Gazi Evrenos

Evrenos or Evrenuz (Gazi Hadji Evrenos Bey; d. at 17 November 1417 in Yenice-i Vardar) was an Ottoman military commander, with an unlikely long-lived career and lifetime. He served as a general under Süleyman Pasha, Murad I, Bayezid I, Süleyman Çelebi and Mehmed I.

Byzantine sources mention him as Εβρενός, Ἀβρανέζης, Βρανέζης, Βρανεύς (?), Βρενέζ, Βρενέζης, Βρενές. A persistent Greek legend maintains that Evrenos' father was a certain Ornos, renegade Byzantine governor of Prusa who defected to the forces of Osmanli, and then on to Karasi, after the fall of Prusa, in 1326. He was known as Isa Bey Prangi, buried in the village of Prangi (also known as Sırcık or Kırcık in Ottoman sources), a busy ferry-place on the Evros river about 6 km (4 mi) east from Didymoteicho. Stanford J. Shaw and Joseph von Hammer regard Evrenos as a Byzantine convert to Islam.

Οriginally, Gazi Evrenos was a noble dignitary, a beg in the principality of Karasi, joining the Ottomans only after their conquest of the beylik in 1345. He led many crucial Ottoman campaigns and battles in Bulgaria, Thessaly, and Serbia. After having participated in the Ottoman conquest of Adrianopolis in 1362, Evrenos was appointed to Ucbeyi (Margrave) of Thessaly. He and his akincis fought in the Battle of Kosovo (1389) and the Battle of Nicopolis (1396). Evrenos conquered Keşan, İpsala, Komotini, Feres, Xanthi, Maroneia, Serres, Monastir, and, in 1397, Corinth. He founded the town Yenice-i Vardar, modern Giannitsa. The Greek inhabitants of Gianitsa (Ottoman: Yenice Vardar) down to this century displayed reverence for "Gazi Baba", that is "papa Gazi".

Gazi Evrenos Bey was father of seven sons (Khidr-shah, Isa, Suleyman, Ali, Yakub, Barak, Begdje) and several daughters. Among the numerous descendants of lord Gazi Evrenos, apparently the memory of some has dived into oblivion, as their deeds got incorporated into the achievements of their illustrious forefather. This explains the legendary, yet unlikely, 129-year lifespan of lord Gazi. Together with the Mikhaloghullari/Mihaloğlu/Mihalli (from Karasi emirate), Malkozoghullari/Malkoçoğlu (from Serbia), Ömerli/Ömeroğlu, and the Turhanlı/Turakhanoghullari/Turahanoğlu, also Evrenos' descendants, the Evrenos Oghullari (Evrenosoğulları/Evrenooğlu), constitute one of the Byzantine families, that effectively formed the Ottoman warrior nobility.

Gazi Evrenos died at an advanced age in Yenice-i Vardar. He was buried in a mausoleum there in 1417. The mausoleum survives but was badly mutilated in 19th century and served for a time as an agricultural store.

As one of the most successful Ottoman commanders, Evrenos acquired a considerable amount of wealth and founded numerous endowments (awqaf). Several monuments attributed to him survive in southeastern Europe. Of primary importance is his mausoleum, or türbe, with its accompanying epitaph in Giannitsa. A hammam of Evrenos stands to the south of the mausoleum. Two other monuments stand in Greek Thrace.