The Beginning of Ottoman Conquests in the Balkans and the Importance of Çimpe Castle

The Establishment of the Ottoman State and Its Initial Activities

After the collapse of the Anatolian Seljuk State in 1308, we see that many different principalities were established by Turkish tribes in Anatolia. The most important of these principalities was the Ottoman principality, which bordered the Byzantine State (Çayırlı, 1997: 2). After Ertuğrul Gazi's death in 1281, with the approval of other Turkish tribes, the administration of the Kayı Tribe was given to Osman Gazi. Osman Gazi's support from the Ahi brotherhood was quite influential in this development. Osman Bey established the state in the Söğüt region of Bilecik province with the support he received. Due to the lack of sources from the founding period, there is no definitive source regarding the exact date of establishment, but Halil İnalcık's view has been generally accepted. According to Halil İnalcık, the principality gained the status of a state with the Battle of Bapheus against Byzantium in 1302.

We see that during Osman Bey's period, an intense conquest movement was not initiated; instead, efforts were focused on organizing the state. One of the most important reasons for the state's rapid strengthening and organization was the internal turmoil in Byzantium (Demir, 2017: 57). During Osman Bey's period, we see that regions such as Yenişehir, Yarisar, Bilecik, Mudurnu, Karacahisar, and İnegöl were captured.

Activities During Orhan Bey's Period and the Capture of Çimpe Castle

Halil İnalcık says, "The Ottoman State is a Balkan state." Based on this statement, when we look at the first conquests, we see that the Ottoman State carried out its conquest movements on the western axis from the moment it was established. In addition to the Mongol threat in Anatolia, the lack of political and religious unity in the Balkans is among the reasons for the Ottoman conquests in this direction. When we examine the conquests that took place during Orhan Bey's period, we first see that İznik was conquered in 1329 with the Battle of Pelekanon (Maltepe). Then in 1331, the towns of Taraklı, Mudurnu, and Göynük were taken. In 1333, the town of Gemlik was captured, and then İzmit was taken in 1337. In 1353, we see that Çimpe Castle was taken without a fight (İnalcık, 2015: 51-57).

The Ottoman-Byzantine relations of the period provide an answer to the question of why Çimpe Castle was taken without a fight. In 1327, Emperor Andronikos II asked for help from Orhan Bey in his struggle for the throne against his grandson. As a result of this aid, the Ottoman State had the opportunity to scout by passing through Çorlu and Silivri. The first raids on the Thracian coast were carried out in 1321 during Osman Bey's period. This date is considered the first Rumelian raid of the Turks.

The second aid event took place in 1345 when Kantakuzenos asked for help against Empress Anna. During this period, Kantakuzenos offered Orhan Bey to marry his daughter Theodora in return for Ottoman help. Accepting the offer, Orhan Bey sent auxiliary forces to Rumelia. Thus, friendship was established between the two states. As a result of the aid he received, Kantakuzenos entered Istanbul and became the ruler of the state (İnalcık, 2015: 63).

In 1349, Thessaloniki was besieged by the Serbian King Duşan. When Kantakuzenos again asked for help from Orhan Bey, Orhan Bey sent his son Süleyman Pasha to the region, and in a short time, the security of the region was ensured, and the Duşan threat was eliminated. After this event, a new struggle began between Kantakuzenos and Ioannes Palaiologos, and this time Kantakuzenos offered to give a castle to the Ottomans in return for their help. Süleyman Pasha goes to Rumelia for help and on his return leaves some of his soldiers in the promised Çimpe Castle.

Thus, the Turks obtained their first piece of land from Rumelia without fighting. The Ottoman State soon captured Gallipoli thanks to this military base it obtained without fighting (Merçil, 1991: 164-165).

The conquest of Çimpe Castle is described more legendarily in some Ottoman chronicles. According to the information in the chronicles, Süleyman Pasha crossed to the region with rafts and obtained the castle by fighting. The raft story is a legend that emerged as a result of the soldiers of Karesioğulları occasionally crossing to the opposite shores with rafts or small ships (İnalcık, 2019: 42). Indeed, Byzantine sources recorded that the castle was given to Orhan Bey as a result of a promise.

Shortly after Çimpe was given, the Ottoman State took Gallipoli. Thus, we can say that the capture of Çimpe Castle was the beginning of the Ottoman Empire's 500-year domination adventure in the Balkans.

After the Ottoman State took Gallipoli, Kantakuzenos sent a message to Orhan Bey and asked to buy back Çimpe Castle with money and demanded that Orhan Bey leave Gallipoli in return. However, Orhan Bey firmly stated that even if he gave up Çimpe Castle, he would not leave Gallipoli (Uzunçarlışı, 1988: 128).

References

Çayırlı, N. (1977). Osmanlıların Rumeliyi İskanı. Vardar Dergisi, (2). https://l24.im/l4PQ

Demir, Y. (2017). Osmanlı Devleti’nin Kuruluşu ve Bizans-Avrupa Ekseninde Cereyan Eden Münasebetler. İhya Uluslararası İslam Araştırma Merkezi, (3). https://l24.im/R2ePq [Erişim Tarihi: 02.09.2022].

İnalcık, H. (2015). Kuruluş Dönemi (1302-1481) Osmanlı Sultanları. İsam.

Merçil, E. (1991). Osmanlı Kaynaklarına Göre Osmanlı-Bizans Münasebetleri (Yüksek Lisans Tezi). İstanbul Üniversitesi, s. 164-165.

İnalcık, H. (2019). Devlet-i Aliyye II. Türk İş Bankası.

Uzunçarşılı, İ. H. (1988). Osmanlı Tarihi I. Türk Tarih Kurumu.