Editing Suleiman the Magnificent (section)

==Legal and political reforms==
[[File:Madina trip 176.jpg|thumb|upright|Suleiman I plate at al-Masjid al-Nabawi – Medina]]
[[File:Suleiman the Magnificent receives an Ambassador-by Matrakci Nasuh.jpg|thumb|upright|Suleiman the Magnificent receives an ambassador (painting by [[Matrakçı Nasuh]])]]

While Sultan Suleiman was known as "the Magnificent" in the West, he was always ''Kanuni'' Suleiman or "The Lawgiver" ({{lang|ota|قانونی}}) to his Ottoman subjects. The overriding law of the empire was the [[Shari'ah]], or Sacred Law, which as the divine law of [[Islam]] was outside of the Sultan's powers to change. Yet an area of distinct law known as the ''Kanuns'' ({{lang|ota|قانون}}, canonical legislation) was dependent on Suleiman's will alone, covering areas such as criminal law, land tenure and taxation.<ref name= Imber />{{rp|244}} He collected all the judgments that had been issued by the nine Ottoman Sultans who preceded him. After eliminating duplications and choosing between contradictory statements, he issued a single legal code, all the while being careful not to violate the basic laws of Islam.<ref name= Greenblatt>{{cite book |last= Greenblatt |first=Miriam |title=Süleyman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Empire |year= 2003| publisher= Benchmark Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7614-1489-6}}</ref>{{rp|20}} 

It was within this framework that Suleiman, supported by his [[Grand Mufti]] [[Mehmet Ebussuud el-İmadi|Ebussuud]], sought to reform the legislation to adapt to a rapidly changing empire. When the Kanun laws attained their final form, the code of laws became known as the ''kanun‐i Osmani'' ({{lang|ota|قانون عثمانی}}), or the "Ottoman laws". Suleiman's legal code was to last more than three hundred years.<ref name="Greenblatt" />{{rp|21}}

The Sultan also played a role in protecting the Jewish subjects of his empire for centuries to come. In late 1553 or 1554, on the suggestion of his favorite doctor and dentist, the Spanish Jew [[Moses Hamon]], the Sultan issued a ''[[firman (decree)|firman]]'' ({{lang|ota|فرمان}}) formally denouncing [[blood libels]] against the Jews.<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|124}} Furthermore, Suleiman enacted new criminal and police legislation, prescribing a set of fines for specific offenses, as well as reducing the instances requiring death or mutilation. In the area of taxation, taxes were levied on various goods and produce, including animals, mines, profits of trade, and import-export duties.

Higher ''medreses'' provided education of university status, whose graduates became ''imams'' ({{lang|ota|امام}}) or teachers. Educational centers were often one of many buildings surrounding the courtyards of mosques, others included libraries, baths, soup kitchens, residences and hospitals for the benefit of the public.<ref>{{cite book |last=McCarthy |first=Justin |author-link=Justin McCarthy (American historian) |title= The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923|year=1997|publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-582-25655-2}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}}</ref>