Alaeddin Pasha

Born around 1281 in Söğüt, Alaeddin was the son of Osman I and Rabia Bala Hatun, daughter of Sheikh Edebali. Whether he was older or younger than his half-brother Orhan remains uncertain — historians still argue both sides — but Orhan was the one who inherited leadership and became the first Ottoman ruler to claim the title of Sultan. Alaeddin, by temperament or design, did not compete. According to the account preserved by historian Idris Bitlisi, he was less the warrior than the administrator, trained in managing state affairs while Orhan rode out to expand the empire's borders. He died in B…