Orhan Bey, the real founder of the Ottoman state?

The Ottoman Empire was established as a principality in the Söğüt district of today's Bilecik province. At that time, the Seljuk Empire lost its control over the Anatolian lands and was replaced by principalities. Principalities were seen as the continuation of the administrative and military order of the Seljuks.

We can argue that what makes the Ottoman Empire different from other principalities arises from its geography. While other principalities were neighbors with similar structures, the Ottomans were neighbors with Byzantium. The Ottoman Empire was in a close relationship with Byzantium from its geographical location. Byzantium was weak at that time and was dealing with its own internal problems. He was not in a position to be hostile to the Ottoman principality, which was starting to grow, and he even needed help from time to time. The commercial relations of the Ottoman and Byzantine also developed. In this conjuncture, the Ottoman principality was somehow affected by the administrative and military order of Byzantium, which is the representative of the Eastern Roman tradition, as its closest neighbor.

According to some historians, the real founder of the Ottoman state is Orhan Bey. I am of the same opinion. Moves such as printing money (coin), which is the symbol of economic and commercial sovereignty, and making Bursa the capital, are the first steps of the Ottoman Empire towards becoming a state rather than a principality. Orhan Bey ruled the state for 38 years, not a short time between 1324 and 1362. He increased the approximately 15 thousand square kilometers of land he bought from his father Osman Bey to 95 thousand square kilometers. Today's Bursa, Balıkesir, Çanakkale, Bolu, Eskişehir joined the lands of the state during his time. It is said that he was the first ruler to use the title of sultan (on the coins he minted) in the Ottoman Empire. As a matter of fact, he had "Sultan Orhan" written on his tughra. For the first time, the Ottomans moved to Rumelia, that is, to Europe, starting from Anatolian lands during his reign. Among his wives was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor.

In a classic discourse; When we look at the course of political history, we can say that geography is destiny for nations, but we know that visionary leaders who can shape this destiny are at least as effective as other factors. Orhan Bey had this vision and by turning the principality's face to the West, he succeeded in incorporating the superiorities of the Roman tradition into the political and military structures of his principality. A hundred years later, the mental infrastructure of his grandson, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, who considered himself the Roman Emperor, and the institutional heritage of Eastern Rome were perhaps included in the Ottoman structure during the time of Orhan Bey.