Anatolia

Ertuğrul Ghazi was leader of the Kayı tribe of Oghuz Turks and father of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire. Operating on the Seljuk-Byzantine frontier in thirteenth-century Anatolia, his modest gains at Söğüt laid the groundwork for an enduring Islamic empire.

The Seljuk Empire (1037-1194 CE) was a powerful Turkish-Sunni dynasty that dominated the Middle East and Anatolia, defeated the Byzantine Empire at Manzikert, established Turkish power in Anatolia, and patronized the famous Nizamiyya schools.