Köse Mihal ( ota, كوسه ميخال) ( Turkish for "Michael the Beardless"; 13th century – 1340) accompanied

Osman I Osman I or Osman Ghazi ( ota, عثمان غازى, translit= ʿOsmān Ġāzī; tr, I. Osman or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4), sometimes transliterated archaically as Othman, was the founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as the Ottoman Bey ...

in his ascent to power as a bey and founder of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. He is considered to be the first significant Byzantine

renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *''Command ...

and convert to Islam to enter Ottoman service. (see Nöker) He was also known as Gazi Mihal ( ota, غازى ميخال) and Abdullah Mihal Gazi. He ruled over Harmankaya Kalesi ( ota, خرمن قيا قلعه سى).

Life

Köse Mihal was the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

governor of ''Chirmenkia'' (''Harmankaya'', today '' Harmanköy'') and was ethnically Greek. His original name was "Michael Kosses".Majoros Ferenc u. Bernd Rill:''The Ottoman Empire 1300–1922'', Wiesbaden 2004, p. 96 The castle of Harmankaya was in the foothills of the

Uludağ Uludağ (), the ancient Mysian or Bithynian Olympus ( Greek: Όλυμπος), is a mountain in Bursa Province, Turkey, with an elevation of . In Turkish, ''Uludağ'' means "great mountain". In ancient times the range of which it is a part, e ...

Mountains in

Bilecik Bilecik is the provincial capital of Turkey's Bilecik Province which is located in northwestern Anatolia. As of 2015 urban population of the city is 64,531. The mayor is Semih Şahin ( CHP). The town is famous for its numerous restored Turk ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. Mihal also eventually gained control of Lefke, Mekece and Akhisar. Even before his conversion to Islam, Mihal had an amicable relationship with the OTTOMAN leader , Osman Ghazi. He was an ally of Osman and his people in war, and also acted as a leader of the local Greek population. Additionally, he acted as a consultant and diplomatic agent for Osman I. The sources describing the reason behind Mihal's change of faith vary. One tradition emphasises the influence exerted by his friendship with Osman Ghazi, whilst another describes him having experienced a significant dream which convinced him to become a Muslim. His conversion is thought to have occurred between 1304 and 1313. As a Muslim, he was known as Köse Mihal'' 'Abd Allah'' (Abdullah), Abdullah being a name commonly adopted by converts.Franz Babinger:''Mikhalik-OGHLU''. In E.'' J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam''. Leiden 1913 – 1936, S.493–495 Up to the conquest of

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

in 1326, Köse Mihal played an important role as a diplomatic advisor and envoy of

Orhan I Orhan Ghazi ( ota, اورخان غازی; tr, Orhan Gazi, also spelled Orkhan, 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the Ottoman Beylik from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his r ...

, the son and successor of Osman Ghazi. Köse Mihal was the first important Christian renegade to become an Ottoman subject, and he played a significant role in the creation of the Ottoman state.Nicolae Jorga:''The history of the Ottoman Empire,'' presented by source, unchanged reissue, Primus Verlag Darmstadt 1997, Vol 2, p. 204 Köse Mihal's descendants, known as the

Mihaloğlu The Mihaloğlu or Mihalzâde ("son of Michael"), in the collective plural Mihaloğulları ("Sons/descendants of Michael"), were a distinguished family of '' akıncı'' leaders and frontier lords (''uç bey'') of the early Ottoman Empire. The fami ...

, were famous, particularly in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were a politically and militarily successful family of Ottoman dignitaries in

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a hi ...

. However, they did not reach the very highest public offices. After the taking of Bursa, Köse Mihal is no longer mentioned in the sources. Kreutel notes that Köse Mihal died around 1340. According to some historians, Köse Mihal was buried at

Türbe ''Türbe'' is the Turkish word for "tomb". In Istanbul it is often used to refer to the mausolea of the Ottoman sultans and other nobles and notables. The word is derived from the Arabic ''turbah'' (meaning ''"soil/ground/earth"''), which ...

Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders ...

(Adrianople), in a mosque he himself built, in this tradition Köse Mihal was believed to have lived until after the Ottoman capture of Adrianople by

Murad I Murad I ( ota, مراد اول; tr, I. Murad, Murad-ı Hüdavendigâr (nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'', from fa, خداوندگار, translit=Khodāvandgār, lit=the devotee of God – meaning "sovereign" in this context); 29 June 1326 – 15 Jun ...

in the year 1361. He would therefore have lived to a very advanced age indeed. However,

Franz Babinger Franz Babinger (15 January 1891 – 23 June 1967) was a well-known German orientalist and historian of the Ottoman Empire, best known for his biography of the great Ottoman emperor Mehmed II, known as "the Conqueror", originally published as ''Me ...

appears to have made a mistake. He confused Köse Mihal with

Ghazi Mihal Bey Ghazi or Gazi ( ar, غازى), a title given to Muslim warriors or champions and used by several Ottoman Sultans, may refer to: *Ghazi (warrior), an Islamic term for the Muslim soldier who crusades for their religion, land or territory People G ...

, a grandson of Köse Mihal. Ghazi Mihal Bey built a now ruined Mosque complex, with an

Imaret Imaret, sometimes also known as a ''darüzziyafe'', is one of a few names used to identify the public soup kitchens built throughout the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These public kitchens were often part of a larger complex ...

and

Hamam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

, in Edirne, which was completed in 1422. The cemetery adjoining the complex holds the tomb of Ghazi Mihal Bey.

Legacy

Mihal's descendants (the Mikhaloglu/Mikhaloglou;

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Μιχαλόγλου) held prominent positions through centuries of

Ottoman history The Ottoman Empire was founded c. 1299 by Osman I as a small beylik in northwestern Asia Minor just south of the Byzantine capital Constantinople. The Ottomans first crossed into Europe in 1352, establishing a permanent settlement at Çimpe Cast ...

. Previously the oldest surviving Ottoman artifact was

Orhan Orhan Ghazi ( ota, اورخان غازی; tr, Orhan Gazi, also spelled Orkhan, 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the Ottoman Beylik from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of hi ...

's helmet. But on 5 December 2020, the Ministry of National Defense of Turkey announced that Mihal's sword was recorded as the oldest surviving Ottoman artifact, and was taken to

Istanbul Military Museum Istanbul Military Museum ( tr, Askerî Müze) is dedicated to one thousand years of Turkish military history. It is one of the leading museums of its kind in the world. The museum is open to the public everyday except Mondays and Tuesdays. T ...

In popular culture

In the Turkish television series ' (1988), Köse Mihal was portrayed by Turkish actor

Ahmet Mekin Ahmet Mekin (born Ahmet Kurteli, 6 August 1932) is a Turkish actor. Biography Ahmet Mekin was born as Ahmet Kurteli in Istanbul and began his career in theatre. He made his film debut in ''Mahşere Kadar'' in 1957 and went on to appear in nearly ...

. In the Turkish series Kuruluş: Osman, Köse Mihal is portrayed by

Serhat Kılıç Serhat Mustafa Kılıç (born 8 July 1975) is a Turkish actor and TV-radio presenter. Life and career In 1994, Kılıç enrolled in Bilkent University School of Music and Performing Arts, Theater Department with a scholarship. He graduated with ...

References and notes

External links

The Akinci family Mihaloğlu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kose Mihal 13th-century births 14th-century Byzantine people 14th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 14th-century Ottoman military personnel 1340s deaths Byzantine Anatolians Greek Muslims Greek former Christians Former Greek Orthodox Christians Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Byzantine defectors Mihaloğulları

Life

Legacy

In popular culture

See also

Further reading

References and notes

External links