Nothing is known with certainty about Ertuğrul's life, other than that he was the father of Osman;

historians are thus forced to rely upon stories written about him by the Ottomans more than a
century later, which are of questionable accuracy.[7][8] An undated coin, supposedly from the time of
Osman, with the text "Minted by Osman son of Ertuğrul", suggests that Ertuğrul was a historical
figure.[4]:31 Another coin reads "Osman bin Ertuğrul bin Gündüz Alp",[1][2] though Ertuğrul is traditionally
considered the son of Suleyman Shah.[6]
In Enveri's Düsturname (1465) and Karamani Mehmet Pasha's chronicle (before 1481), Suleyman
Shah replaces Gündüz Alp as Ertugrul's father. After[when?] Ottoman historian Aşıkpaşazade's
chronicles, the Suleyman Shah version became the official one.[9] According to these later traditions,
Ertuğrul was chief of the Kayı.[3] As a result of his assistance to the Seljuks against the Byzantines,
Ertuğrul was granted lands in Karaca Dağ, a mountainous area near Angora (now Ankara),
by Kayqubad I, the Seljuk Sultan of Rum. One account indicates that the Seljuk leader's rationale for
granting Ertuğrul land was for Ertuğrul to repel any hostile incursion from the Byzantines or other
adversary.[10] Later, he received the village of Söğüt which he conquered together with the
surrounding lands. That village, where he later died, became the Ottoman capital under his
son, Osman I.[2] Osman's mother have been called Halime Hatun and has a grave outside the
Ertuğrul Gâzi Tomb, but this name is disputed.[11][12]
Ottoman historians have differing opinions on whether Ertuğrul had two or possibly three other sons
in addition to Osman: Saru Batu Savcı Bey,[2] or Saru Batu and Savcı Bey, and Gündüz Bey.[citation
needed]
Like his son, Osman, and their descendants, Ertuğrul is often referred to as a Ghazi, a heroic
champion fighter for the cause of Islam.[13]