142 • 9 FIREARMS, SLAVES, AND EMPIRES
O
rhan (1288-1360) was the son of Osman, founder of the Ottoman dy¬
nasty. He took over the young ghazi principality when his father died in
1326 and ruled until his own death in 1360. During these years Orhan laid the
foundations for the future Ottoman Empire.
Details of Orhan's early life are few. However, it is known that he sometimes
led his father's warriors on raids into Christian territory, and therefore, he had
acquired the respect and experience necessary to retain the loyalty of the
ghazis upon his accession. Soon thereafter Orhan began the process of trans¬
forming his warlord principality into an expanding empire. To this end, he in¬
corporated administrative procedures and financial practices characteristic of
the Byzantines. To win the support of the city dwellers, he built mosques and
subsidized such municipal services as public baths and hostelries. Orhan also
expanded his military capacity by supplementing his ghazi horsemen with
mercenary troops, some of whom may have been Christians.
Orhan's forces managed to conquer most of the Byzantine cities and villages
in northwestern Anatolia, making Bursa, its main metropolis, the first Ot¬
toman capital. Orhan also intervened in the frequent civil strife within the
Byzantine lands across the Dardanelles. Between 1341 and 1347, he and his
forces served as mercenary troops fighting for John VI Cantacuzene, a pre¬
tender to the Byzantine throne, and established a permanent Ottoman outpost
on the European side of the Strait. Orhan sealed the pact with Cantacuzene by
marrying his daughter, Theodora, and soon began fighting for his own cause in
Europe, taking Gallipoli in 1354 (the city's walls had just collapsed in an earth¬
quake). The wealth gained from his freewheeling plundering of Thrace helped
strengthen the evolving Ottoman state.
Orhan's expansionist ambitions were not restricted to Byzantine territory;
he was also wanted to take control of his local Muslim rivals. To this end, the
Ottomans preferred less violent expansionist strategies, such as waiting until a
local bey (or leader) died and then absorbing their ghazis and lands. This is
how they took over Karasi in 1345, a move that brought them to the southern
shore of the Dardanelles.
An ambitious and exceedingly shrewd leader, Orhan proved to be very suc¬
cessful. As his popularity grew, so too did the number of ghazis who rallied
around him. Orhan set the stage for the Ottoman Empire and was followed by
other talented leaders who were equally capable in both administrative and
military matters.