According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe[nb 1] branch of the Oghuz Turks,[2] under Osman I in northwestern Anatolia in the district of Bilecik, Söğüt.

The succession process during the first period was dominated by violence and intra-familial conflict, in which the various sons of the deceased Sultan fought until only one remained alive and, thus, inherited the throne.

As Cipa has noted, the Ottoman words for "successor" and "conflict" share the same Arabic root,[7] and indeed, all but one of the successions in this roughly 200-year period involved a resolution by combat.

Starting with the succession from Ahmed I to Mustafa I in 1617, the Ottoman throne was inherited by the eldest male blood relative – not necessarily the son – of the Sultan, regardless of how many eligible family members were alive.

[11] The change in succession procedure was likely instigated by numerous factors, including fratricide's decline in popularity among Ottoman elites[12] and Ahmed I's decision not to kill Mustafa when inheriting the throne from Mehmed III in 1603.

Historian Baki Tezcan has argued that the latter faction – with the help of the influential şeyhülislam Hocazade Esad Efendi – was able to prevail in this instance.

[14] From the fourteenth through the late sixteenth centuries, the Ottomans practiced open succession – something historian Donald Quataert has described as "survival of the fittest, not eldest, son.

"[15] During their father's lifetime, all adult sons of the reigning Osmanoğlu family's sultan were given provincial governorships in order to gain experience in administration (a practice commonly found in Central Asian tradition), accompanied and mentored by their retinues and tutors.

[16] The proximity of a Şehzade (=Prince) to Constantinople improved his chances of success, simply because he could hear of his father's death, seize control of the Ottoman court in the capital, and declare himself Sultan first.

[citation needed] During the reigns of Suleiman I and Selim II, the Haseki Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: خاصکى سلطان) or chief consort rose to greater prominence.

As the centuries passed, the ritual killing was gradually replaced by lifetime solitary confinement in the "Golden Cage" or kafes, a room in the harem from where the sultan's brothers could never escape, unless perchance they became heir presumptive.

Agnatic seniority explains why from the 17th century onwards a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his son, but usually by an uncle or brother.