Photo Credit To http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_IX_Palaiologos.jpg
Emperor Michael IX Palaiologos fought against Osman, the first Ottoman sultan.
Byzantine emperor Michael IX Palaiologos was born on this day in 1278. He was a contemporary of Ottoman sultan Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman dynasty was named after him, as was the very empire he ruled. Michael IX’s empire was larger than Osman’s, and they were bitter enemies – in 1311 Osman’s forces defeated the Byzantines in battle.
Michael IX Palaiologos died in Salonika, the second most important Byzantine city, at the age of 43. Sultan Osman I, however, lived seven years longer and his son Orhan expanded the borders of the Ottoman Empire all the way to the Bosporus, opposite of Constantinople.
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