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Süleyman Pasha (son of Orhan)

Type Figure Region Ottoman Time c. 1325–1357 Also known as Orhan's eldest son Süleyman

Eldest son of Ottoman bey Orhan and a key commander of Ottoman expansion into Europe in the mid-14th century; he crossed the Dardanelles c.…

Timeline

  1. 1330–1353Bursa · BursaAs Orhan's eldest son he grew up at his father's court and joined raids on the Byzantine frontier; Byzantine civil war and the Kantakouzenos–Orhan alliance in the 1350s created political conditions for the crossing, and Süleyman was entrusted with opening European territory.
  2. 1354–1356Gallipoli · Gallipoli PeninsulaSüleyman Pasha crossed the Dardanelles c. 1354, seized Gallipoli castle and its surroundings, and established the first Ottoman foothold in Europe; he built fortifications, settled Turkic migrants, and brought the north shore of the straits into the Ottoman sphere, pioneering Balkan expansion.
  3. 1357Bolayır · Gallipoli PeninsulaSüleyman Pasha died fighting Byzantine forces near Bolayır in 1357; his father Orhan took over his Thracian lands, and his brother Murad I later pushed further into the Balkans from this base, with Süleyman's cross-strait expedition seen as the starting point of Ottoman expansion into Europe.

Sources