APersonIndependent states
Orhan Gazi
Second Ottoman ruler (1324-1362): he made Bursa the capital, struck the first Ottoman coin and brought the Ottomans into Europe.
Orhan was the son of Osman Gazi. He took Bursa in 1326 and made it his capital, and in 1327 the first Ottoman silver coin, the akçe, was struck. He took Nicaea (İznik) in 1331 and Nicomedia (İzmit) in 1337, and annexed the neighbouring Karasi beylik.
He created the first standing infantry (yaya) and founded the first Ottoman madrasa in İznik. He allied with the Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos and married his daughter Theodora. In 1354 his son Süleyman Pasha crossed to Gallipoli and the Ottomans gained a foothold in the Balkans. Orhan Gazi died in Bursa in 1362.
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Updated: November 12, 2026