Conqueror of 3 Continents
Reigned: 1520-1566 A.D.
•
•
•
•
•
Sultan Suleiman I (1494 – 1520 – 1566)
“The Magnificent” and “The Law Giver”
reigned for 46 years from 1520 as the
tenth and greatest ruler of the Ottoman
Empire. His father, Selim “the Grim”, who
ruled from 1512 to 1520, had conquered
Egypt and become the first Ottoman
Sultan to also take the title of Caliph.
Selim had all of Suleiman’s brother’s and
close male relatives put to death, thus
ensuring a smooth succession (this
practice was legally recognized in the
Ottoman Empire). Luckily, he chose the
right guy to keep alive.
•
•
•
•
During Suleiman’s long rule (which was
also the time in which the Nation State
structure of Europe was firming up) the
geographic bounds of the Ottoman Empire
reached what proved to be their maximum
extent. The Ottomans controlled the
Mediterranean and in the North their
armies knocked on the gates of Vienna (but
did not get in) after overrunning Hungary,
and Habsburg Emperor Charles V was
humiliated into signing the Treaty of
Constantinople. In the East he reached
Tabriz and conquered Baghdad in 1534 –
the Baghdad Pavilion in the Topkapi
Palace was built to celebrate this victory.
•
•
•
–
Outside of hands-on generalship,
Suleiman “The Law Giver” drove the
development of a legal system which
codified the rights and duties of all
the citizens of his huge domains. He
promoted art and architecture, and
was himself an accomplished poet,
often writing of his love for his chief
wife – Roxelana.
Credit: Paradoxplace Insight Pages: http://www.paradoxplace.com/Insights/Topkapi/Suleiman%20Topkapi%20Ottomans.htm
Poem written to her from her husband
"Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight.
My most sincere friend, my confidant, my very existence, my Sultan
The most beautiful among the beautiful…
My springtime, my merry faced love, my daytime,
my sweetheart, laughing leaf…
My plants, my sweet, my rose, the one only who does not distress me
in this world…
My Istanbul, my Caraman, the earth of my Anatolia
My Badakhshan, my Baghdad and Khorasan
My woman of the beautiful hair, my love of the slanted brow, my love of eyes
full of mischief…
I'll sing your praises always
I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi of the eyes full of tears, I am happy."
Credit: Paradoxplace Insight Pages: http://www.paradoxplace.com/Insights/Topkapi/Suleiman%20Topkapi%20Ottomans.htm
Pay close attention as you watch the video
•3 time periods: Early, Middle, & Late
•Close friends
•Slavery, loyalty, punishment, war
•Religious views
•Relatives & succession to the throne
1. What were Suleiman's qualities when he first became sultan?
2. How did Suleiman gain control over his realm?
3. Who were Suleiman’s two closest advisors and confidants?
4. When Suleiman put his friend Ibrahim into the position of grand
vizier, how did Ibrahim serve him? What happened to Ibrahim?
5. How did Suleiman achieve an army so capable and disciplined that
“ten thousand could be led by a single thread”?
6. How was Suleiman different from other conquerors of his time
when it came to religious faiths?
7. What were the distant borders of the area Suleiman controlled, and
why couldn't he extend his empire any farther?
8. How did Suleiman insure his legacy in relation to his sons?