The social and cultural life in Gelibolu During the Establishment of the Ottoman Empire

Gelibolu is an important place because it was the first land that the Ottoman Empireoccupied in Rumelia. After the occupation, the Ottoman Turks began to advance across theRumelian and Balkan lands. In that era, since Istanbul was dominated by Byzantine, it waspossible for the Anatolian Turks to move into the Rumelian land through Gelibolu.Therefore, Gelibolu holds great strategic importance when passing from Anatolia toRumelia, and from Marmara Sea to Black Sea throughout the history. It was also theheadquarters of the Ottoman navy until the sovereignty of Selim, the Second.In 1352, Turks were able to advance further into Balkan lands due to the civil war, famine,epidemics, and some sectarian clashes in Gelibolu, which was now under the control ofTurks. Such a well-planned advancement as it seemingly was, Turks tended to occupy theregions with a greater strategic importance first. They occupied Bursa, Iznik, Izmit andseveral other significant places on Silk Road as well as Gelibolu and shortly after, Edirne,which could be a threat for the Balkan lands. They didn?t occupy these lands only, but theymanaged to remain permanent in these lands by their own settlement policy, attempting toform and establish their own institutions there.In this study, one can read about the socio-political status of Gelibolu before itsoccupation, the story of the occupation, their status under the control of Turks, leadingscientists and anthropologists, its importance for the Ottoman-Turkish history, andarchitectural works from the early Ottoman times