Ertuğrul had a taste of tragedy early in his life as his brother Sungurtekin Bey was captured by Mongols and presumed dead, not to return for many years.

Growing up, he was the subject of romantic affection from his adoptive sister Gökçe, before rescuing a Selçuk princess, Halime, from Templars while out on a hunt.

Ertuğrul's official character description on the TRT 1 website states; "The son of Suleyman Shah, Ertugrul is a brave warrior who fights for his dreams and ideals.

This is made almost impossible when the Kayı are put in a series of problems with the Templars after saving Şehzade Numan, Halime Sultan, and Şehzade Yiğit because of the traitor in the Emir's palace, Nasır, who works for the Templars but is later killed by Ertuğrul and the truth is shown to the Emir, with Ertuğrul having to stay hidden for days as a fugitive in Aleppo to show this.

After Ertuğrul is captured and has his hand nailed by Noyan, when he escapes, he finds his tribe settled with his uncle Korkut of Dodurga.

After Ertuğrul escapes the slave traders and learns that Ares was his attacker, he returns to the Kayı tribe and exiles his brother Dündar for trying to sell Hanlı Pazar and leave the Byzantine border in his absence.

The plan nearly works but Köpek is saved by the Sultan's wife, Mahperi, and leads to an event turning Ares into a Muslim and an ally of Ertuğrul.

After Ertuğrul is absolved of the murder, he allies with the new Sultan, Gıyaseddın, and defeats Köpek’s treachery, eventually beheading him.

Following Beybolat's death, Ertuğrul faces Arikbuka, a feared Mongol spy and Alıncak's blood brother, who serves Hulagu Han.

He also leaves his Beylik in the hands of his brother Dündar, fulfilling the promise he gave of a bigger duty when he first exiled him.

However, this leads to chaos and division in the tribe, with Dündar constantly being fooled by Alişar Bey and the Margarit Monks.

When he returns in the second season, following the offscreen deaths of his mother Hayme and half-brother Gündoğdu, and the presumed deaths of his wife İlbilge and brother Sungurtekin, Dündar is exiled to Söğüt for a while and Ertuğrul faces his younger brother-in-law and "son" Yavlak Arslan, who attempts to take over Söğüt but later repents and allies with Ertuğrul's son Osman.

[7][better source needed] However, with the details of much of Ertuğrul's life unclear, much of his character arc in the two series is based on relatively recent Ottoman genealogies, in regards to his family, or merely written by the producers.

The identity of his father is also largely believed to be Gündüz Alp by historians,[13][better source needed] rather than Süleyman Şah (Suleyman Shah) as portrayed.

[1] In 2020, Engin Altan Düzyatan went on a short visit to Pakistan, where the series is extremely popular, accepting the invitation of a private business company.

[18] Pakistan's Make-A-Wish Foundation arranged a meeting between Düzyatan and three young terminally ill fans;[19] when there, Engin said, "Thank you very much, I can see I inspired you and I am very happy for this love.

"[20] After signing an agreement with the Lahore-based Chaudhary Group of Companies,[21] of which he was a brand ambassador, he visited Lahore and became one of the top discussions on social media and one of his pictures with a lion went viral.

[23] Engin Altan returned to Turkey when TikTok star, Kashif Zameer struck a deal of a million dollars but only paid 5 thousand back.

[24] Despite this fraud, it is rumoured that he will return to Pakistan soon, this was surprisingly said by Mian Kashif Zameer himself,[25] after a clip went viral of his "pleasant memories".

[35] In 2016, Engin Altan Düzyatan won the Magazinci Awards in the category Male TV Series Actor of the Year.

[36] Engin Altan Düzyatan received a total of 4 nominations for the Turkey Youth Awards, all in the same category of Best TV Series Actor, one in 2016, another in 2017.