Historical Background

This is the last of my posts in this little trilogy, aimed at explaining the ethnic, religious and dynastic origins of the Ottomans. When I was a little girl my grandfather, Prince Ali Vâsıb, told me that being a Turk, a Moslem and an Ottoman, all rolled into one, was what made us special. I still remember him telling me that. So, I felt it was important to give an insight into the background of these three characteristics. Not because they applied to him or to me, but because they account for the make-up of all members of my family and of the characters in my novel. I know there will be many Turks who will relate to this sentiment too.

Süleyman Shah

The Ottoman family can trace their line back to the early 12^th century – to a line of tribal chiefs of the Kayı clan. Their territory is believed to have been near Mahan, between Khorasan and Turkestan. The Mongols, under Gengiz Khan, invaded these lands which caused the Kayı to flee.

Legend recounts that their leader, Süleyman Shah, led his tribe westwards, away from the danger, in search of new and fertile lands. They reached the Euphrates River, but it would not be Süleyman Shah’s destiny to go any further. He drowned while trying to cross the river near the Castle of Qal’at Ja’bar, close to Aleppo.  

The Tomb of Süleyman Shah

Süleyman Shah was buried near this castle, overlooking the Euphrates Valley. Interestingly, his mausoleum remained under Turkish sovereignty after WWI, despite being located in the newly formed state of Syria. It became the only exclave of Turkey. This shows the immense importance attached to the significance of the grandfather of the Ottoman Sultans.

Operation Shah Euphrates

This importance and sincere reverence continues today. During the Syrian Civil War the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) threatened to attack the tomb, and the Turkish soldiers guarding it. In February 2015, the government in Ankara acted decisively. ‘Operation Shah Euphrates‘ was initiated. This was a Turkish military operation into Syrian territory. It resulted in the safe evacuation of the Turkish garrison and the temporary removal of the remains of Süleyman Shah.

I could not be more grateful to the Turkish Government for all they did and all they risked. Perhaps it was kismet. The man who had saved the Kayı people, was himself saved by descendants of his tribe.

Ertuğrul Gazi

Ertuğrul assumed leadership of the Kayı tribe on the death of his father Süleyman Shah. He continued to lead his people westwards, through Diyarbakir and onto the Pasinler Plateau near Erzurum. They settled here temporarily, between the lands of the Byzantines, the Seljuks and the Mongols. After spending some years here, the tribe moved further west to Kayseri, and then onto lands near Ankara.  

A Battle that Changed the Course of History

It was here that they encountered a raging battle.  Ertuğrul and his brother Dündar decided to engage their small force of skilled horsemen on the side of the weaker army.  This opportune involvement changed the course of the battle.  The warriors of the Kayı tribe had come to the aid of the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin, and had helped him achieve an important victory over the Byzantines.  As a reward, the Seljuk Sultan gave Ertuğrul some territory forming a frontier march around the town of Söğüt.  He was to act as defender of the Seljuk border against the Byzantine army.

Ertuğrul became a true gazi warrior, focused on weakening Christian Byzantium. In 1231 he captured the town of Söğüt. This enhanced his reputation as a gazi warrior, and encouraged other Turks to flock to his banner.

By the time of his death in 1281, Ertuğrul Gazi had not significantly expanded the territory that Sultan Alaeddin had bestowed on him. But he had laid the foundations upon which his descendants would build an Empire. He had acquired a small beylic on the important Byzantine frontier. He had defended himself and his tribe from the aggression of the neighbouring beylics. And he had fostered the support of a loyal and sophisticated tribe, with a fierce reputation for gazi frontier fighting.

Osman I

Osman inherited the beylic from his father in 1281, and became the chief of the Kayı  tribe.  He declared independence from the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in 1299, thereby establishing the Ottoman Principality that was to develop into the mighty and glorious Ottoman Empire.  The Ottomans were poised, ready to play their part in history…

Continuing on from yesterday, my post today looks briefly at the Islamic heritage of the Turkic people. How they went from following the ancient religion of Tengriism, to fully embracing Islam. And how the descendants of Ertuğrul Gazi and Sultan Osman I became the Caliphs of Islam.

The Abbasid Caliphate

The Arab conquest of Persia, by the Abbasid dynasty in the 7^th century, first brought the teachings of the Prophet Muhammed to the Turkish tribes of Central Asia.  The confederacy of Oğuz Turks established trading, religious and cultural contacts with the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, as their armies made incursions into the Turkic heartlands of Central Asia.  It is from this time that the Turks first converted to Islam, and renounced their Tengriist and Shamanistic beliefs.  

Conversion to Islam was gradual, but by the 10^th century the majority of the Turkic people had become Moslem.  During the course of the following centuries the Turks would not only adopted Islam, but would also become its guardian, its protector and its temporal leaders.

The Ottoman Caliphate

For the Ottoman Turks, the ultimate honour came in 1517 when they defeated the Mamlukes. The last Abbasid Caliph relinquished his title to an Oğuz Turk from the Kayı tribe – to the all powerful Ottoman Sultan, Selim I. 

The Turks had wrestled the leadership of the Islamic world from their Arab brothers.

For the next four hundred years, the Ottoman Turks took on the role of protectors of all orthodox Sunni Moslems. They governed the two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina, as well as the Holy City of Jerusalem.  

They also conquered the ancient capitals of the earlier Caliphs – Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo, thereby bringing many Islamic scholars, academics and educated elite within the borders of their Empire.   Their own capital, Istanbul, became a centre of Islamic teaching and Islamic intellectual learning, and the home of the precious holy relics of Islam.  

A Void

It is quite unbelievable that the office of Caliph of Islam has essentially remained vacant since the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924.

Perhaps many of the current problems in the world would not exist if Sunni Moslems had a leader to give them a coherent voice. Perhaps the Islamic world would be more unified, more understood and less exploited by the west. I often wonder how different the world might have been had the Caliph remained in power. I wonder how he would have dealt with the situation in Palestine. How he would have addressed rising Islamophobia. And how he would have combated extremism and fanaticism, and promoted love, respect and tolerance.

I invite you to join me in praying for peace. For peace remains so elusive in former Ottoman lands…

Over the weekend I thought that I would share three short posts with you. This will be about the Ottomans’ Turkic ancestry, Islamic heritage and dynastic origins. With the release of Kuruluş : Osman this week, it seems the perfect opportunity! Here is the first…

Kuruluş : Osman

After much anticipation, the first episode of the new television series Kuruluş : Osman has just aired. It is the sequel to Diriliş: Ertuğrul, and set to follow the fortunes of the young Osman Bey, son of Ertuğrul Gazi and founder of the Ottoman Empire. In the last few years there has been a dramatic resurgence of interest in Ottoman history. It is truly wonderful to see how Turks are fully embracing their past, and engaging in their history after generations of disinterest. Television shows such as these have been instrumental in this revival of pride in our shared history.

I really enjoyed watching the first episode of this series, and I enjoyed watching Diriliş: Ertuğrul. However, I have to admit that it does feel strange seeing actors portraying members of my family, and bringing them to life on the screen. Of course both shows use great artistic license, but that does not detract from their essence or enjoyment. They allow us to escape back to our past, to get to know our ancestors a little and to understand something of their way of life. This is very precious.

What I love most is that the characters were real people, fighting very real struggles during the turbulent times of the early 13th century. I feel extremely proud of everything my ancestors achieved at that time to create a safe homeland for their people. A beautiful homeland that continues to exist today. It is profoundly humbling to know I have the blood of Ertuğrul Gazi and Osman I flowing through my veins. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe it is true!

Birthplace of the Turks

So, where did the Turkic people originate from and what brought them to Anatolia?

The birthplace of the Turks is the Altai Mountains in Central Asia. They originated from the tribal kingdom of Tu-Kue on the Orkhon River south of Lake Baikal and north of the Gobi Desert, in present day Outer Mongolia.  

The Turkic people were nomadic. They were skilled horsemen, and were grouped into many different tribes and clans all trying to live off the harsh lands of the steppe.  A slow migration out of Central Asia began in the 6^th century, accelerating from the 9^th century onwards.  The initial cause of this migration was the pressure exerted by a growing population on a fragile pastoral economy. This was aggravated by climatic change and further exacerbated by fears of Mongol oppression.  

The Oğuz Turks

Among those who migrated westwards during the 8^th Century were the Oğuz Turks.  They travelled from the Altai mountains, through the Siberian Steppes and settled around Bukhara.  It was from here that the westward Turkic migrations into western Asia and eastern Europe occurred during the 9^th to 12^th centuries.  

The Oğuz are often referred to as ‘Western Turks’. This is because they migrated west from the other Turkic peoples and generally settled west of the Caspian Sea.  They were a loosely linked group of nomadic tribes.  

The Kayı Tribe

One such tribe was the Kayı tribe, and it was from the Kayı tribe that the Ottomans are descended.  Kayı means “the one who has power and might”. Indeed the Ottomans were to become the very embodiment of this quality. For they were to establish one of the most powerful and mightiest empires in the history of the world.  As true Oğuz Turks, their quest to head west would lead them to conquer territory stretching to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.  

It is interesting to observe that this fascination with all things western continues in modern Turkey. However, the more recent interest in our eastern ancestry, and the Central Asian roots of the Turkic people can never be forgotten…

If you have not yet seen the first episode of Kuruluş : Osman, then I would urge you to. If you have – then enjoy the rest of the series!