Osman led one of several Turcoman tribes, of Central Asian descent, that were competing for control of Anatolia at the beginning of the 14th century. (The dream in question was interpreted to mean that Osman would found an imperial house; （2）“Ottoman” is the European corruption of his name▲). By the mid-16th century, Osman's descendants had killed off the Byzantine Empire and t____ ② ____ its capital, Constantinople (renamed Istanbul), into the world's greatest mosque city. They also had control of the Muslim holy places, Mecca and Medina, in Arabia.

14世纪初，几个从中亚衍生而来的土库曼人部落，为控制安纳托利亚（译者注：土耳其的亚洲部分，一般认为等同于小亚细亚）而干戈相向，此时奥斯曼成了其中一个部落的首领。（曾有人认为奥斯曼的

“梦想”就是要兴建一座王宫；“Ottoman”一词是欧洲人在使用奥斯曼名字时的讹误。）到16世纪中叶，奥斯曼的后人消灭了拜占庭帝国，并将其首都君士坦丁堡（后改名为伊斯坦布尔）建设成为世界上最著名的清真寺城市。与此同时，阿拉伯半岛上的穆斯林圣地麦加和麦地那也为其所统治。