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Ertugrul

Bey Ertugrul of Ankara (1191-1281) was the leader of the Kayi tribe, the Turkish Islamic hero and the father of Osman, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. During the early 13th century, he led an army of Turkmens from Merv to assist the Sultanate of Rum against the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia, and in 1231 he conquered Sogut. Ertugrul is considered an Islamic warrior, and he died in 1281 in Sogut, where his son Osman was born and would build the Ottoman Empire from.

Biography

Early life

Ertugrul 1225 woods

Ertugrul in 1225

Ertugrul was born in 1191, the son of the Turkish Kayi chieftain Suleyman Shah and Hayme Hatun and the brother of Gundogdu Bey. In the early 13th century, the 2,000-strong Kayi tribe migrated west to flee the Mongols and famine, and the tribe settled near Erzincan in eastern Anatolia in 1214. It was there that, while hunting with his alps (warriors) during a famine in 1225, Ertugrul came across a group of Templars under Bisol attempting to rape the Seljuk noblewoman Halime and kill her father Shahzade Numan and brother Yigit. The Kayi party killed all of the Templars and rescued the Seljuk royals, and, while Halime was initially reluctant to go with the Kayis, her wounded father persuaded his children to join the Kayis with him. Ertugrul was initially unaware of the family's identity, as Halime claimed that they were impoverished traders. However, Ertugrul grew suspicious after hearing about who the Templars were (elite soldiers whose goal was to recapture Jerusalem) and after deducing that a large detail of soldiers would be unusual for a trader, and his brother Gundogan worried that Ertugrul had brought more trouble to the already-starving tribe.

Ertugrul Aktolgali

Ertugrul meditating next to his horse, Aktolgali

Sure enough, the Seljuk general Karatoygar rode into the Kayi camp with an escort just as Suleyman Shah and his beys were exiting their headquarters meeting. Karatoygar accused the Kayi tribe of massacring a detachment of "ambassador troops" transporting prisoners to the Sultan, and he showed Suleyman a battle axe bearing the Kayi seal, retrieved from the back of a dead Templar. He then demanded that the Kayis hand over the three escaped prisoners, but Suleyman refused, saying that it was Turkish custom not to hand over guests, especially wounded ones. When Karatoygar insisted, saying that his orders came from the Sultan, Suleyman angrily berated Karatoygar, saying that a man who did not adhere to his customs was no man at all. Karatoygar warned Suleyman before he left, giving him two days to hand over the prisoners. The confrontation led to the tribe breaking into factions, with Gundogdu and their uncle Kurdoglu believing that the tribe should hand over the three rescued Seljuks and start on their way to a new home at Aleppo. Gundogdu then confronted Ertugrul outside of the camp and criticized him for worsening the tribe's situation; Ertugrul was later compelled to question the situation, although he convinced himself that giving in to the tyrant's wishes would not improve anything. Ertugrul was then told by his father that he would serve as an envoy to Emir al-Aziz Muhammad of Aleppo, as Suleyman had agreed to Gundogdu and Kurdoglu's advice to settle the tribe in Aleppo, where they could serve the Emir as warriors in exchange for protection and a home. Ertugrul would be accompanied by Ilyas Fakih, the tribe's imam.

Ertugrul camp

Ertugrul at his camp

Ertugrul then summoned his loyal alps Bamsi Beyrek, Dogan Alp, and Turgut Alp, along with Ilyas, and embarked on the road to Aleppo. Before Ertugrul left, Halime poetically wished him a safe trip, and, during the journey, Ertugrul was only able to think of Halime. His men convinced him to encamp near a stream, where they and their horses could rest. While daydreaming at the stream, Ertugrul briefly met the Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi, who was tending to a wounded gazelle. That night, Ertugrul and his men were ambushed by Seljuk assassins, but they succeeded in killing all of them with Ilyas' help. They then had dinner with Ibn Arabi the next evening after Ibn Arabi helped to heal Turgut's arrow wound, and Ibn Arabi persuaded them to have faith in God as they travelled. They were suddenly joined by two strangers, one of whom was secretly a Templar, Commander Titus. Titus pretended to be a Muslim who had survived a Templar attack (to which the alps responded by bragging about killing Templars a week before), and he warned the others that the Christians were preparing a new Crusade, and that they had allegedly killed every Muslim ruler and left their bodies in their town squares. After a short discussion, Titus asked the names of the others, and Ertugrul introduced himself; Titus recognized him as the man who had killed his brother Bisol. He then excused himself, telling Ertugrul to visit his carpet shop in Aleppo, only for Ibn Arabi to ironically warn Titus that the Crusaders could attack at any moment, even in disguise.

Ertugrul al-Aziz

Ertugrul meeting with Atabey Sahabeddin

Ertugrul and his company proceeded to enter Aleppo, where Ertugrul was told by Ibn Arabi that he had coincidentally arrived on the monthly visiting day. Ertugrul went to meet al-Aziz at his palace, where - following his father's advice - he confidently declared his intention to claim land from al-Aziz. al-Aziz's vizier Atabey Sahabeddin initially insulted Ertugrul's offer, saying that he did not want the Kayis to bring their goats to defecate in Aleppo, but Ertugrul pointed out that Sahabeddin was himself a Turkmen, signified by a ring on his finger. He then offered Sahabeddin the services of 2,000 alps any time he needed them, but Sahabeddin dismissed him, saying that he already had more soldiers in his palace. Before Sahabeddin's guards could force Ertugrul to leave, he beat down three of them to demonstrate their lower quality. al-Aziz and his commander Nasir then emerged, clapping with amusement; al-Aziz told Sahabeddin to invite Ertugrul to discuss further matters over dinner with him that night.

Ertugrul al-Aziz meeting

al-Aziz's banquet

At the meeting with al-Aziz, Ertugrul asked al-Aziz for a fertile winter quarter where his tribe could settle. Sahabeddin shared his concerns about the Khwarazmians, the Seljuks, the Mongols, and the Crusaders hemming in on the Ayyubids, but Ertugrul promised that the Kayis would be able to help the Ayyubids in exchange for reciprocation. al-Aziz then pointed out that the Kayis often reduced their campsites to moorland, and that they would inevitably want more land once they had destroyed an area. Ertugrul admitted to this, and, when al-Aziz asked him if he would be satisfied with Aleppo, Ertugrul assured him that he would rather his livestock starve to death than he earn the displeasure of his Emir. The Emir then thanked him for his gifts, and he then returned the alps' stolen weapons to them, having had them stolen while they were at the bathhouse before dinner. The Emir asked Ertugrul how he was supposed to trust warriors who couldn't even hold on to their weapons during peace, and he ultimately told Ertugrul that he would confer with his commanders and give Ertugrul his answer a day later.

Ertugrul al-Aziz balcony meeting

Ertugrul meeting with the Emir

That night, Ertugrul woke from a nightmare and found that an assassin was looming over him. He fought off the assassin and broke his neck, and he then chased another assassin who fled into the hallway. There, he found al-Aziz's commander Nasir confronting the assassin, and, while Ertugrul told Nasir not to kill him, Nasir stabbed the assassin dead. al-Aziz and his guards then rushed in, as did Ertugrul's alps. Nasir claimed that the dead man was a Templar, and the matter was put to rest. The next afternoon, Ertugrul was summoned to meet the Emir. There, Sahabeddin announced that he was to be given lands west of the Asi River on the Levantine coast; the Emir told Ertugrul that Nasir had picked out the land for him. While Ertugrul deduced that the lands would be fertile, Sahabeddin also warned him that it was fertile with enemies, and that Ertugrul would be sleeping beside the Devil. Ertugrul said that sleeping beside the Devil would keep his tribe alert and spry, and he agreed to the deal. Ertugrul then celebrated with his friends before setting out for the tribe's new territory.

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Ertugrul and his alps planting the Kayi flag on the plain

Ertugrul, his alps, and Ilyas then travelled to the Asi (Orontes) plain, where they celebrated the fertility of their new home. While they deduced that they would be near the Templars' secret fort and that they would face conflict, Ertugrul cheered Turgut up by telling him that the tribe's first action on arrival would be to ensure his wedding to Aykiz Hatun, and Turgut suggested that they have a double wedding (with Ertugrul marrying Halime). Ertugrul then ambushed a spy who had been stalking the party ever since they left Aleppo, but, before he could find out who the spy worked for, the spy ate a cyanide capsule hidden in his ring, killing himself. Ertugrul found that the assassin had brought a cage of pigeons with him, so he sent one back to the Templars with a cryptic message warning that the wing of the pigeon had found itself in the wolf's mouth, threatening them.

Ertugrul letter Suleyman

Ertugrul delivering the Emir's letter to his father Suleyman

Ertugrul then returned to the Kayi camp, where he reported his success to his father. His father was overjoyed to see him, and, after reading al-Aziz's letter, he said that his prayers had been answered. Suleyman then told Ertugrul that he would announce the good news in front of the headquarters, but Ertugrul received permission to do another small task first. He reunited with Halime just outside of the camp, where he gifted her a mirror from Aleppo and told her that he wanted her to see the same beauty that he saw. However, she told him that their dream was not meant to be, as she told him that Karatoygar had sent men to the Kayi camp to kidnap her and her family, and warned him that Karatoygar would not let up. Ertugrul swore that he would never leave her, and he then returned to the camp to confront Deli Demir about the attack. Demir told him that, in some ways, the attack was a blessing, as it occurred in the Kayi camp (Numan and his family would likely have been massacred if they were caught in the wilderness), and it prevented Halime's family from running away that same night.

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Ertugrul and his alps performing a sword dance

Soon after, Ertugrul summoned his alps and announced his intention to find the traitor in the camp. Shortly after, he attended the headquarters meeting, where - despite initial opposition from a faction of beys led by Alpargu and Baybora - he persuaded the other beys to agree to take the risk of moving to the fertile Orontes plain, just as their ancestors had often travelled to dangerous lands and settled there. Ultimately, even Kurdoglu, Alpargu and Baybora's overlord, superficially agreed with the move, and Suleyman decided to prepare the tribe for the journey. That night, Ertugrul and the alps performed a ceremonial sword dance to celebrate their impending move, but the dance was cut short by the capture of a leper who had been caught pouring poison into the tribe's cauldrons. Two guards held spears to her and presented her to Suleyman, and, when she saw Ertugrul, she said that the Templar Knights sent their regards to him, proceeding to pull one of the spears into her side to kill herself. Suleyman then had the leper and the cauldrons put into a pile and burned, hoping to prevent a plague outbreak. That night, Suleyman talked to Ertugrul in his tent, warning him that Halime and her family were keeping a secret which was bringing trouble upon the tribe, and he also told him that he could not marry outside of the tribe; he revealed that he and Hayme had decided that he should marry Gokce Hatun, the sister of Gundogdu's wife Selcan Hatun. Hayme later visited Ertugrul, and she was saddened to see how much he was in love with Halime.

Ertugrul letter breakfast

Ertugrul at breakfast with his family

The next morning, Suleyman had Gokce call Ertugrul to breakfast, where Suleyman told Ertugrul that the deal with the Emir of Aleppo had been finalized, and that Ertugrul would be sent back to Aleppo to send his regards to the Emir and tell him that he would soon visit the Emir in person. However, their breakfast was interrupted when a heavily wounded Hamza Alp was brought in by Abdurrahman Gazi to report the massacre of the caravan and Gundogdu's capture. He then told Suleyman that Karatoygar would kill Gundogdu a day later unless Suleyman handed over Numan and his family, upon which Selcan angrily berated Ertugrul until stopped by Suleyman. Suleyman had Hamza taken to Akcakoca quietly, and he also ordered that Numan be brought to him. Numan reluctantly confessed that he was a Seljuk royal and told Suleyman and Ertugrul of how he and his family were fugitives. Ertugrul convinced Suleyman that Karatoygar would still want the Kayis dead even if Numan and his family were returned, so he proposed that they convince Karatoygar to leave his castle to hand over Gundogdu; as Karatoygar wanted an exchange, the Kayis could negotiate the terms. Suleyman and Ertugrul planned to lure Karatoygar out of his fortress to Kartal Tepesi, where he would be ambushed; Suleyman then went to Karatoygar and exchanged himself for his son Gundogdu, who was then released.

Ertugrul Kartal Tepesi

Ertugrul at Kartal Tepesi

Ertugrul and his men prepared to ambush Karatoygar and his men at Kartal Tepesi, but Karatoygar and Titus secretly prepared a counter-ambush after Kurdoglu (informed by Selcan) secretly warned them about the plot. When the two sides met, the Seljuk soldiers prepared the counter-ambush, but, when Karatoygar ordered his men to strike, they refused, as Ertugrul had arranged for the Seljuk double-agent Afsin Bey (who had previously saved Numan's life) to replace Karatoygar's men with his own loyal troops. He then dispatched Karatoygar's bodyguards and captured Karatoygar, who taunted the tribesmen before Suleyman announced that he would be tried before the Kayi tribe and sentenced according to Turkmen customs. That night, he also arranged for Numan and his son to reach safety in Aleppo, while Halime would remain with the tribe, as the Seljuks were not after her.

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