Beyond the limits of central control, power rested in the hands of independent Ghazi leaders who ruled over small tribes and parcels of land. These Ghazis were Turkish warriors fighting for the faith of Islam against the infidel, the Christian settlers in Byzantine areas. On horses, the Ghazis raided and looted Christian villages, securing the goods on which their wealth was based.
One of these leaders was Ertogrul, the father of Osman. There are conflicting stories as to the origin of the Ottomans and their arrival in the frontier area of Anatolia. The most common story is that Ertogrul's father Suleyman Sah, the leader of a tribe of Turkomans, led his people out of northeastern Iran in the late 12th century, just ahead of a Mongol invasion. Fearing death or enslavement, they headed west where Suleyman is said to have drowned crossing the Euphrates. Assuming the leadership, Ertogrul led part of the tribe into Anatolia where they settled. Older versions of the story are more detailed but unsubstantiated.
Historian Edward S. Creasy relates that Ertogrul and his small band, while journeying westward into Asia Minor, came upon two armies engaged in battle. Seeing that one army was much larger than the other, Ertogrul and his followers entered the fray on the side of the smaller force without knowing for whom they fought.
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