The Ottomans, a turkish tribe related to the Selçuks, date their history from the reign of Osman I in the 1290s. Osman’s principality started in the region around Söğüt between Bursa and Kütahya. It abutted on the Byzantine Empire. Through the 12th and 14th centuries the Ottomans were often allies of the Byzantines. But increasingly, the weak Byzantine and Selçuk powers gave way to the vigorous, tolerant Ottomans who often were preferred by the general populace over their former rulers. Except for the interregnum (when there was a power...Read More