The Conquest Route of Early Ottomans in the Gallipoli Peninsulaand the Conquest of Gallipoli (1354)

Abstract

For the early Ottomans, the conquest of the Gallipoli Peninsula constituted the most critical step in the process of transition and settlement to Rumelia. That process is related in early Ottoman chronicles with mystic narratives and conflicting plots. This reality is also reflected in the studies of researchers working on this subject; a clear conquest process cannot be followed in these studies. Along with the “Cinbi” captured on the way to the region’s conquest, the inability to locate or identify many forts and sites on the Gallipoli Peninsula or their misidentification leads the research-ers to misinterpret the context of the conquest route. This research aims to determine the early Ottomans route during the Gallipoli Peninsula’s conquest. For this purpose, an attempt was made to specify the conquest route using toponymic-topographic (place names) evidence in chronicles; this is supported by the Tahrir Registers’ data compared with the results of field research. First, the argument that the Rumelia conquests might have started after the earthquake on 1-2 March 1354, not in 1352, was strongly emphasized. In addition, the locations of the forts and sites captured in the peninsula and their roles in the conquest of the region, especially “Cinbi”, were highlighted. At that point, it was determined that the chronicles did not actually present a mixed narrative but actually complemented each other. Based on that, it was concluded that the early Ottomans landed at two points of the Gallipoli Peninsula and besieged the city of Gallipoli.