Ottoman Interregnum
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The Ottoman Interregnum (also known as the Ottoman Triumvirate; Fetret Devri in Turkish) was a period in the beginning of the 15th century when chaos reigned in the Ottoman Empire following the defeat of sultan Beyazid I in 1402 by the Mongol warlord Timur Lenk. Around 1410 the three sons of Beyazid left alive after the Battle of Ankara ruled each half of the remaindants of the empire. The eldest son, Suleiman Çelebi, ruled northern Greece, Bulgaria and Thrace. His brother, İsa Çelebi ruled Greece and the westernmost of Anatolia, however he was overthrown by the younger half-brother Mehmed Çelebi from his capitol in Bursa in 1404. Suleiman then accuired southern Greece as well and Mehmet ruled over Anatolia. Mehmet then sent his younger brother Mûsa across the Black Sea with a large army to conquer Suleiman. Mûsa won in Bulgaria in 1410 and Suleiman was forced to retreat south to Greece. Mûsa then proclaimed himself as sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed became furious and sent a small army over to Gallipoli where it was defeated. Mehmed later came to his senses and forced an alliance with the Byzantine Empire. Three years later Mehmed sent over a new army that defeated Mûsa in Kamerlu, Serbia. It was then easy for Mehmed I to overthrow his last brother in Greece and become the Ottoman sultan.
The Osmanli Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1281 to 1923, beginning with Osman I (not counting his father, Ertuğrul), though the dynasty was not proclaimed until 1383 when Murad I declared himself sultan. Before that the tribe/dynasty might have been known as Söğüt but was renamed Osmanli in honour of Osman.
The sultan was the sole regent and government of the empire, at least officially. The sultan enjoyed many titles such as Sovereign of the House of Osman, Sultan of Sultans, Khan of Khans, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe. Note that the first rulers never called themselves sultans, but rather beys. See the article on state organisation of the Ottoman Empire for further information on the sultan and the structure of power.
Hereditiary heads of the House of Osman since 1926:
When Mehmed II (the Conquerer) took over Constantinople on May 29, 1453, he committed a coup d'état by replacing the
Emperor of the Roman empire (a.k.a. the Eastern Roman Empire a.k.a. Byzantine Empire) with himself. He took the title Emperor (imparator)and protector of Orthodox Christianity.
He let himself be crowned Emperor by the Patriarch of Constantinople Gennadius Scholarius, whom he protected and whose stature he elevated into leader of all the Eastern Orthodox Christians.
So in addition to being Sultan of the Muslim citisens and Khan of the Turks, he was now also styled Emperor of the Romans.
As emperor of the Romans he laid claim to all the Roman territories and succesfully managed to put most of the Roman territories (except Rome and Italy) under his own control.
