Orhan of the Ottoman Empire
Orhan Ghazi ben Osman (Ottoman Turkish: اورحان غازی,Turkish: Orhan Gazi; 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the nascent Ottoman Empire (then known as the Ottoman Beylik or Emirate) from 1326 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, the son of Osman I and Malhun Hatun. His grandfather was Ertuğrul, and his grandmother was Halime Sultan.
In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering most of northwestern Anatolia. The majority of these areas were under Byzantine rule and he won his first battle, at Pelekanon, against the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos. Orhan also occupied the lands of the Karasids of Balıkesir and the Ahis of Ankara.
A series of civil wars surrounding the ascension of the nine-year-old emperor John V Palaiologos benefited Orhan greatly. In the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347, the regent John VI Kantakouzenos married his daughter Theodora to Orhan and employed Ottoman warriors against the rival forces of the queen dowager, allowing them to loot Thrace. In the Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357, Kantakouzenos used Ottoman forces against John V himself, granting them the use of a European fortress at Çimpe around 1352. A major earthquake devastated Gallipoli (modern Gelibolu) two years later and Orhan's son Süleyman Pasha occupied the town, giving the Ottomans a strong bridgehead into mainland Europe.
Podcasts:
Sissy Sing That Song
"Sissy Sing That Song"
An old upright piano never quite in tune
A hymn book from the Pentecostal church
Three generations gathered in Grandma's living room
Sister played and we all sang for all we's worth
Now gone are those days when Sissy played Grandma's piano
That piece of history has come and gone
I've forgotten most songs we sang together, all but one
The one that I remember was my Grandpa's favorite song.. He'd say
(Chorus # 1)
Sissy sing that song about when Jesus takes us home
When life's old weary road comes to an end
Sing about those streets of gold, where we never will grow old
Sissy want you sing that song again
Days turn into years but we never think of it
Til a phone rings in the middle of the night
Grandpa's taken sick and they're callin' in the kids
You wipe a million memories from your eyes
Then you drive all night cause Grandpa he's a fighter
And that old man's hangin' on to buy you time
When all his family's gathered round his bedside, then he smiles
Then he whispers Sissy, won't you sing that song of mine
(Chors # 2)
And we all sing along as Jesus came to take him home
As his ol weary road came to an end
We sang about those streets of gold where he never will grow old
We all sang it one last time for him ...... He'd say
(Repeat First Chorus)
Lonnie Ratliff / Pete Parrish
Copr. Okie Acres Music (BMI)
Contact: LonnieRatliff@gmail.com