Ertuğrul or Ertuğrul Ghazi was a 13th-century bey, who was the father of Osman I. Little is known about Ertuğrul's life. According to Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, the leader of the Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks. These Turkomans fled from western Central Asia to Anatolia to escape the Mongol conquests, but he may instead have been the son of Gündüz Alp. According to this legend, after the death of his father, Ertuğrul and his followers entered the service of the Sultanate of Rum, for which he was rewarded with dominion over the town of Söğüt on the frontier with the Byzantine Empire. This set off the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the founding of the Ottoman Empire.
Ertuğrul depicted in 16th-century Ottoman miniature book Sübhatü’l-ahbâr by Derviş Mehmed
Minted coin by Osman I, indicating the existence of Ertuğrul. The coin reads as follows: Struck by Osman, son of Ertuğrul. May his kingdom perpetuate
Grave of Ertuğrul, Söğüt
Ertuğrul Tekke Mosque, in Istanbul, Turkey
Osman I or Osman Ghazi was the founder of the Ottoman Empire. While initially a small Turkoman principality during Osman's lifetime, his beylik transformed into a world empire in the centuries after his death. It existed until shortly after the end of World War I.
An Ottoman miniature depicting Osman I, c. 1580
Ertuğrul's türbe (tomb) in Söğüt
16th-century depiction of Osman I by Paolo Veronese
Ilkhan Mahmud Ghazan (on horseback), higher ruler of Anatolia during the early years of Osman's reign. All Turkoman Beys, or Emirs, were subordinate to him despite the inherent hostility between Turks and Mongols.
