Osmanli

Osmanli, a branch of the Usbegs, who passed in the 11th century from the Turkoman Desert to the Iranian tableland, and thence to Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula. They take the name of Osmanli from Osman (Othman) I., El Ghazi, "The Victorious," originally it petty chief of Bithynia (1259-1326), who overran a great part of the Byzantine Empire and founded the present Turkish dynasty. The Osmanli Turks, a brave, hardy race, mainstay of the Turkish Empire, form the bulk of the rural population of Asia Minor, where they have long abandoned the nomad life of their ancestors, and are now chiefly occupied with tillage and stock breeding. The language is pure Turki in structure, closely allied to the Chagatai of Turkestan, but much mixed with Arabic and Persian words and even phrases, especially as spoken and written by the upper classes, who use the Arabic character, though ill adapted to express the sounds of the Turkish language.