only a conqueror, but also a builder and a reformer. He constructed mosques, madrasas, caravanserais, bridges, and baths in his domains. He also organized his army into regular and irregular units, and created the Janissary corps, composed of Christian youths converted to Islam and trained as elite soldiers. He also established a system of laws and administration, and minted coins with his name and title. Orhan was a devout Muslim, who patronized scholars and poets, and promoted the spread of Islam in his lands. He died in Bursa in 1362, and was buried in a mausoleum that he had built next to the Green Mosque. He was succeeded by his son Murad I, who continued his father's legacy of expansion and state-building.