Editing Selim II (section)

==Early years==
Selim was born on 28 May 1524{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=121, 302}} in Constantinople during the reign of his father, [[Suleiman the Magnificent]].<ref name="Selim">{{TDV Encyclopedia of Islam|title=Selim II|url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/selim-ii|last=Emecen|first=Feridun|volume=36|pages=414–418}}</ref> His mother was [[Roxelana|Hürrem Sultan]],{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}}{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=233}} an Orthodox priest's daughter,{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=234}} who was the current Sultan's concubine at the time. In 1533 or 1534, his mother, Hürrem, was freed and became Suleiman's legal wife.{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=235}}<ref name="Kinross236">Kinross, Patrick (1979). The Ottoman centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire. New York: Morrow. {{ISBN|978-0-688-08093-8}}. p, 236.</ref><ref>''The Speech of Ibrahim at the Coronation of Maximilian II'', Thomas Conley, '''Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric''', Vol. 20, No. 3 (Summer 2002), 266.</ref> He had four brothers, [[Şehzade Mehmed]], [[Şehzade Bayezid]], [[Şehzade Abdullah]] and [[Şehzade Cihangir]], and a sister [[Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Suleiman I)|Mihrimah Sultan]].{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}}{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=233}} In June–July 1530, a three week celebration was organised in Constantinople that centered around the circumcision of Selim, and his elder brothers [[Şehzade Mustafa|Mustafa]], and [[Şehzade Mehmed|Mehmed]].{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=154}} The princes were circumcised on 27 June 1530.<ref>{{cite book|first=M.J|last=Akbar|title=The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity|url=https://archive.org/details/shadeswordsjihad00akba|url-access=limited|publisher=Routledge|date=May 3, 2002|pages=[https://archive.org/details/shadeswordsjihad00akba/page/n108 88]|isbn=978-1-134-45258-3}}</ref> The festivities ranged from displays of captured enemy items to simulated battles, featuring performances by jugglers and strongmen, as well as reenactments of recent conflicts. Suleiman played a crucial role, observing everything from a loggia in the Hippodrome, while [[Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha]] actively oversaw the proceedings and presented extravagant gifts to the sultan and the princes.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=154}}

In May 1537, he and his brother Mehmed joined their father on his campaign to [[Siege of Corfu (1537)|Corfu]]. This marked the inaugural military campaign of his sons. Their presence in a military campaign conveyed a message of dynastic continuity.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=195}} In 1540, the sultan took him and Mehmed with him to spend the winter in [[Edirne]].{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=234}} In June 1541, he and Mehmed once again accompanied their father on his campaign to [[Siege of Buda (1541)|Buda]].{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=200–201}} In 1542, he was appointed governor of the province of Karaman, after which he went to Konya.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=204, 229}} Following Mehmed's unexpected demise in November 1543, the role of district governorship of Saruhan was assumed by Selim in the spring of 1544.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=230}} During the summer of 1544, a gathering of family members occurred in Bursa, uniting Selim, his parents Suleiman and Hürrem, his sister Mihrimah, and Mihrimah's husband [[Rüstem Pasha]].{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=229}} In the 1548–49 military campaign against the Safavids, Selim was dispatched to Edirne, acting as a substitute for the sultan during the campaign.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=230}} In 1553, he accompanied his father against the Safavids and kept Suleiman's company throughout most of the campaign. During this campaign, his elder half-brother, Mustafa was executed on their father’s orders.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=237–238}}