Ottoman forces cross into Europe and take Gallipoli
An earthquake-flattened fortress on the Dardanelles gives the Ottomans their first permanent foothold in Europe.
Quick facts
- Sultan
- Orhan (r. c. 1323/4-1362)
- First crossing
- Tzympe, 1352
- Permanent foothold
- Gallipoli, 1354
- Adrianople (Edirne) taken
- c. 1362
What happened
Under Osman's son and successor Orhan, Ottoman forces first crossed the Dardanelles into Thrace in 1352, seizing the fortress of Tzympe as part of an arrangement with the Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, who wanted Ottoman help in a civil war. In 1354 an earthquake wrecked the walls of nearby Gallipoli, and Ottoman troops occupied the town outright, giving them their first permanent base on European soil rather than a temporary raiding post. The cooperation with Kantakouzenos soon collapsed and the Ottomans and Byzantines returned to open conflict, but the foothold at Gallipoli stayed in Ottoman hands. Over the following decades Ottoman forces pushed into Thrace and took Adrianople, known today as Edirne, around 1362.
Why it matters
Gallipoli gave the Ottomans a permanent crossing point the Byzantines could never fully dislodge, turning what had been a series of Anatolian raids into a sustained European campaign. Within four decades Ottoman forces controlled most of Thrace, southern Bulgaria, and had reduced Serbia and the Byzantine Empire itself to tribute-paying vassals.
How we know
World History Encyclopedia's overview article traces the Gallipoli occupation to Orhan's arrangement with Kantakouzenos and dates the subsequent advances into Thrace and Bulgaria through the 1360s and 1380s.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Battles & Conquests Of The Ottoman Empire (1299-1683) · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Ottoman Empire · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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