Ertugrul Ghazi was the father of Osman. According to ottoman tradition he was the son Suleyman Shan , Leader of the Kayi Tribe Of Oghuz Turks, Who Fled From Western Center Asia to Anatolia to escape the Mangol Conquests, But he may instead have been the son of a Gündüz Alp. According to this legend, after the death of his father, Ertuğrul and his followers entered the service of the Sultanate of Rum, for which he was rewarded with dominion over the town of Söğüt on the frontier with the Byzantine Empire. His love and respect for his wife was widely known. He had four sons with Halime Sultan, and he died at 90 years old. The last ten years of his life were spent quietly in his tribe, when due to the old age, he transferred all his responsibilities to his youngest son Osman. A historical proof of his life are the coins minted by Osman which identify Ertuğrul as the name of his father, but beyond this not much is known about him apart from folktales.
Who knew that one TV show could enlighten us in so many ways! As the Muslim world is sucked into the hysteria of Ertugrul and similar Ottoman dramas, its crucial that we uncover what is historical fact, and what is purely for entertainment purposes, if we want to truly benefit from the history of the Ottoman period. But at the same time instead of creating fictional heroes, lets celebrate the truth in the history and appreciate our heroes for what they Actually did.