Sulayman I
Sulayman I
(so͞olāmän`, sülī–) orSulayman the Magnificent,
1494–1566, Ottoman sultan (1520–66), son and successor of Selim ISelim I(Selim the Grim) , 1467–1520, Ottoman sultan (1512–20). He ascended the throne of the Ottoman Empire by forcing the abdication of his father, Beyazid II, and by killing his brothers.
..... Click the link for more information. . He is known as Sulayman II when considered as a successor of King SolomonSolomon,
d. c.930 B.C., king of the ancient Hebrews (c.970–c.930 B.C.), son and successor of David. His mother was Bath-sheba. His accession has been dated to c.970 B.C. According to the Bible.
..... Click the link for more information. of the Bible and Qur'an. Under him the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) reached the height of its power and prestige. He continued his father's conquests in the Balkans and the Mediterranean, conquering Belgrade in 1521, expelling the Knights HospitalersKnights Hospitalers,
members of the military and religious Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, sometimes called the Knights of St. John and the Knights of Jerusalem. The symbol of the Order of St.
..... Click the link for more information. from Rhodes in 1522, and inflicting a crushing defeat on the Hungarians at MohácsMohács
, town (1991 est. pop. 20,325), S Hungary, on the Danube. It is an important river port and railroad terminus and has metallurgical and timber industries. Mohács is best known for the crushing defeat (Aug.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1526. He unsuccessfully besieged Vienna in 1529 and supported John Zapolya (John IJohn I
(John Zapolya) , 1487–1540, king of Hungary (1526–40), voivode [governor] of Transylvania (1511–26). He was born John Zapolya, the son of Stephen Zápolya.
..... Click the link for more information. of Hungary) against Ferdinand of Hungary and Bohemia (later Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand IFerdinand I,
1503–64, Holy Roman emperor (1558–64), king of Bohemia (1526–64) and of Hungary (1526–64), younger brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
..... Click the link for more information. ). John's death in 1540 and the accession of John IIJohn II
(John Sigismund Zapolya), 1540–71, king of Hungary and prince of Transylvania, son of John I. Through his mother, Isabel (daughter of Sigismund I of Poland), he was related to the Jagiello dynasty.
..... Click the link for more information. were pretexts for the outright annexation of Hungary (except for Transylvania and the section held by Ferdinand) to the Ottoman Empire. In 1536, Sulayman entered a formal alliance with Francis I of France against the house of HapsburgHapsburg
or Habsburg
, ruling house of Austria (1282–1918). Rise to Power
The family, which can be traced to the 10th cent., originally held lands in Alsace and in NW Switzerland. Otto (d.
..... Click the link for more information. ; this alliance remained the basis of Turkish foreign policy for more than three centuries.
Although Sulayman's vassal BarbarossaBarbarossa
[Ital.,=red-beard], surname of the Turkish corsair Khayr ad-Din (c.1483–1546). Barbarossa and his brother Aruj, having seized (1518) Algiers from the Spanish, placed Algeria under Turkish suzerainty. He extended his conquests to the rest of the Barbary States.
..... Click the link for more information. made the Turkish fleet the terror of the Mediterranean, Sulayman was, on the whole, unsuccessful in his naval warfare against Holy Roman Emperor Charles VCharles V,
1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and Mary of Burgundy.
..... Click the link for more information. and against Venice. He lost Tunis to Charles in 1535 and failed to take Malta in 1565. Sulayman undertook several successful campaigns against Persia. An Ottoman naval expedition to the Red Sea resulted in the conquest of the Arabian coastlands.
Sulayman died during the siege of Szigetvár, having resumed warfare in Hungary in 1566. The later years of Sulayman's reign had been marred by family disputes over the succession. His favorite wife, Roxelana (or Khurema) intrigued against his eldest son, Mustafa, on behalf of her two sons, Selim and Beyazid. Mustafa built up his own faction, which seemed a threat to Sulayman. In 1553, Sulayman had him executed. Upon Roxelana's death, Selim and Beyazid quarreled. Beyazid rose in revolt, met defeat, and fled to Persia. The shah of Persia was induced to return him for a large sum, and Beyazid was executed. Selim succeeded Sulayman as Selim IISelim II
(Selim the Drunkard), c.1524–1574, Ottoman sultan (1566–74), son and successor of Sulayman I. During his reign the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) was dominated by Sokolli, his grand vizier (chief executive officer).
..... Click the link for more information. .
Sulayman's grand viziers, notably Ibrahim (who held office from 1523 until he was executed in 1536), Rustem, and Sokolli, were capable administrators and contributed to the greatness of his reign. In his government Sulayman was distinguished for his justice. His military, educational, and legal reforms earned him the name Sulayman the Lawgiver among Muslims. He was fond of pomp and splendor and was a lavish patron of the arts and of literature. SinanSinan
, Muslim architect, 1490?–1588?. He is regarded as the greatest of Islamic builders, and his finest achievements lie in his solutions to spatial problems posed by dome-topped structures.
..... Click the link for more information. , the great Turkish architect, worked under his orders (see also Islamic art and architectureIslamic art and architecture,
works of art and architecture created in countries where Islam has been dominant and embodying Muslim precepts in its themes. Background
In the century after the death (A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. ).
Bibliography
See biography by H. Lamb (1951); studies by A. H. Lybyer (1913, repr. 1966) and R. B. Merriman (1966).