Ertuğrul Çelebi
| Ertuğrul Çelebi | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Ottoman Empire | |
The tomb of Prince Ertuğrul, located in the garden of the Ertuğrul Mosque, which was built in his name . | |
| Sanjakbey of Saruhan | |
| Reign | 1390 — July 1392/1399 |
| Predecessor | Position Established |
| Successor | Süleyman Çelebi |
| Born | May 1376 Ottoman Empire |
| Died | July 1392/1399 Çorum, Ottoman Empire |
| Dynasty | Ottoman dynasty |
| Father | Bayezid I |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Military career | |
| Conflicts | |
Ertuğrul Çelebi (May 1376 - July 1392/1399) was an Ottoman prince, firstborn of Sultan Bayezid I.[1] Ertuğrul was a commander who made significant military contributions to the end of the Beyliks period in Anatolia.
Life
Before his death, he served the Ottoman State as the Sanjak Bey of Aydin first and Saruhan later by 1390.[2] During his time in the Aydın sanjak, he primarily undertook tasks in ensuring Turkish unity in Western Anatolia and in dispersing and expelling the successors of the tribes and beys who rebelled against the Salt Law in the region. He fighted versus Kadı Burhaneddin in a battle at Kırkdilim ( a pass located between Çorum and Osmancık ) in July 1392 and was wounded by him.[3] This battle is known in history as the Battle of Kırkdilim. His body was brought to Bursa and buried in the garden of the Ertuğrul Mosque, which was built in his name.[4][5]
Death
Some local and Western sources state that Prince Ertuğrul was present at Timur's siege of Sivas, commanded a cavalry unit of approximately four thousand men, and was captured and brutally killed after the fall of the fortress.[6] The story told among the people that when the Sultan heard a shepherd playing the flute while he was meeting the needs of a soup kitchen he had built in Bursa, he said to him:[7]
"Play, shepherd, play. What pain have you suffered, what heart have you broken? Did a son like Ertuğrul die? Did a city like Sivas collapse?"
— Bayezid I to Shepherd
In Mehmed Süreyya's Sicill-i Osmanî, the date of death is given as 1399.[8]
References
- ^ "Turkey2". www.4dw.net. Archived from the original on 2002-10-22. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
- ^ Süreyya 1890, pp. 25.
- ^ Türk, pp. 2.
- ^ Uzunçarşılı 1988, pp. 276–278.
- ^ Cezzar 2010, pp. 159.
- ^ Zinkeisen, pp. 269–270.
- ^ İbn Kemal, pp. 385.
- ^ Süreyya 1890, pp. 26.
Bibliography
- Türk, Tarih Kurumu. "Belleten". Belleten (in Turkish). Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu.
- Süreyya, Mehmed (1890). Sicill-i Osmanî (in Turkish). Vol. 1. Istanbul: Matbaa-i Âmire.
- Zinkeisen, Johann Wilhelm. Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Tarihi (in Turkish). Vol. 1.
- İbn Kemal, Kemal. Tevârîh-i Âl-i Osman (in Turkish). Vol. 4.
- Uzunçarşılı, İsmail Hakkı (1988). Osmanlı Tarihi (in Turkish). Vol. 1. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi.
- Cezzar, Mustafa (2010). Mufassal Osmanlı Tarihi (in Turkish). Vol. 1. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi. ISBN 978-975-16-2322-5.
External links
- "Battle of Kırkdilim". Osmanlı Medeniyeti (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2026.