For years Ottoman warriors had surrounded the rich Byzantine city of Bursa, cutting it off from the countryside. In 1326, with no help coming from Constantinople, the city surrendered to Osman's son Orhan.
Tradition says the dying Osman heard the news before he passed away. He was buried in Bursa, and the city became the first true capital of the Ottomans.
Orhan built mosques, a market and public kitchens, and minted coins in his own name. The frontier chiefdom was turning into a state.
All episodes of The Rise of the Ottomans
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1
Osman’s Dream
1 min read
A frontier chief, a sheikh's daughter and a dream of a great tree.
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2
Bursa, the First Capital
1 min read
After a long siege, Orhan takes a Byzantine city and gives the Ottomans a home.
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3
The Fall of Constantinople
1 min read
Spring 1453: a twenty-one-year-old sultan, giant cannon and ships carried over a hill.
