Köse Mihal (; 13th century – 1340) accompanied

Osman I Osman I or Osman Ghazi (; or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4) was the eponymous founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as a bey, beylik or emirate). While initially a small Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman principality during Osman's lifetime, h ...

in his ascent to power as a

bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

and founder of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He is considered to be the first significant Byzantine renegade and convert to Islam to enter Ottoman service (see Nöker). He was also known as Gazi Mihal () and Abdullah Mihal Gazi. He ruled over Harmankaya Kalesi ().

Life

Köse Mihal was the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

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 a city in northwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Bilecik Province and Bilecik District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. 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 Bursa () 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 Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

in 1326, Köse Mihal played an important role as a diplomatic advisor and envoy of Orhan I, 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, were famous, particularly in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were a politically and militarily successful family of Ottoman dignitaries in

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

. 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'' refers to a Muslim mausoleum, tomb or grave often in the Turkish-speaking areas and for the mausolea of Ottoman sultans, nobles and notables. A typical türbe is located in the grounds of a mosque or complex, often endowed by the ...

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

(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 (; ), nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'' (from – meaning "Head of state, sovereign" in this context; 29 June 1326 – 15 June 1389) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1362 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan Gazi and Nilüfer Hatun. Mura ...

in the year 1361. He would therefore have lived to a very advanced age indeed. However, historian Franz Babinger appears to have made a mistake. He confused Köse Mihal with Ghazi Mihal Bey, a grandson of Köse Mihal. Ghazi Mihal Bey built a now ruined Mosque complex, with an Imaret and

Hamam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, 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.

Issue

After his conversion, Mihal had two sons: * Mihaloğlu Mehmed Bey. He had two sons: ** Mihaloğlu Ghazi Mihal Bey ** Mihaloğlu Hizir Bey. He had four sons: *** Mihaloğlu Ali Bey. He married a Christian

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

n noblewoman, Maria

Craiovești The House of Craiovești (), later House of Brâncovenești (), was a boyar family in Wallachia who gave the country several of its Princes and held the title of Ban of Oltenia (whether of Strehaia or Craiova) for ca. 60 years. History The fir ...

, and had five sons, the third of them was: **** Mehmed Beg Mihaloglu *** Mihaloğlu Skender Pasha. He had two sons and a daughter: **** Hürrem Pasha **** Mustafa Pasha **** Muhsine Hatun, who married the Grand Vizier Pargali Ibrahim Pasha and had a son: ***** Mehmed Şah Bey *** Mihaloğlu Ghazi Bali Bey *** Mihaloğlu Mehmed Bey * Mihaloğlu Yahşi Bey

Legacy

Mihal's descendants (the Mikhaloglu/Mikhaloglou;

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Μιχαλόγλου) held prominent positions throughout the following centuries of Ottoman history. At one point, the oldest surviving Ottoman artifact was

Orhan Orhan Ghazi (; , also spelled Orkhan; died 1362) was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering mos ...

'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 the Istanbul Military Museum.

In popular culture

In the Turkish television series ' (1988), Köse Mihal was portrayed by the Turkish actor Ahmet Mekin. In the Turkish movie Killing the Shadows, Köse Mihal is portrayed by Serdar Gökhan. In the Turkish series Kuruluş: Osman, Köse Mihal is portrayed by Serhat Kılıç.

References and notes

External links

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