Orkhan, son of Othman, early Ottoman ruler (1326-1361)

Son of Othman, the founder of Ottoman power, Orkhan doubled the area of his realm, through the conquest of Nicea and Nicomedia from the Byzantines and the conquest of the neighbouring state of Karasi. His main contribution to the rapid expansion of Ottoman empire in the fifty years after his death appears to have been the creation of a non-hereditary system of landholding. Conquered land was split into 'Timars', each of which was to provide a fully equipped horseman on demand, with no time limit as was the case in western Europe. When the holder of the Timar died, his sons did not automatically receive the same land. Not only that, each Timar was too small to support more than a single warrior and his family, and so the Sultan was always supplied with thousands of young fighters demanding newly conquered lands to settle. Not only did this system provide a steady stream of willing soldiers, it also provided its own garrisons for the newly conquered lands. However, it was only workable while the Ottoman empire was expanding, and when that expension stopped, the system became unworkable. During his reign the Ottomans gained their first foothold in Europe, when his son Soliman captured the important city of Gallipoli while in theory serving the Byzantine empire.
Crescent Dawn – The Rise of the Ottoman Empire and the Making of the Modern Age, Si Sheppard. A detailed account of the great expansion of the Ottoman Empire in its first three centuries, from its origins as one of many small powers in Anatolia to almost its peak, ruling much of the Balkans, the Middle East, Egypt and North Africa, and threatening to break out into the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Covers Ottoman expansion into the Balkans, Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa, the defeat of the Mamluks and the long wars with the revived Persians, as well as the rise of Ottoman naval power. Ends with a look at the Portuguese entry into the Indian Ocean, and the European search for Prestor John, a mythical Christian ruler eventually merged in the western mind with the rulers of Ethiopia, part of a wider attempt to find allies against the Ottoman power (Read Full Review)
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (10 October 2000), Orkhan, son of Othman, early Ottoman ruler (1326-1361), https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_orkhan.html

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