Gallipoli: The Spark That Would Ignite an Empire

Volume 10 Article 5 2011 Gallipoli: The Spark That Would Ignite an Empire Brendan Quigley Gettysburg College Class of 2011 Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ghj Part of the Islamic World and Near East History Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Quigley, Brendan (2011) "Gallipoli: The Spark That Would Ignite an Empire," The Gettysburg Historical Journal: Vol. 10 , Article 5. Available at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ghj/vol10/iss1/5 This open access article is brought to you by The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The Cupola. For more information, please contact . Gallipoli: The Spark That Would Ignite an Empire Abstract The expansion and growth of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1300s is one that has both intrigued and puzzled Western scholars for many years. Small bands of Islamic frontier raiders were able to join together and ultimately become a powerful empire that spanned three continents and had subjects of many different religions, cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. How did this happen? What was the spark that ignited the wildfire that would become the mighty and feared Ottoman Empire? Looking back on Ottoman history, one major acquisition, that is, the successful capture of a peninsula known as Gallipoli or Gelibolu in the Aegean Sea would give the Ottomans a permanent foothold in Europe from which to launch their forces into the Balkans and was responsible for the amazing Ottoman expansion after 1300. The strategic location of Gallipoli between Anatolia and the Middle East and Europe has made Gallipoli one of the most strategic locations within the Ottoman Empire, serving as a gateway between continents. History has proven that whichever nation has been able to hold Gallipoli has been able to keep power in the region. Keywords Ottoman Empire, Gallipoli, Gelibolu, expansion This article is available in The Gettysburg Historical Journal: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ghj/vol10/iss1/5 Gallipoli: The Spark That Would Ignite an Empire Brendan Quigley The expansion and growth of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1300s is one that has both intrigued and puzzled Western scholars for many years. Small bands of Islamic frontier raiders were able to join together and ultimately become a powerful empire that spanned three continents and had subjects of many different religions, cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. How did this happen? What was the spark that ignited the wildfire that would become the mighty and feared Ottoman Empire? Looking back on Ottoman history, one major acquisition, that is, the successful capture of a peninsula known as Gallipoli or Gelibolu in the Aegean Sea would give the Ottomans a permanent foothold in Europe from which to launch their 121 forces into the Balkans and was responsible for the amazing Ottoman expansion after 1300. The strategic location of Gallipoli between Anatolia and the Middle East and Europe has made Gallipoli one of the most strategic locations within the Ottoman Empire, serving as a gateway between continents. History has proven that whichever nation has been able to hold Gallipoli has been able to keep power in the region. In order to understand the significance of the Gallipoli peninsula it is necessary to first look to the beginnings of the Ottoman Empire. This empire was able to emerge around the turn of the 14th century in Anatolia by joining many independent clans or ―states‖ that shared a common goal; to expand the influence of Islam in the region. The 122 once defining historical thesis on this significant spark that would be the origins of the Ottoman Empire was written by Paul Wittek in 1937. This ―Ghazi Thesis‖ proposed that it was the religious zeal of Islam that drove many of these Turkish raiders to spread across the Middle East and into Europe, taking control of land and people in an 1 attempt to convert them to Islam. While this thesis has been hotly debated for decades, one thing is certain, and that is that these groups of raiders, for whatever reason, did manage to expand from the frontiers of Anatolia into the Middle East and Asia as well as the Balkans of Europe, and Gallipoli would become the main reason for the latter. 1 Heath Lowry, The Nature of the Early Ottoman State (Albany, NY: The State University of New York Press, 2003), 2. 123 The early years for this band of frontier principalities were full of violence and bloodshed. This small confederation of Islamist states struggled to survive amongst several more powerful neighbors including the Persians and Byzantines. However, it was in these early years of the Ottoman Empire (in the 1350s) that a wise Orhan Bey, the son of Osman (creator of the Ottoman Empire), noticed internal struggle within their close neighbor, the Byzantine Empire, and decided to would take advantage of the situation. In 1346 Orhan made an alliance with John VI Cantacuzemus, a ―claimant‖ 2 or ―pretender‖ to the Byzantine throne. To solidify the alliance, Orhan married Cantacuzemus‘s daughter, Theodora. This alliance put 6,000 2 Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600 (London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1973), 9. 124 Ottoman troops in Byzantine territory to support the rebel cause and gave Orhan an excuse to meddle in 3 Byzantine affairs. When Cantacuzemus called for Ottoman support against the Serbs and Bulgarians in 1352, Orhan quickly dispatched his troops to Thrace, an outpost on the eastern side of Gallipoli, leaving his son, Suleyman Pasha, in charge of all Ottoman forces in the area. Suleyman‘s forces were able to take Thrace, but instead of putting the land back in Cantacuzemus‘s hands, Suleyman decided to bring in more troops from Anatolia and lay siege 4 to the fortresses on the Gallipoli peninsula. Although Cantacuzemus strongly insisted that 3 Steven Turnbull, The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699 (New York: Taylor and Francis Group, 2003), 13. 4 Ibid., 9. 125 Suleyman immediately retreat from Thrace and Gallipoli, his protests fell on deaf Ottoman ears. 5 Although Suleyman had captured Thrace and was able to replenish his forces with more troops from Anatolia, his siege of the Gallipoli fortresses was moving at a very slow rate. In a last ditch attempt to regain lost Byzantine land in Thrace, John VI Cantacuzemus offered to pay Orhan to leave. Just as the Ottomans were about to accept this deal the area was rocked with a violent earthquake. It broke down the walls of several fortresses on the Gallipoli peninsula and caused major damage to the surrounding villages. While the Christian defenders rushed out from their devastated stronghold, Ottoman forces took control 5 Ibid., 13. 126 6 and quickly rebuilt what was destroyed. Again Suleyman brought in more troops and supplies to fortify his new outpost. This move sent shockwaves throughout Europe, as calls for a Crusade b (...truncated)