Siege of Kulaca Hisar

1285 capture of the Byzantine city of Kulacahisar by the Ottoman Empire

Siege of Kulacahisar

Part of the Ottoman-Byzantine Wars

Date

1285

Location

İnegöl, Turkey

Result

Kayi victory

The Kayi Tribe captures Kulucahisar Castle from the Byzantines

Foundation of the Ottoman Beylik

Belligerents

Kayi tribe

Byzantium

Commanders and leaders

Osman Gazi, Turgut Alp, Konur Alp, Akçakoca and Abdurrahman Gazi

Aya Nikola

Strength

300 gazis^[1]

1,000^[2]

Byzantine–Ottoman wars

Kulaca Hisar
İnegöl
Bapheus
Dimbos
Catalan campaign
Bursa
Pelekanon
Nicaea
Nicomedia
Gallipoli
Savoyard crusade
Adrianople
Philadelphia
1st Constantinople
2nd Constantinople
3rd Constantinople
Thessalonica
4th Constantinople
Morea
Trebizond

The Siege of Kulacahisar or Raid of Kulacahisar was a battle fought between the Byzantines and the Turks under the command of Osman Gazi in 1285.^[3]^[4]

Battle

After the Reconquest of Constantinople, the Byzantine capital returned to Constantinople and their authority on the Anatolian frontiers was loosened. When Osman Bey came to power in the Kayi Tribe following the death of his father, he established friendly relations with the Tekfurs of Yenisehir and Lefke. The landlord of Inegol, Aya Nikola was determined to reverse the enroachment of the Turks upon Bithinya and started plundering Kayi markets. When Osman Bey moved towards Inegol seeking retribution he was ambushed at Battle of Mount Armenia [tr] by Nikola and his retinue. The Kayi were vastly outnumbered so sustained heavy casualties. Even Bayhoca, son of his brother Savcı Bey and a renowned warrior was killed. The Turkish cavalry managed to escape with their sword high to break the Byzantine line. There was no winner to this battle as both sides had to retreat back into their own lands and regroup.

Siege

As revenge for all those slain on the mountain, Osman attacked the Byzantine-held Kulacahisar Castle, which is 5 kilometers away from İnegöl and located on the outskirts of Emirdağ to protect the city. A few men sneaked into the fortress disguised as Romans neutralized the guards and opened the doors. As a result of a night raid with a force of 2.000 people, the castle was captured by the Turks. This is the first castle conquest in the history of the Ottoman Empire.^[5] Since the captured Christian people of Kulacahisar accepted the rule of Osman Bey, the people there were not harmed.^[6]

References

^ Tektaş, Nazım (2009-11-12). Osmanlı Tarihi 1 - Çadırdan Saraya. artcivic. ISBN 978-975-8845-11-8.
^ Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches , Nicolae Iorga p;66
^ Atsiz, Nihal (2012). Aşıkpaşaoğlu Tarihi. Otuken. p. 31. ISBN 978-9754378689.
^ Inalcik, Halil. "OSMAN I - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi". islamansiklopedisi.org.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-12-04.
^ Danişmed, İsmail Hami (2011). İzahlı Osmanlı Tarihi Kronolojisi [Annotated Ottoman History Chronology]. Doğu Kütüphanesi. p. 6. ISBN 978-9944-397-68-1.
^ Kemal, Namık. Osmanlı Tarihi [Ottoman History]. Elips Kitap. p. 39. ISBN 978-605-121-202-9.

v t e Major sieges involving the Ottoman Empire by century
13th-14th	1285 Kulaca Hisar 1326 Bursa 1328–1331 Nicaea 1333–1337 Nicomedia 1360s Adrianople 1385 Sofia 1393 Tarnovo 1394–1402 Constantinople
15th	1411 Constantinople 1422 Constantinople 1422–1430 Thessalonica 1428 Golubac 1440 Belgrade 1440–41 Novo Brdo 1448 Svetigrad 1450 Krujë 1453 Constantinople 1455 Berat 1456 Belgrade 1461 Trebizond 1462 Mytilene 1463 Jajce 1464 Jajce 1467 Krujë 1470 Negroponte 1474 Scutari 1477–78 Krujë 1478–79 Scutari 1480 Rhodes 1481 Otranto 1484 Chilia
16th	1500 Cephalonia 1517 Cairo 1521 Belgrade 1522 Knin 1522 Rhodes 1529 Peñón of Algiers 1529 Vienna 1531 Diu 1532 Güns (Kőszeg) 1532 Maribor 1533–34 Coron 1534 Tunis 1534 Baghdad 1537 Klis 1537 Corfu 1538 Diu 1539 Castelnuovo 1541 Buda 1543 Nice 1543 Esztergom 1548 Aden 1548 Van 1551 Tripoli 1552 Muscat 1552 Hormuz 1552 Temesvár 1552 Eger 1556 Oran 1559 Bahrain 1563 Oran 1565 Malta 1566 Szigetvar 1570–71 Famagusta 1574 Tunis 1578 Gvozdansko 1592 Bihać 1593 Sisak 1596 Eger
17th	1601 Nagykanizsa 1621 Khotyn 1638 Baghdad 1663 Uyvar 1664 Novi Zrin 1648–1669 Candia 1672 Kamenets 1683 Vienna 1684 Buda 1684 Santa Maura 1685 Érsekújvár 1686 Buda 1686 Pécs 1688 Negroponte 1688 Belgrade 1690 Belgrade 1695 Azov 1696 Azov
18th	1711 Brăila 1715 Nauplia 1716 Corfu 1716 Temeşvar 1717 Belgrade 1733 Baghdad 1734–35 Ganja 1737 Ochakov 1739 Belgrade 1788 Ochakov 1788 Khotin 1789 Belgrade 1789–90 Izmail 1799 El Arish 1799 Jaffa 1799 Acre
19th	1801 Cairo 1806 Belgrade 1821 Patras 1821–22 Acropolis 1821 Tripolitsa 1822 Missolonghi 1823 Missolonghi 1825–26 Missolonghi 1826–27 Acropolis 1828 Kars 1828 Varna 1854 Calafat 1854 Silistra 1854–55 Sevastopol 1855 Kars 1877 Plevna
20th	1912–13 Scutari 1912–13 Adrianople 1915 Van 1915–16 Kut 1916–1919 Medina
Ottoman defeats shown in italics.