The siege of İnegöl took place between Agios Nikolaos, the governor of the fort, and the Kayı army under the command of Turgut Bey. This conquest was one of the first conquests in Ottoman history after the siege of Kulaca Hisar. After the end of the siege, Tekfur Nikolaos was executed by Turgut Alp.[1] The conquest took place in 1299. This battle triggered the Battle of Bapheus, where the Byzantines attempted to reconquer the lost territory, which in turn led to the siege Of Bursa eventually leading to the establishment of Ottoman Beylik.

Siege of İnegöl
Part of Ottoman Wars In Anatolia

Illustration of Osman rallying his warriors into battle
Date28 September 1299[1]
Location
Result
  • Kayi victory
  • Inegöl is annexed [2]
Belligerents
Kayı (tribe) Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Osman I
Turgut Alp
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Agios Nikolaos Executed

Prelude

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Tensions had been rising between the Tekfur of İnegöl, Ayos Nikolaos, and Kayi Bey Osman I, which resulted in several clashes at Ermenlibeli [tr] and the Battle Of Domanic [tr], both of which resulted in Kayi victories (though with heavy losses including Osman I's brother Saru Batu Savcı Bey and his son Koca Saruhan Bey).[3][4] Osman, in retaliation, conquered the fort of Kulaca Hisar,[5] which was under the Nikolaos's dominion.

Siege

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The castle was besieged either during the end of 1298 or the beginning of 1299.[clarification needed] The siege lasted for months, featuring relentless bombardment and starvation. However, Osman eventually gave the command to Turgut Alp to go and besiege the neighboring fort of Yarhisar.[2] Turgut Bey stormed the fort,[6] killing most of the garrison and executing Nikolaos (Osman conquered Yarhisar around the same time).[7]

Aftermath

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This major conquest of a key fort in the Byzantine heartland of Anatolia led to the rise of the Kayi Beylik and to the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. Osman conquered other strategic forts along with the city of Yenişehir, literally translating to "New City", and turned it into a capital, thus forming the Ottoman Beylik.[2]The Byzantines were alarmed by Osman's rapid conquests and eventually fought him in a climactic battle at Bapheus.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Korobeĭnikov, Dimitri (2014). Byzantium and the Turks in the Thirteenth Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-870826-1.
  2. ^ a b c Akgündüz, Ahmed; Öztürk, Said (2011). Ottoman history: misperceptions and truths. Rotterdam: IUR Press. ISBN 978-90-90-26108-9.
  3. ^ Yaşamları ve yapıtlarıyla Osmanlılar ansiklopedisi [Encyclopedia of the Lives and Works of the Ottomans] (in Turkish). İstanbul: YKY. 1999. pp. 392–395. ISBN 978-975-08-0071-9.
  4. ^ Başar, Fahameddin (1995). "Ertuğrul Gazi". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 11 (Elbi̇stan – Eymi̇r) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. p. 314. ISBN 978-975-389-438-8.
  5. ^ Danişmed, İsmail Hami (2011). İzahlı Osmanlı Tarihi Kronolojisi [Annotated Ottoman History Chronology]. Doğu Kütüphanesi. p. 6. ISBN 978-9944-397-68-1.
  6. ^ Tezcan, Baki (2010). The Second Ottoman Empire: Political and Social Transformation in the Early Modern World. Cambridge University Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-05-21-51949-6. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. ^ Lindner, Rudi Paul (2007). Explorations in Ottoman prehistory. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan press. ISBN 978-0-472-09507-0.
  8. ^ Zachariadou, Elizabeth A.; Hellas Foundation for Research and Technology, eds. (1993). The Ottoman Emirate: (1300 - 1389); Halcyon Days in Crete I; a symposium held in Rethymnon 11 - 13 January 1991. Rethymnon: Crete Univ. Press. ISBN 978-960-7309-58-7.

Further reading

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  • H.Rosenwein, Barbara (2013). Reading the Middle Ages: Sources from Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic World (Second ed.). University of Toronto Press ISBN 978-14-42-60604-3.
  • Kemal, Namık (2005). Osmanlı tarihi, Volume 1 (in Turkish). Bilge Kültür Sanat. pp. 105, 138 ISBN 978-97-56-31648-1