Editing Suleiman the Magnificent

{{Short description|Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566}}
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{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Suleiman I
| title        = {{unbulleted list|[[Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques]]|Shah of Baghdad in Iraq<ref name=caesar>{{cite book|title=medieval worlds comparative & interdisciplinary studies|volume=14|year=2021|chapter=These are the narratives of bygone years: Conquest of a Fortress as a Source of Legitimacy|author=Dimitri Korobeinikov|url=https://www.medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5576%200x003d0810.pdf|publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press|quote=That the Ottomans might have had a different view was demonstrated by Sultan Sulaymān the Magnificent, who called himself the shah of Baghdad in ‘Iraq (Shah-i Bagdād-i ‘Irāq), the Caesar of Rome (qayṣar-i Rūm), and the sultan in Egypt (Miṣra (i.e. Mısıra) Sulṭān) in the inscription in the fortress of Bender (Bendery, Tighina) in Moldova, AH 945 (29 May 1538–18 May 1539). The title qayṣar-i Rūm (Caesar of Rome) was a traditional designation of the Byzantine emperor in Persian and Ottoman sources (from the Arabic al-qayṣar al-Rūm).|page=180}}</ref>|[[Sultan of Egypt]]<ref name=caesar />|[[Caesar of Rome]]<ref name=caesar />|[[Khagan]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Oriental Translation Fund|volume=33|year=1834|page=19}}</ref>}}
| titletext    = 
| more         = 
| image        = EmperorSuleiman.jpg
| alt          = 
| caption      = Portrait of Suleiman by [[Titian]] ({{circa|1530}})
| succession   = [[Sultan of the Ottoman Empire]] ([[Padishah]])
| moretext     = 
| reign        = 30 September 1520 – {{awrap|6 September 1566}}
| predecessor  = [[Selim I]]
| successor    = [[Selim II]]
| succession1  = [[Ottoman Caliphate|Ottoman caliph]] (''[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]'')
| predecessor1 = Selim I
| successor1   = Selim II
| birth_date   = 6 November 1494<ref name= AG-BM-encyc>{{Cite book |last=Ágoston |first=Gábor |editor-last=Ágoston |editor-first=Gábor |editor-first2= Bruce |editor-last2= Masters |title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |chapter=Süleyman I |date=2009}}</ref>{{rp|541}}
| birth_place  = [[Trabzon]], [[Trebizond Eyalet|Trabzon Eyalet]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1566|09|06|1494|11|06|df=y}}<ref name= AG-BM-encyc />{{rp|545}}
| death_place  = [[Szigetvár]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Kingdom of Hungary]]
| burial_place = {{Indented plainlist|
* Organs buried at [[Turbék]], Szigetvár, Hungary
* Body buried at [[Süleymaniye Mosque]], Istanbul, Turkey
}}
| spouse      = {{marriage|[[Roxelana|Hürrem Sultan]]|1533|1558|end=died}}<br/>[[Mahidevran Hatun]]
| spouse-type  = Consorts
| issue        = {{plainlist|
* Şehzade Mahmud
* Şehzade Murad 
* [[Şehzade Mustafa]]
* [[Raziye Sultan]]
* [[Şehzade Mehmed]]
* [[Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Suleiman I)|Mihrimah Sultan]]
* [[Selim II]]
* [[Şehzade Abdullah]]
* [[Şehzade Bayezid]]
* [[Şehzade Cihangir]]
}}
| full name    = Süleyman Şah bin Selim Şah Han<ref>{{cite book|title=Manuscript and Ferman Ornamentation Art in the Ottoman Empire|author1=Hüseyin Odabaş|author2=Coşkun Odabaş|page=123|year=2015}}</ref>
| house        = [[Ottoman dynasty|Ottoman]]
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = [[Selim I]]
| mother       = [[Hafsa Sultan]]
| signature_type = [[Tughra]]
| religion     = [[Sunni Islam]]
| burial_date  = 
| signature    = Tughra of Suleiman I the Magnificent.svg
}}

'''Suleiman I''' ({{langx|ota|سلیمان اول|Süleymân-ı Evvel}}; {{langx|tr|I. Süleyman|label=[[Modern Turkish]]}}, {{IPA|tr|biɾinˈdʒi sylejˈman|ipa}}; 6 November 1494{{snd}}6 September 1566), commonly known as '''Suleiman the Magnificent''' in the [[Western world]] and as '''Suleiman the Lawgiver''' ({{langx|ota|قانونی سلطان سلیمان|label=none|Ḳânûnî Sulṭân Süleymân}}) in his own realm, was the [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman sultan]] between 1520 and his death in 1566.<ref name= AG-BM-encyc />{{rp|541–545}} Under his administration, the [[Ottoman Empire]] ruled over at least 25&nbsp;million people.

After succeeding his father [[Selim I]] on 30 September 1520, Suleiman began his reign by launching military campaigns against the [[Christendom|Christian powers]] of Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean; [[Siege of Belgrade (1521)|Belgrade]] fell to him in 1521 and [[Siege of Rhodes (1522)|Rhodes]] in 1522–1523, and at [[Battle of Mohács|Mohács]] in 1526, Suleiman broke the strength of the [[Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages|Kingdom of Hungary]].

Presiding over the apex of the Ottoman Empire's economic, military, and political strength, Suleiman rose to become a prominent monarch of 16th-century Europe, as he personally led [[Army of the classical Ottoman Empire|Ottoman armies]] in their conquests of a number of European Christian strongholds before his advances were finally checked at the [[Siege of Vienna (1529)|siege of Vienna]] in 1529. On the front against the [[Safavid Iran|Safavids]], his efforts enabled the Ottomans to annex much of the Middle East, in addition to large areas of North Africa as far west as modern-day Algeria. Simultaneously, the [[Ottoman Navy|Ottoman fleet]] dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the [[Red Sea]] and through the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name= Mansel>{{cite book |last=Mansel |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Mansel|title=[[Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453–1924]]|year=1998}}</ref>{{rp|61}}

At the helm of the rapidly expanding Ottoman Empire, Suleiman personally instituted major judicial changes relating to society, education, taxation, and criminal law. His reforms, carried out in conjunction with the Ottoman chief judicial official [[Ebussuud Efendi]], harmonized the relationship between the two forms of [[Law of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman law]]: sultanic ([[Qanun (law)|Kanun]]) and Islamic ([[Sharia]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Finkel |first=Caroline |title=Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire 1300–1923 |publisher=Basic Books |year=2005 |page=145}}</ref> He was a distinguished poet and goldsmith; he also became a great patron of fine culture, overseeing the "Golden Age" of the Ottoman Empire in its [[Culture of the Ottoman Empire|artistic]], [[Ottoman literature|literary]], and [[Ottoman architecture|architectural]] development.<ref name="atil24" />

In 1533, Suleiman broke with Ottoman tradition by marrying [[Roxelana]] ({{langx|uk|Роксолана}}), a woman from his [[Ottoman Imperial Harem|Imperial Harem]]. Roxelana, so named in Western Europe for her red hair, was a [[Ruthenians|Ruthenian]] who converted to [[Sunni Islam]] from [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Chrisitianity]] and thereafter became one of the most influential figures of the "[[Sultanate of Women]]" period in the Ottoman Empire. Upon Suleiman's death in 1566, which ended his 46-year-long reign, he was succeeded by his and Roxelana's son [[Selim II]]. Suleiman's other potential heirs, [[Şehzade Mehmed|Mehmed]] and [[Şehzade Mustafa|Mustafa]], had died; Mehmed had succumbed to smallpox in 1543, while Mustafa had been executed via strangling on Suleiman's orders in 1553. His other son [[Şehzade Bayezid|Bayezid]] was also executed on his orders, along with Bayezid's four sons, after a rebellion in 1561. Although scholars typically regarded the period after his death to be one of crisis and adaptation [[Ottoman decline thesis|rather than of simple decline]],<ref name=decline>{{cite book |last=Hathaway |first=Jane |title=The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516–1800 |publisher=Pearson Education Ltd. |year=2008 |page=8 |quote=historians of the Ottoman Empire have rejected the narrative of decline in favor of one of crisis and adaptation}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tezcan|first=Baki |title=The Second Ottoman Empire: Political and Social Transformation in the Early Modern Period |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |page=9 |quote= the conventional narrative of Ottoman history – that in the late sixteenth century the Ottoman Empire entered a prolonged period of decline marked by steadily increasing military decay and institutional corruption – has been discarded.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |editor-first= Christine |editor-last= Woodhead |title=The Ottoman World |chapter=Introduction |last=Woodhead |first=Christine |year=2011 |page=5 |quote= Ottomanist historians have largely jettisoned the notion of a post-1600 'decline'}}</ref> the end of Suleiman's reign was a watershed in [[Ottoman history]]. In the decades after Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire began to experience significant political, institutional, and economic changes—a phenomenon often referred to as the [[Transformation of the Ottoman Empire|Era of Transformation]].<ref name= Empire-Power>{{Cite book |last=Şahin |first=Kaya |year=2013 |title=Empire and Power in the Reign of Süleyman: Narrating the Sixteenth-Century Ottoman World |publisher=Cambridge University Press |place=Cambridge}}</ref>{{rp|11}}<ref>{{cite book |last= Tezcan |first=Baki |title=The Second Ottoman Empire: Political and Social Transformation in the Early Modern Period |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |page=10 }}</ref>

==Alternative names and titles==
Suleiman the Magnificent ({{lang|ota-Arab|محتشم سلیمان}} {{lang|ota-Latn|Muḥteşem Süleymân}}), as he was known in the [[Western world|West]], was also called Suleiman the First ({{lang|ota-Arab|سلطان سلیمان اول}} {{lang|ota-Latn|Sulṭān Süleymān-ı Evvel}}), and Suleiman the Lawgiver ({{lang|ota-Arab|قانونی سلطان سلیمان}} {{lang|ota-Latn|Ḳânûnî Sulṭân Süleymân}}) for his reform of the Ottoman legal system.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Suleyman the Magnificent |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of Islam |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

It is unclear when exactly the term {{lang|ota-Latn|Kanunî}} (the Lawgiver) first came to be used as an epithet for Suleiman. It is entirely absent from sixteenth and seventeenth-century Ottoman sources and may date from the early 18th century.<ref>{{cite book |first=Cemal |last= Kafadar |chapter= The Myth of the Golden Age: Ottoman Historical Consciousness in the Post-Süleymânic Era |page=41 |editor1-last=İnalcık |editor1-first=Halil |editor2=Cemal Kafadar |title=Süleyman the Second [i.e. the First] and His Time |place=Istanbul |publisher=The Isis Press |date=1993 |isbn=975-428-052-5}}</ref>

There is a tradition of Western origin, according to which Suleiman the Magnificent was "Suleiman II", but that tradition has been based on an erroneous assumption that [[Süleyman Çelebi]] was to be recognised as a legitimate sultan.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |last=Veinstein |first=G. |volume=2 |title=Süleymān |editor=P. Bearman |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs }}</ref>

==Early life==
[[File:Semailname 47b.jpg|thumb|upright|Suleiman by [[Nakkaş Osman]] (painted in 1579)]]

Suleiman was born in [[Trabzon]] on the southern coast of the [[Black Sea]] to Şehzade Selim (later [[Selim I]]), probably on 6 November 1494, although this date is not known with absolute certainty or evidence.<ref>{{cite book |first= Heath |last= Lowry |chapter=Süleymân's Formative Years in the City of Trabzon: Their Impact on the Future Sultan and the City |page=21 |editor1-last=İnalcık |editor1-first=Halil |editor2=Cemal Kafadar |title=Süleyman the Second [i.e. the First] and His Time |place=Istanbul |publisher=The Isis Press |date=1993 |isbn=975-428-052-5}}</ref> His mother was [[Hafsa Sultan]], a concubine convert to Islam of unknown origins, who died in 1534.<ref name= life-and-family>{{cite book| first= Alan |last= Fisher|editor-last1=İnalcık|editor-first1= Halil| editor-first2= Cemal |editor-last2= Kafadar| title= Süleymân The Second [i.e. the First] and His Time |publisher= Isis Press|place=Istanbul|year=1993|chapter=The Life and Family of Süleymân I| isbn= 9754280525}}</ref>{{rp|9}} At the age of seven, Suleiman began studies of science, history, literature, theology and military tactics in the schools of the imperial [[Topkapı Palace]] in [[Constantinople]]. As a young man, he befriended [[Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha|Pargalı Ibrahim]], a Greek slave who later became one of his most trusted advisers (but who was later executed on Suleiman's orders).<ref>{{cite book |first= Noel |last= Barber |title= The Sultans|location=New York|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year= 1973 |page= 36 |isbn=0-7861-0682-4}}</ref> At age seventeen, he was appointed as the governor of first [[Feodosiya#Caffa|Kaffa]] (Theodosia), then [[Manisa]], with a brief tenure at [[Edirne]].

===Accession===
Upon the death of his father, [[Selim I]] (r. 1512–1520), Suleiman entered Constantinople and ascended to the throne as the tenth Ottoman sultan. An early description of Suleiman, a few weeks following his accession, was provided by the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] envoy [[Bartolomeo Contarini (nobleman)|Bartolomeo Contarini]]: 
{{blockquote|The sultan is only twenty-five years [actually 26] old, tall and slender but tough, with a thin and bony face. Facial hair is evident, but only barely. The sultan appears friendly and in good humor. Rumor has it that Suleiman is aptly named, enjoys reading, is knowledgeable and shows good judgment."<ref name= life-and-family />{{rp|2}}}}

==Military campaigns==
{{See also|List of campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent}}

===Conquests in Europe===
{{See also|Ottoman wars in Europe|Islam and Protestantism}}
[[File:1522-Sultan Suleiman during the Siege of Rhodes-Suleymanname-DetailBottomRight.jpg|thumb|Suleiman during the [[Siege of Rhodes (1522)|siege of Rhodes]] in 1522]]

Upon succeeding his father, Suleiman began a series of military conquests, eventually leading to a revolt led by the Ottoman-appointed governor of [[Damascus]] in 1521. Suleiman soon made preparations for the [[Siege of Belgrade 1521|conquest of Belgrade]] from the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]—something his great-grandfather [[Mehmed II]] had failed to achieve because of [[John Hunyadi]]'s strong defense in the region. Its capture was vital in removing the Hungarians and Croats who, following the defeats of the [[Albanians]], [[Bosniaks]], [[Bulgarians]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] and the [[Serbs]], remained the only formidable force who could block further Ottoman gains in Europe. Suleiman encircled [[Belgrade]] on 28 August 1521, with 250,000 Turkish soldiers and over 100 ships. and began a series of heavy bombardments from an island in the [[Danube]].<ref name= Imber>{{cite book |last=Imber|first=Colin|title=The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650 : The Structure of Power |year=2002 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-0-333-61386-3}}</ref> Belgrade was made the seat of the [[Pashalik of Belgrade]] (also known as the Sanjak of Smederevo), and quickly became the second largest Ottoman town in Europe at over 100,000 people, surpassed only by [[Constantinople]].<ref name="belgradenetcom">{{cite web |title=The History of Belgrade |url=http://www.belgradenet.com/belgrade_history_middle_ages.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230032249/http://www.belgradenet.com/belgrade_history_middle_ages.html |archive-date=30 December 2008 |access-date=7 July 2009 |publisher=Belgradenet.com}}</ref>

The road to Hungary and Austria lay open, but Suleiman turned his attention instead to the Eastern [[Mediterranean]] island of [[Rhodes]], the home base of the [[Knights Hospitaller]]. Suleiman built a large fortification, [[Marmaris Castle]], that served as a base for the [[Ottoman Navy]]. Following a five-month [[Siege of Rhodes (1522)|siege]], Rhodes capitulated and Suleiman allowed the [[Knights of Rhodes]] to depart.<ref name="ebSiegeOfRhodes">{{cite web|last1=Bunting|first1=Tony|title=Siege of Rhodes|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Rhodes|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref> The conquest of the island cost the Ottomans 50,000<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKG5VcYPtp0C&pg=PA397|title=War: The Definitive Visual History|first=D. K.|last=Publishing|year=2009|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0756668174|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=Clodfelter>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8urEDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015|edition=14th|first=Micheal|last=Clodfelter|year=2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786474707|via=Google Books}}</ref> to 60,000<ref name=Clodfelter/> dead from battle and sickness (Christian claims went as high as 64,000 Ottoman battle deaths and 50,000 disease deaths).<ref name=Clodfelter/>
[[File:Battle of Mohacs 1526.png|thumb|[[Battle of Mohacs]] by [[Bertalan Székely]]]]

As relations between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire deteriorated, Suleiman  resumed his campaign in Central Europe, and on 29 August 1526 he defeated [[Louis II of Hungary]] (1506–1526) at the [[Battle of Mohács]]. The Hungarian army, encouraged by the nobility to engage prematurely, launched a frontal assault that collapsed under coordinated Ottoman counterattacks. King Louis and much of the Hungarian aristocracy were killed, resulting in the destruction of the royal army and the end of the [[Jagiellonian dynasty]] in Hungary and Bohemia. The aftermath saw the partition of Hungary between the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Habsburg monarchy]], and the [[Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)|Principality of Transylvania]]. The battle marked the beginning of sustained [[Ottoman–Habsburg wars]] and the decline of Hungary as an independent power. Upon encountering the lifeless body of King Louis, Suleiman is said to have lamented: "I came indeed in arms against him; but it was not my wish that he should be thus cut off before he scarcely tasted the sweets of life and royalty."<ref>{{cite journal|journal=National Geographic|last=Severy|first=Merle |title=The World of Süleyman the Magnificent |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Geographic Society |date=November 1987 |pages=580 |volume=172|issue=5 |issn=0027-9358}}</ref> While Suleiman was campaigning in Hungary, [[Yorouks|Turkmen]] tribes in central Anatolia (in [[Cilicia]]) revolted under the leadership of [[Jelali revolts|Kalender Çelebi]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| first= N.| last= Ciachir| title= Soliman Magnificul| trans-title= Soliman the Magnificent| place= Bucharest| year= 1972| encyclopedia= Editura enciclopedică română| page= 157}}</ref>

Some Hungarian nobles proposed that [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand]], who was the ruler of neighboring Austria and tied to Louis II's family by marriage, be King of Hungary, citing previous agreements that the [[Habsburgs]] would take the Hungarian throne if Louis died without heirs.<ref name= Imber />{{rp|52}} However, other nobles turned to the nobleman [[John Zápolya]], whom Suleiman supported. Under [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and his brother Ferdinand I, the Habsburgs reoccupied Buda and took possession of Hungary. Reacting in 1529, Suleiman marched through the valley of the Danube and regained control of Buda; in the following autumn, his forces laid [[Siege of Vienna (1529)|siege to Vienna]]. This was to be the Ottoman Empire's most ambitious expedition and the apogee of its drive to the West. With a reinforced garrison of 16,000&nbsp;men,<ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Turnbull|title=The Ottoman Empire 1326–1699|location=New York|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2003|page=50}}</ref> the Austrians inflicted the first defeat on Suleiman, sowing the seeds of a bitter Ottoman–Habsburg rivalry that lasted until the 20th century. His second attempt to conquer Vienna failed in 1532, as Ottoman forces were delayed by the [[siege of Güns]] and failed to reach Vienna. In both cases, the Ottoman army was plagued by bad weather, forcing them to leave behind essential siege equipment, and was hobbled by overstretched supply lines.<ref>{{cite journal | journal= International Journal of Middle East Studies|last=Labib|first=Subhi|title=The Era of Suleyman the Magnificent: Crisis of Orientation |location=London|publisher=Cambridge University Press |date= November 1979|pages=435–451|volume=10|issue=4|doi=10.1017/S002074380005128X|s2cid=162249695 |issn=0020-7438}}</ref>{{rp|444}} In 1533 the [[Truce of Constantinople (1533)|Treaty of Constantinople]] was signed by [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]], in which he acknowledged Ottoman suzerainty and recognised Suleiman as his "father and suzerain", he also agreed to pay an annual tribute and accepted the Ottoman grand vizier as his brother and equal in rank.<ref>Bonney, Richard. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard-Bonney-2/publication/233869226_Suleiman_the_Magnificent/links/0fcfd50c76535f3f21000000/Suleiman-the-Magnificent.pdf "Suleiman I ("the Magnificent") (1494–1566)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808191602/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard-Bonney-2/publication/233869226_Suleiman_the_Magnificent/links/0fcfd50c76535f3f21000000/Suleiman-the-Magnificent.pdf |date=8 August 2022 }} The Encyclopedia of War (2011).</ref><ref>Somel, Selcuk Aksin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tBoyoNNKh78C&pg=PA111 The A to Z of the Ottoman Empire. No. 152.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808191602/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tBoyoNNKh78C&lpg=PA111&pg=PA111 |date=8 August 2022 }} Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.</ref><ref>Erasmus, Desiderius. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6t2&pg=PA The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2635 to 2802 April 1532–April 1533. Vol. 19.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226065927/https://books.google.co.uk/?lpg=PA&hl=en |date=26 December 2022 }} University of Toronto Press, 2019.</ref><ref>Shaw, Stanford J., and Ezel Kural Shaw. [https://books.google.com/books?id=E9-YfgVZDBkC&pg=PA94 History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280–1808. Vol. 1.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808191602/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=E9-YfgVZDBkC&lpg=PA94&pg=PA94 |date=8 August 2022 }} Cambridge University Press, 1976.</ref><ref>Faroqhi, Suraiya N., and Kate Fleet, eds. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uXdhBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT70 The Cambridge History of Turkey: Volume 2, The Ottoman Empire as a World Power, 1453–1603.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808191603/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uXdhBAAAQBAJ&lpg=PT70&pg=PT70 |date=8 August 2022 }} Cambridge University Press, 2012</ref>

[[File:John Sigismund of Hungary with Suleiman the Magnificient in 1556.jpg|thumb|King [[John II Sigismund Zápolya|John Sigismund]] of Hungary with Suleiman in 1556]]

By the 1540s, a renewal of the conflict in Hungary presented Suleiman with the opportunity to avenge the defeat suffered at Vienna. In 1541, the Habsburgs attempted to lay siege to Buda but were repulsed, and more Habsburg fortresses were captured by the Ottomans in two consecutive campaigns in 1541 and 1544 as a result,<ref name= Imber /> In 1542, after Ferdinand's repeated sieges of [[Buda]] and [[Pest, Hungary|Pest]],  Suleiman went to Edirne on 17 November 1542 to prepare for a new campaign and stayed there for a while. On 23 April 1543, he set out on another campaign against Hungary. On 8 August, after a two-week siege ,[[Esztergom]] was captured by the Ottoman Empire. Within a few weeks, the cities of Siklós , Székesfehérvár and Szeged were also taken. Ferdinand and Charles were foruleiman. Ferdinand renounced his claim to the Kingdom of Hungary and was forced to pay a fixed yearly sum to the Sultan for the Hungarian lands he continued to control. Of more symbolic importance, the treaty referred to Charles V not as "Emperor" but as the "King of Spain", leading Suleiman to identify as the true "Caesar".<ref name= Imber />{{rp|54}} In 1552, Suleiman's forces laid [[Siege of Eger (1552)|siege to Eger]], located in the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, but the defenders led by [[István Dobó]] repelled the attacks and defended the [[Eger Castle]].<ref>{{cite news |title=István Dobó |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Istvan-Dobo |work=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref>
[[File:Johann Peter Krafft 005.jpg|thumb|[[Siege of Szigetvár]] by [[Johann Peter Krafft]], 1825]]

Suleiman, set out on his 13th expedition, [[Siege of Szigetvár]] on 1 May 1566, at the age of 72, after an absence of approximately 13 years. The Ottoman army, which arrived in Belgrade on 27 June and was joined by Sigismund Zapolya's forces, arrived in [[Szigetvár]] on 2 August. Suleiman arrived at the siege on 5 August and settled in his tent on a hill from which the siege could be seen.  On 6 September, Suleiman died in his tent, one day before the fall of [[Szigetvár]]. His death was kept secret with great effort, with only the Sultan's innermost circle knowing of his demise. This was because the Ottomans feared that their soldiers would give up the battle if they knew that their leader had died, so his death was kept secret for 48 days. A courier was dispatched from the camp with a message for Suleiman's successor, [[Selim II]]. 

===Ottoman–Safavid War===
{{Main|Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55)|Ottoman–Persian Wars|Habsburg–Persian alliance}}
[[File:Sueleymanname nahcevan.jpg|thumb|upright|Miniature depicting Suleiman marching with an army in [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic|Nakhchivan]], summer 1554]]

Suleiman's father had made war with Persia a high priority.  At first, Suleiman shifted attention to Europe and was content to contain [[Iran|Persia]], which was preoccupied by its own enemies to its east. After Suleiman stabilized his European frontiers, he now turned his attention to Persia, the base for the rival [[Shia Islam|Shia Muslim]] faction. The [[Safavid dynasty]] became the main enemy after two episodes. First, Shah [[Tahmasp I|Tahmasp]] killed  the [[Baghdad]] governor loyal to Suleiman, and put his own man in. Second, the governor of [[Bitlis]] had defected and sworn allegiance to the Safavids.<ref name= Imber />{{rp|51}} As a result, in 1533, Suleiman ordered his Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha to lead an army into eastern Asia Minor where he retook Bitlis and occupied [[Tabriz]] without resistance. Suleiman joined Ibrahim in 1534. They made a push towards Persia, only to find the Shah sacrificing territory instead of facing a pitched battle, resorting to harassment of the Ottoman army as it proceeded along the harsh interior.<ref name=sicker206>{{cite book |last= Sicker |first= Martin |title=The Islamic World In Ascendancy : From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna |year= 2000 |page= 206}}</ref> In 1535 Suleiman made a grand entrance into Baghdad. He enhanced his local support by restoring the tomb of [[Abu Hanifa]], the founder of the [[Hanafi]] school of Islamic law to which the Ottomans adhered.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burak |first=Guy |title=The Second Formation of Islamic Law: The Ḥanafī School in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-107-09027-9 |page=1}}</ref>

Attempting to defeat the Shah once and for all, Suleiman embarked upon a second campaign in 1548–1549. As in the previous attempt, Tahmasp avoided confrontation with the Ottoman army and instead chose to retreat, using scorched earth tactics in the process and exposing the Ottoman army to the harsh winter of the [[Caucasus]].<ref name=sicker206 /> Suleiman abandoned the campaign with temporary Ottoman gains in [[Tabriz]] and the [[Urmia]] region, a lasting presence in the province of [[Van Province|Van]], control of the western half of [[Azerbaijan]] and some forts in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].<ref name=bartleby794>{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.bartleby.com/67/794.html |title= 1548–49 |encyclopedia= The Encyclopedia of World History |year= 2001 | via= Bartleby.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020918101523/http://www.bartleby.com/67/794.html |archive-date= 18 September 2002| access-date= 20 June 2020}}</ref>

[[File:ImperioOtomanoSimplificado-en.svg|thumb|[[List of Ottoman conquests, sieges and landings|Territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire]] under Suleiman, (in red and orange) including [[Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman vassals]].]]

In 1553, Suleiman began his third and final campaign against the Shah. Having initially lost territories in [[Erzurum]] to the Shah's son, Suleiman retaliated by recapturing Erzurum, crossing the Upper Euphrates and laying waste to parts of Persia. The Shah's army continued its strategy of avoiding the Ottomans, leading to a stalemate from which neither army made any significant gain. In 1555, a settlement known as the [[Peace of Amasya]] was signed, which defined the borders of the two empires. By this treaty, Armenia and Georgia were divided equally between the two, with [[Western Armenia]], western [[Kurdistan]], and western Georgia (incl. western [[Samtskhe atabegate|Samtskhe]]) falling in Ottoman hands while [[Eastern Armenia]], eastern Kurdistan, and eastern Georgia (incl. eastern Samtskhe) stayed in Safavid hands.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mikaberidze|first1=Alexander|title=Historical Dictionary of Georgia|date=2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1442241466|page=xxxi|edition=2nd}}</ref> The Ottoman Empire obtained most of [[Iraq]], including Baghdad, which gave them access to the [[Persian Gulf]], while the Persians retained their former capital [[Tabriz]] and all their other northwestern territories in the Caucasus and as they were prior to the wars, such as [[Dagestan]] and all of what is now [[Azerbaijan]].<ref>''The Reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, 1520–1566'', V.J. Parry, ''A History of the Ottoman Empire to 1730'', ed. M.A. Cook (Cambridge University Press, 1976), 94.</ref><ref>{{cite book| author-link= Alexander Mikaberidze| last= Mikaberidze| first= Alexander| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WjQfo3a1eVMC&q=peace+of+amasya+caucasus&pg=PA698 |title= Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1| publisher= ABC-CLIO| date=  2011 | isbn= 978-1598843361| page= 698}}</ref>

===Campaigns in the Indian Ocean===
{{Main|Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts|1548 capture of Aden|Ottoman expedition to Aceh|Ottoman naval expeditions in the Indian Ocean}}
[[File:Ottoman fleet Indian Ocean 16th century.jpg|thumb|upright|Ottoman fleet in the [[Indian Ocean]] in the 16th century]]

Ottoman ships had been sailing in the [[Indian Ocean]] since the year 1518. Ottoman [[admiral]]s such as [[Hadim Suleiman Pasha]], [[Seydi Ali Reis]]<ref name="Özcan1997">{{cite book|first= Azmi |last= Özcan |title= Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain, 1877–1924|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s04pus5jBNwC&pg=PA11|access-date=30 September 2012|year=1997|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10632-1| pages= 11–}}</ref> and [[Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis]] are known to have voyaged to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] imperial ports of [[Thatta]], [[Surat]] and [[Janjira State|Janjira]]. The Mughal Emperor [[Akbar the Great]] himself is known to have exchanged six documents with Suleiman the Magnificent.<ref name="Özcan1997" /><ref>{{cite journal |last= Farooqi |first=N. R. |title= Six Ottoman documents on Mughal-Ottoman relations during the reign of Akbar|journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |date= 1996 |volume= 7 |issue= 1 |pages=32–48|doi=10.1093/jis/7.1.32}}</ref><ref name="Farooqi1989">{{cite book| first= Naimur Rahman |last= Farooqi|title=Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political & diplomatic relations between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556–1748|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ| access-date= 30 September 2012|year=1989|publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli}}</ref>

Suleiman led several naval campaigns against the [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portuguese]] in an attempt to remove them and reestablish trade with the [[Mughal Empire]]. [[Aden]] in [[Yemen]] was captured by the Ottomans in 1538, in order to provide an Ottoman base for raids against Portuguese possessions on the western coast of the Mughal Empire.<ref name="Kour">{{cite book| first= Z. H.| last= Kour|title=The History of Aden |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hNCPAgAAQBAJ|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-78114-9|page=2}}</ref> Sailing on, the Ottomans failed against the Portuguese at the [[Siege of Diu (1538)|siege of Diu]] in September 1538, but then returned to Aden, where they fortified the city with 100 pieces of artillery.<ref name="Kour" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ovg_RQlklU4C&pg=PA326|title=An economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire|first=Halil|last=İnalcik|page=326|publisher=Cambridge University Press |year= 1997 |isbn= 978-0-521-57456-3}}</ref> From this base, Sulayman Pasha managed to take control of the whole country of Yemen, also taking [[Sana'a]].<ref name="Kour" />

With its strong control of the [[Red Sea]], Suleiman successfully managed to dispute control of the trade routes to the Portuguese and maintained a significant level of trade with the [[Mughal Empire]] throughout the 16th century.<ref>''History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey'' by Ezel Kural Shaw p. 107 [https://books.google.com/books?id=UVmsI0P9RDUC&pg=PA107] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226065927/https://books.google.com/books?id=UVmsI0P9RDUC&pg=PA107|date=26 December 2022}}</ref>

From 1526 until 1543, Suleiman stationed over 900 Turkish soldiers to fight alongside the [[Somali people|Somali]] [[Adal Sultanate]] led by [[Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi]] during the [[Abyssinian–Adal war|Conquest of Abyssinia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=similarities between louis xiv and suleiman the magnificent |url=https://gymwp.app/hnytdoi/similarities-between-louis-xiv-and-suleiman-the-magnificent |access-date=16 May 2023 |website=gymwp.app |archive-date=16 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516071400/https://gymwp.app/hnytdoi/similarities-between-louis-xiv-and-suleiman-the-magnificent |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the [[Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1538–57)|first Ajuran-Portuguese war]], the Ottoman Empire would in 1559 absorb the weakened Adal Sultanate into its domain. This expansion furthered Ottoman rule in [[Somalia]] and the [[Horn of Africa]]. This also increased its influence in the Indian Ocean to compete with the Portuguese Empire with its close ally, the [[Ajuran Sultanate|Ajuran Empire]].<ref name="Clifford">{{cite journal|first=E. H. M.|last=Clifford|title=The British Somaliland-Ethiopia Boundary|journal=Geographical Journal|volume=87|issue=4|date=1936|pages=289–302|doi=10.2307/1785556|jstor=1785556|bibcode=1936GeogJ..87..289C }}</ref>

In 1564, Suleiman received an embassy from [[Aceh Sultanate|Aceh]] (a sultanate on [[Sumatra]], in modern [[Indonesia]]), requesting Ottoman support against the Portuguese. As a result, an [[Ottoman embassy to Aceh|Ottoman expedition to Aceh]] was launched, which was able to provide extensive military support to the Acehnese.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492–1792, Volume 2|first=Jeremy|last=Black|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=neUKEvaYPZYC&pg=PA17|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-521-47033-1}}</ref>

The discovery of new maritime trade routes by Western European states allowed them to avoid the Ottoman trade monopoly. The [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portuguese]] discovery of the [[Cape of Good Hope]] in 1488 initiated [[Ottoman naval expeditions in the Indian Ocean|a series of Ottoman-Portuguese naval wars]] in the Ocean throughout the 16th century. The Ajuran Sultanate allied with the Ottomans defied the Portuguese economic monopoly in the Indian Ocean by employing a new coinage which followed the Ottoman pattern, thus proclaiming an attitude of economic independence in regard to the Portuguese.<ref>Coins From Mogadishu, c. 1300 to c. 1700 by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville, p. 36</ref>

===Mediterranean and North Africa===
{{See also|Franco-Ottoman alliance|Hayreddin Barbarossa|Italian War of 1542–46|Great Siege of Malta}}
[[File:Battle of Preveza (1538).jpg|thumb|[[Barbarossa (Ottoman admiral)|Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha]] defeats the Holy League under the command of [[Andrea Doria]] at the [[Battle of Preveza]] in 1538]]
[[File:Francois I Suleiman.jpg|thumb|France's King Francis I never met Suleiman, but they created a [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]] from the 1530s.]]

Having consolidated his conquests on land, Suleiman was greeted with the news that the fortress of [[Koroni]] in [[Morea]] (the modern [[Peloponnese]], peninsular Greece) had been lost to [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]]'s admiral, [[Andrea Doria]]. The presence of the Spanish in the Eastern Mediterranean concerned Suleiman, who saw it as an early indication of Charles V's intention to rival Ottoman dominance in the region. Recognizing the need to reassert naval preeminence in the Mediterranean, Suleiman appointed an exceptional naval commander in the form of [[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Khair ad Din]], known to Europeans as [[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Barbarossa]]. Once appointed admiral-in-chief, Barbarossa was charged with rebuilding the Ottoman fleet.

In 1535, Charles V led a Holy League of 26,700 soldiers (10,000 Spaniards, 8,000 Italians, 8,000 Germans, and 700 Knights of St. John)<ref name=Clodfelter/> to victory against the Ottomans at [[Tunis]], which together with the war against [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] the following year, led Suleiman to accept proposals from [[Francis I of France]] to form [[Franco-Ottoman alliance|an alliance against Charles]].<ref name= Imber />{{rp|51}} Huge Muslim territories in North Africa were annexed. The piracy carried on thereafter by the [[Barbary pirates]] of North Africa can be seen in the context of the wars against Spain.

[[File:Siege of malta 1.jpg|The siege of Malta in 1565: arrival of the Turkish fleet, by [[Matteo Perez d'Aleccio]]|thumb|left]]

In 1541, the Spaniards led an unsuccessful [[Algiers expedition (1541)|expedition to Algiers]]. In 1542, facing a common Habsburg enemy during the [[Italian Wars]], Francis I sought to renew the [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]]. In early 1542, Polin successfully negotiated the details of the alliance, with the Ottoman Empire promising to send 60,000 troops against the territories of the German king Ferdinand, as well as 150 galleys against Charles, while France promised to attack [[County of Flanders|Flanders]], harass the coasts of Spain with a naval force, and send 40 galleys to assist the Turks for operations in the Levant.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgQNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA461|title=The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571|first=Kenneth Meyer|last=Setton|year=1976|publisher=American Philosophical Society|isbn=978-0871691613|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In August 1551, Ottoman naval commander [[Turgut Reis]] attacked and [[Siege of Tripoli (1551)|captured Tripoli]], which had been a possession of the Knights of Malta since 1530. In 1553, Turgut Reis was nominated commander of [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] by Suleiman, making the city an important center for [[Barbary slave trade|piratical raids]] in the Mediterranean and the capital of the Ottoman province of [[Ottoman Tripolitania|Tripolitania]].<ref>''A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period'' Jamil M. Abun-Nasr p. 190 [https://books.google.com/books?id=jdlKbZ46YYkC&pg=PA190]</ref> In 1560, a powerful naval force was sent to recapture Tripoli, but that force was defeated in the [[Battle of Djerba]].<ref>''A History of the Ottoman Empire to 1730: chapters from the Cambridge history'' by Vernon J. Parry p. 101 [https://books.google.com/books?id=nUs7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA101]</ref>

Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, when the Knights Hospitallers were re-established as the [[Knights Hospitaller|Knights of Malta]] in 1530, their actions against Muslim navies quickly drew the ire of the Ottomans, who assembled another massive army in order to dislodge the Knights from Malta. The Ottomans invaded Malta in 1565, undertaking the [[Great Siege of Malta]], which began on 18 May and lasted until 8 September, and is portrayed vividly in the frescoes of [[Matteo Perez d'Aleccio]] in the Hall of St. Michael and St. George. At first, it seemed that this would be a repeat of the battle on Rhodes, with most of Malta's cities destroyed and half the Knights killed in battle; but a relief force from Spain entered the battle, resulting in the loss of 10,000 Ottoman troops and the victory of the local Maltese citizenry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.malta.com/about-malta/history-of-malta.html|title=History of Malta and Gozo – From Prehistory to Independence| first= Georgi | last= Mitev}}</ref>

==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>

==The arts under Suleiman==
{{See also|Classical Ottoman architecture}}[[File:Execution of Prisonsers Belgrade-Suleymanname.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] miniature from the [[Süleymanname]] depicting the [[execution by elephant]] of defeated enemy in [[Belgrade]]]]
[[File:Tughra Suleiman.jpg|thumb|[[Tughra]] of Suleiman the Magnificent]]

Under Suleiman's patronage, the Ottoman Empire entered the golden age of its [[Culture of the Ottoman Empire|cultural development]]. Hundreds of imperial artistic societies (called the {{lang|ota|اهل حرف}} ''Ehl-i Hiref'', "Community of the Craftsmen") were administered at the Imperial seat, the [[Topkapı Palace]]. After an apprenticeship, artists and craftsmen could advance in rank within their field and were paid commensurate wages in quarterly annual installments. Payroll registers that survive testify to the breadth of Suleiman's patronage of the arts, the earliest of the documents dating from 1526 list 40&nbsp;societies with over 600&nbsp;members. The ''Ehl-i Hiref'' attracted the empire's most talented artisans to the Sultan's court, both from the Islamic world and from the recently conquered territories in Europe, resulting in a blend of Arabic, Turkish and European cultures.<ref name= "atil24">{{cite journal |url= http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198704/the.golden.age.of.ottoman.art.htm|title=The Golden Age of Ottoman Art|access-date=18 April 2007|journal=Saudi Aramco World|date=July–August 1987 |volume= 38 |issue= 4|pages=24–33|issn=1530-5821|location=Houston, Texas|publisher=Aramco Services Co| last= Atıl |first= Esin|url-status= dead |archive-url= http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110706142210/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198704/the.golden.age.of.ottoman.art.htm|archive-date=6 July 2011}}
</ref> Artisans in service of the court included painters, book binders, furriers, jewellers and goldsmiths. Whereas previous rulers had been influenced by [[Culture of Iran|Persian culture]] (Suleiman's father, Selim I, wrote poetry in Persian), Suleiman's patronage of the arts saw the Ottoman Empire assert its own artistic legacy.<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|70}}

Suleiman himself was an accomplished poet, writing in Persian and Turkish under the [[takhallus]] (nom de plume) ''Muhibbi'' ({{lang|ota|محبی}}, "Lover"). Some of Suleiman's verses have become Turkish proverbs, such as the well-known ''Everyone aims at the same meaning, but many are the versions of the story''{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=October 2023}}. When his young son [[Şehzade Mehmed|Mehmed]] died in 1543, he composed a moving [[chronogram]] to commemorate the year: ''Peerless among princes, my Sultan Mehmed''.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.turkcebilgi.org/kim-kimdir/m/muhibbi-kanuni-sultan-suleyman-31612.html |title=Muhibbî (Kanunî Sultan Süleyman) |website= turkcebilgi.org| publisher= Türkçe Bilgi, Ansiklopedi, Sözlük}}</ref> In Turkish the chronogram reads {{lang|ota|شهزاده‌لر گزیده‌سی سلطان محمدم}} (''Şehzadeler güzidesi Sultan Muhammed'üm''), in which the Arabic [[Abjad numerals]] total 955, the equivalent in the [[Islamic calendar]] of 1543&nbsp;AD. In addition to Suleiman's own work, many great talents enlivened the literary world during Suleiman's rule, including [[Fuzûlî]] and [[Bâkî]]. The literary historian [[Elias John Wilkinson Gibb]] observed that "at no time, even in Turkey, was greater encouragement given to poetry than during the reign of this Sultan".<ref name=byegm>{{cite web| url= http://www.byegm.gov.tr/yayinlarimiz/NEWSPOT/1999/JulyAug/N6.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060309091926/http://www.byegm.gov.tr/yayinlarimiz/NEWSPOT/1999/JulyAug/N6.htm |archive-date= 9 March 2006| title= Halman, Suleyman the Magnificent Poet}}</ref> Suleiman's most famous verse is:

<poem style="margin-left:2em">
The people think of wealth and power as the greatest fate,
But in this world a spell of health is the best state.
What men call sovereignty is a worldly strife and constant war;
Worship of God is the highest throne, the happiest of all estates.<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|84}}
</poem>

[[File:Cour_mosquee_Suleymaniye_Istanbul.jpg|thumb|[[Süleymaniye Mosque]] in Istanbul, built by [[Mimar Sinan]], Suleiman's chief architect.]]

Suleiman also became renowned for sponsoring a series of monumental [[Ottoman architecture#Classical period (1437–1703)|architectural]] developments within his empire. The Sultan sought to turn Constantinople into the center of Islamic civilization by a series of projects, including bridges, mosques, palaces and various charitable and social establishments. The greatest of these were built by the Sultan's chief architect, [[Mimar Sinan]], under whom Ottoman architecture reached its zenith. Sinan became responsible for over three hundred monuments throughout the empire, including his two masterpieces, the [[Süleymaniye Mosque|Süleymaniye]] and [[Selimiye Mosque (Edirne)|Selimiye]] mosques—the latter built in Adrianople (now [[Edirne]]) in the reign of Suleiman's son [[Selim II]]. Suleiman also restored the [[Dome of the Rock]] in Jerusalem and the [[Walls of Jerusalem]] (which are the current walls of the [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City of Jerusalem]]), renovated the [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca]], and constructed a complex in [[Damascus]].<ref>Atıl, 26.</ref>

Under his reign, The [[Topkapı Palace]] was greatly expanded with the permanent addition of the Imperial Harem to the Palace. From the reign of Suleiman, Topkapi not only served as the administrative center of the Empire, but also as the Imperial Residence of all succeeding Ottoman Sultans and the entire Ottoman Royal family until the 19th century. 

===Tulips===
Suleiman loved gardens and his [[shaykh]] grew a white tulip in one of the gardens. Some of the nobles in the court had seen the tulip and they also began growing their own.<ref name="tulips">{{cite news |title=Istanbul's signature flowers, plants in cologne bottles |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/life/2017/04/27/istanbuls-signature-flowers-plants-in-cologne-bottles |access-date=21 November 2022 |publisher=Daily Sabah |date=27 April 2017}}</ref> Soon images of the tulip were woven into rugs and fired into ceramics.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |last1=Kling |first1=Cynthia |title=Wild Tulips: Get In On This Gardening Trend Now |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-less-flashy-tulip-gardeners-are-planting-right-now-1507833349 |access-date=21 November 2022 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=12 October 2017}}</ref> Suleiman is credited with large-scale cultivation of the tulip and it is thought that the tulips spread throughout Europe because of Suleiman. It is thought that diplomats who visited him were gifted the flowers while visiting his court.<ref name="Osman">{{cite news |last1=Osman |first1=Nadda |title=Five national flowers from the Middle East and the symbolism they hold |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/middle-east-flowers-national-symbolism |access-date=21 November 2022 |publisher=Middle East Eye |date=24 January 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Tulip in Turkey.jpg|thumb|A vibrant tulip in Turkey, symbolizing the country's deep historical and cultural connection with this beloved flower.]]

Suleiman's passion for tulips set a precedent for their cultivation and cultural significance in the Ottoman Empire. This fascination continued to flourish, reaching its zenith under Sultan Ahmet III, who ascended the throne in 1703. Ahmet III's gardens in Istanbul were adorned with tulips from Turkey's mountains and the finest bulbs imported from Dutch commercial growers. Throughout his reign, he imported millions of Dutch tulip bulbs, reflecting the enduring legacy of Suleiman's influence and the extravagant height of tulip culture during this period.<ref>Amsterdam Tulip Museum, "The Tulip in Turkey," accessed September 17, 2024, https://amsterdamtulipmuseum.com/pages/the-tulip-in-turkey.</ref>

==Personal life==
===Consorts===
Suleiman had two known consorts:
* [[Mahidevran|Mahidevran Hatun]], a Circassian or Albanian or Montenegrin concubine,<ref>{{cite book|title=Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul|publisher=Penguin|date=1 July 2001|language=en|first=John|last=Freely|isbn = 9780140270563}}</ref><ref name="yermolenko"/> she entered in Süleyman's harem when he was prince in Manisa;{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}}
* [[Roxelana|Hürrem Sultan]], known in West as Roxelana (m. 1533), Suleiman's only favorite concubine during his reign, and later legal wife and first [[Haseki sultan]], possibly a daughter of a [[Ruthenians|Ruthenian]] [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] priest.<ref name="yermolenko">{{cite book |first= Galina I |last= Yermolenko|title=Roxolana in European Literature, History and Culturea|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2013|page=275|isbn=978-1-4094-7611-5}}</ref>

===Sons===
Suleiman I had at least eight sons:
* Şehzade Mahmud ({{circa|1513}}, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 29 October 1520, Old Palace, Istanbul, and buried in [[Yavuz Selim Mosque]]);<ref name="hakki">{{cite book|first1=İsmail Hakkı|last1=Uzunçarşılı|first2=Enver Ziya|last2=Karal|title=Osmanlı tarihi, Volume 2|publisher=Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi|year=1975|page=401}}</ref>
* Şehzade Murad ({{circa|1515}}, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 19 October 1520, Old Palace, and Istanbul, buried in Yavuz Selim Mosque);<ref name="hakki"/>
* [[Şehzade Mustafa]] ({{Circa}}1516/1517, Manisa Palace, Manisa – executed, by the order of his father, 6 October 1553, [[Konya]], buried in [[Muradiye Complex]], [[Bursa]]), with Mahidevran;<ref name="sahin">{{cite book | last=Şahin | first=K. | title=Peerless Among Princes: The Life and Times of Sultan Süleyman | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2023 | isbn=978-0-19-753163-1 | pages=99, 120}}</ref> 
* [[Şehzade Mehmed]] (1521, Old Palace, Istanbul – 6 November 1543, Manisa Palace, Manisa, buried in [[Şehzade Mosque]], Istanbul), with Hürrem;
* [[Selim II|Sultan Selim II]] (30 May 1524, Old Palace, Istanbul – 15 December 1574, Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, buried in Selim II Mausoleum, [[Hagia Sophia]] Mosque), with Hürrem;
* [[Şehzade Abdullah]] ({{circa|1525}}, Old Palace, Istanbul  – {{circa|1528}}, Old Palace, Istanbul, and buried in Yavuz Selim Mosque),<ref name="hakki"/> with Hürrem;{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}}{{sfn|Peirce|2017|p=58}}
* [[Şehzade Bayezid]] (1527, Old Palace, Istanbul – executed by agents of his father on 25 September 1561, [[Qazvin]], [[Safavid Empire]], buried in Melik-i Acem Türbe, [[Sivas]]), with Hürrem;{{sfn|Peirce|2017|p=58}}
* [[Şehzade Cihangir]] (1531, Old Palace, Istanbul – 27 November 1553, [[Konya]], buried in [[Şehzade Mosque]], Istanbul), with Hürrem;

===Daughters ===
Suleiman had two daughters: 
* [[Raziye Sultan]] ({{circa}} 1519 – {{circa}} 1520, and buried in Yahya Efendi mausoleum);<ref name="Okan">{{cite book | last=Okan | first=A. | title=İstanbul evliyaları | publisher=Kapı yayınları | series=Kapı yayınları | year=2008 | isbn=978-9944-486-70-5 | page=17}}</ref>
* [[Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Suleiman I)|Mihrimah Sultan]] (1522, Old Palace, Istanbul – 25 January 1578, buried in Suleiman I Mausoleum, [[Süleymaniye Mosque]]), with Hürrem, married [[Rüstem Pasha]] in 1539;{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}}{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=233}}{{sfn|Uluçay|1992|p=65}}

===Relationship with Hurrem Sultan===
[[File:Khourrem.jpg|thumb|upright|16th-century oil painting of Hurrem Sultan]]

Suleiman fell in love with [[Roxelana|Hurrem Sultan]], a harem girl from [[Ruthenia]], then part of [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]]. Western diplomats, taking notice of the palace gossip about her, called her "Russelazie" or "Roxelana", referring to her Ruthenian origins.<ref>Ahmed, 43.</ref> The daughter of an [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] priest, she was [[Crimean–Nogai raids into East Slavic lands|captured by Tatars]] from [[Crimean Khanate|Crimea]], sold as a [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|slave]] in Constantinople, and eventually rose through the ranks of the Harem to become Suleiman's [[Favourite|favorite]]. Hurrem, a former concubine, became the legal wife of the Sultan, much to the astonishment of the observers in the palace and the city.<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|86}} He also allowed Hurrem Sultan to remain with him at court for the rest of her life, breaking another tradition—that when imperial heirs came of age, they would be sent along with the imperial concubine who bore them to govern remote provinces of the Empire, never to return unless their progeny succeeded to the throne.<ref name= Imber />{{rp|90}} 

Hurrem was the first Ottoman women to directly take part in state affairs of the Ottoman Empire and she acted as an advisor to Suleiman in taking decisions. She used to sign documents in his absence, attended Imperial council meetings, held meetings with Grand Viziers and ministers to discuss regarding state affairs and corresponded with ambassadors and Foreign rulers, particularly with [[Sigismund II Augustus]]. She played a major role in the creation of the [[Polish-Ottoman alliance]].<ref>Peirce, Leslie: The Imperial Harem; Pg 87</ref> Suleiman not only declared her as his legal wife, but also created an Institutionalized title and position for her as the [[Haseki sultan]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]], making her as the second most powerful person in the empire after Suleiman. Suleiman was completely loyal towards her for rest of his life, and his love for her and his decisions to grant her more powers, made rumors throughout the Ottoman court that the sultan had been bewitched.<ref name="OEWWH">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hürrem, Sultan |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195148909.001.0001/acref-9780195148909-e-472 |access-date=29 May 2017 |date=2008 |editor=Bonnie G. Smith |isbn=9780195148909}}</ref>

Under his pen name, Muhibbi, Sultan Suleiman composed this poem for Hurrem Sultan:
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight.
My most sincere friend, my confidant, my very existence, my Sultan, my one and only love.
The most beautiful among the beautiful&nbsp;...
My springtime, my merry faced love, my daytime, my sweetheart, laughing leaf&nbsp;...
My plants, my sweet, my rose, the one only who does not distress me in this room&nbsp;...
My Istanbul, my Karaman, 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 misery&nbsp;...
I'll sing your praises always
I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi of the eyes full of tears, I am happy.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/sample-10.html |title=A 400 Year Old Love Poem|work= Women in World History}}</ref>
</poem>

===Grand Vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha===
[[File:Suleiman I after the capture of Buda, 1529.jpg|thumb|upright|Suleiman awaits the arrival of his [[Grand Vizier]] [[Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha]] at [[Buda]], 1529.]]

Before his downfall, [[Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha]] was an inseparable friend and possible lover of Suleiman. In fact, he is referred to by his chroniclers as "the favourite" (Maḳbūl) along with "the executed" (Maḳtūl).<ref>{{Citation |last=Gökbilgin |first=M. Tayyib |title=Ibrāhīm Pas̲h̲a |date=24 April 2012 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/*-SIM_3457 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |language=en |access-date=2 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Baer |first=Marc David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1236896222 |title=The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs |publisher=Basic Books |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-5416-7380-9 |edition=First |location=New York |oclc=1236896222}}</ref> Historians state that Suleiman I is remembered for "his passion for two of his slaves: for his beloved Ibrahim when the sultan was a hot-blooded youth, and for his beloved Hurrem when he was mature."<ref name=":0" />

Ibrahim was originally a Christian from [[Parga]] (in [[Epirus]]), who was captured in a raid during the [[Ottoman–Venetian War (1499–1503)|1499–1503 Ottoman–Venetian War]], and was given as a slave to Suleiman most likely in 1514.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Turan |first=Ebru |title=The Marriage of Ibrahim Pasha (ca. 1495–1536): The Rise of Sultan Süleyman's Favorite to the Grand Vizierate and the Politics of the Elites in the Early Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Empire |journal=Turcica |volume=41 |date=2009 |pages=3–36|doi=10.2143/TURC.41.0.2049287 |doi-access=free |via=Peeters Online Journals |url=https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=2049287&journal_code=TURC |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240430010430/https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/secure/POJ/downloadpdf.php?ticket_id=663041fa0e651&newlayout=1 |archive-date= 30 April 2024 }}</ref> Ibrahim converted to Islam and Suleiman made him the royal [[Falconry|falconer]], then promoted him to first officer of the Royal Bedchamber.<ref name="Mansel" />{{rp|87}} It was reported that they slept together in the same bed.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |first=Ebru |last=Turan |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/655885125 |title=The sultan's favorite : İbrahim Pasha and the making of the Ottoman universal sovereignty in the reign of Sultan Süleyman (1516-1526) pp 139-140 |oclc=655885125}}</ref> The sultan also built Ibrahim a lavish palace on the ancient [[Hippodrome]], Istanbul's main forum outside the [[Hagia Sophia]] and [[Topkapı Palace]]. Despite his following marriage and his new sumptuous residence, Ibrahim sometimes spent the night with Suleiman I at Topkapı Palace. In turn, the sultan occasionally slept at Ibrahim's lodgings.<ref name=":0" /> Ibrahim Pasha rose to [[Grand Vizier]] in 1523 and commander-in-chief of all the armies. Suleiman also conferred upon Ibrahim Pasha the honor of ''[[beylerbey]]'' of [[Rumelia]] (first-ranking military governor-general), granting Ibrahim authority over all Ottoman territories in Europe, as well as command of troops residing within them in times of war. At the time, Ibrahim was only about thirty years old and lacked any actual military expertise; it is said that 'tongues wagged' at this unprecedented promotion straight from palace service to the two highest offices of the empire.<ref name=":0" />

During his thirteen years as Grand Vizier, his rapid rise to power and vast accumulation of wealth had made Ibrahim many enemies at the Sultan's court. Suleiman's suspicion of Ibrahim was worsened by a quarrel between the latter and the finance secretary (''[[defterdar]]'') [[İskender Çelebi]]. The dispute ended in the disgrace of Çelebi on charges of intrigue, with Ibrahim convincing Suleiman to sentence the ''defterdar'' to death. Ibrahim also supported Şehzade Mustafa as the successor of Suleiman. This caused disputes between him and Hurrem Sultan, who wanted her sons to succeed to the throne. Ibrahim eventually fell from grace with the Sultan and his wife. Suleiman consulted his [[Qadi]], who suggested that Ibrahim be put to death. The Sultan recruited assassins and ordered them to strangle Ibrahim in his sleep.<ref>Hester Donaldson Jenkins, ''Ibrahim Pasha: grand vizir of Suleiman the Magnificent'' (1911) pp 109–125.[https://archive.org/details/39020024820097-ibrahimpashagra/page/n69/mode/2up online]</ref>

==Succession==
Sultan Suleiman's two known consorts (Hurrem and Mahidevran) had borne him six sons, four of whom survived past the 1550s. They were [[Şehzade Mustafa|Mustafa]], [[Selim II|Selim]], [[Şehzade Bayezid|Bayezid]], and [[Şehzade Cihangir|Cihangir]]. The eldest was [[Mahidevran]]'s son, while Selim, Bayezid, and Cihangir were born to Hurrem. Hurrem is usually held at least partly responsible for the intrigues in nominating a successor, though there is no evidence to support this.{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}} Although she was Suleiman's wife, she exercised no official public role. This did not, however, prevent Hurrem from wielding powerful political influence. Until the reign of [[Ahmed I]] (1603–1617), the Empire had no formal means of nominating a successor, so successions usually involved the death of competing princes in order to avert civil unrest and rebellions.

By 1552, when the campaign against Persia had begun with Rüstem appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition, intrigues against Mustafa began. Rüstem sent one of Suleiman's most trusted men to report that since Suleiman was not at the head of the army, the soldiers thought the time had come to put a younger prince on the throne; at the same time, he spread rumours that Mustafa had proved receptive to the idea. Angered by what he came to believe were Mustafa's plans to claim the throne, the following summer upon return from his campaign in Persia, Suleiman summoned him to his tent in the [[Ereğli, Konya|Ereğli valley]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Tahsin|last=Ünal|publisher=Anıt|issue=28|title=The Execution of Prince Mustafa in Eregli|year=1961|pages=9–22}}</ref> When Mustafa entered his father's tent to meet with him, Suleiman's [[eunuch]]s attacked Mustafa, and after a long struggle the mutes killed him using a bow-string.

[[File:Sultani of Suleiman I, 1520.jpg|thumb|left|Ottoman ''[[sultani]]'' minted during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent]]
Cihangir is said to have died of grief a few months after the news of his half-brother's murder.<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|89}}{{anchor|Civil war}} The two surviving brothers, [[Selim II|Selim]] and [[Şehzade Bayezid|Bayezid]], were given command in different parts of the empire. Within a few years, however, civil war broke out between the brothers, each supported by his loyal forces. With the aid of his father's army, Selim defeated Bayezid in [[Konya]] in 1559, leading the latter to seek refuge with the [[Safavids]] along with his four sons. Following diplomatic exchanges, the Sultan demanded from the [[Tahmasp I|Safavid Shah]] that Bayezid be either extradited or executed. In return for large amounts of gold, the Shah allowed a Turkish executioner to strangle Bayezid and his four sons in 1561,<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|89}} clearing the path for Selim's succession to the throne five years later.

==Death==
{{See also|Siege of Szigetvár}}
{{multiple image
| align = right
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| image1 = The body of Suleiman I arrives to Belgrade, Selim II is waiting for it B.jpg
| width1 = 100
| image2 = The Funeral of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent.jpg
| width2 = 210
| footer = The body of Suleiman I arrives to Belgrade. (left) The funeral of Suleiman I. (right)
}}
On 6 September 1566, Suleiman, who had set out from Constantinople to command an expedition to Hungary, died before an Ottoman victory at the [[siege of Szigetvár]] in Hungary at the age of 71<ref name= AG-BM-encyc />{{rp|545}} and his Grand Vizier [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]] kept his death secret during the retreat for the enthronement of [[Selim II]]. The sultan's body was taken back to Istanbul to be buried, while his heart, liver, and some other organs were buried in [[Turbék]], outside [[Szigetvár]]. A mausoleum constructed above the burial site came to be regarded as a holy place and pilgrimage site. Within a decade a mosque and [[Sufi]] hospice were built near it, and the site was protected by a salaried garrison of several dozen men.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ágoston |first=Gábor |title=Muslim Cultural Enclaves in Hungary under Ottoman Rule |journal=Acta Orientalia Scientiarum Hungaricae |volume=45 |date= 1991 |pages=197–98}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{See also|Ottoman decline thesis}}
[[File:OttomanEmpire1566.png|thumb|right|The Ottoman Empire at the time of the death of Suleiman I]]
[[File:Sultan Süleyman Türbesi 01.jpg|thumb|left|Burial place of Suleiman I at Süleymaniye Mosque]]
[[File:Flickr - USCapitol - Suleiman (1494-1566).jpg|thumb|right|Suleiman's marble portrait in the US Capitol]]

The formation of Suleiman's legacy began even before his death. Throughout his reign literary works were commissioned praising Suleiman and constructing an image of him as an ideal ruler, most significantly by Celalzade Mustafa, [[nişancı|chancellor]] of the empire from 1534 to 1557.<ref name= Empire-Power />{{rp|4–5, 250}} Later Ottoman writers applied this idealised image of Suleiman to the Near Eastern literary genre of [[Islamic advice literature|advice literature]] named ''[[nasihatname|naṣīḥatnāme]]'', urging sultans to conform to his model of rulership and to maintain the empire's institutions in their sixteenth-century form. Such writers were pushing back against the political and institutional [[Transformation of the Ottoman Empire|transformation]] of the empire after the middle of the sixteenth century, and portrayed deviation from the norm as it had existed under Suleiman as evidence of the decline of the empire.<ref name= HDouglas>{{cite journal |last=Howard |first=Douglas |title=Ottoman Historiography and the Literature of 'Decline' of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries |journal=Journal of Asian History |volume=22 |date=1988 }}</ref>{{rp|54–55, 64}} Western historians, failing to recognise that these 'decline writers' were working within an established literary genre and often had deeply personal reasons for criticizing the empire, long took their claims at face value and consequently adopted the idea that the empire entered a period of decline after the death of Suleiman.<ref name= HDouglas />{{rp|73–77}} Since the 1980s this view has been thoroughly reexamined, and modern scholars have come to overwhelmingly reject the idea of decline, labelling it an "untrue myth".<ref name=decline />

Suleiman's conquests had brought under the control of the Empire major [[Muslim]] cities (such as [[Baghdad]]), many [[Balkan peninsula|Balkan]] provinces (reaching present day [[Croatia]] and Hungary), and most of North Africa. His expansion into Europe had given the Ottoman Turks a powerful presence in the European balance of power. Indeed, such was the perceived threat of the Ottoman Empire under the reign of Suleiman that Austria's ambassador [[Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq|Busbecq]] warned of Europe's imminent conquest: "On [the Turks'] side are the resources of a mighty empire, strength unimpaired, habituation to victory, endurance of toil, unity, discipline, frugality and watchfulness&nbsp;... Can we doubt what the result will be?&nbsp;... When the Turks have settled with Persia, they will fly at our throats supported by the might of the whole East; how unprepared we are I dare not say."<ref>Lewis, 10.</ref> Suleiman's legacy was not, however, merely in the military field. The French traveler [[Jean de Thévenot]] bears witness a century later to the "strong agricultural base of the country, the well being of the peasantry, the abundance of staple foods and the pre-eminence of organization in Suleiman's government".<ref>Ahmed, 147.</ref>

Even thirty years after his death, "Sultan Solyman" was quoted by the English playwright [[William Shakespeare]] as a military prodigy in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'', where the Prince of [[Morocco]] boasts about his prowess by saying that he defeated Suleiman in three battles (Act 2, Scene 1).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nfs.sparknotes.com/merchant/page_44.html|title= The Merchant of Venice: Act 2, Scene 1, Page 2 |website=No Fear Shakespeare |publisher=SparkNotes |access-date=21 December 2016|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817080338/http://nfs.sparknotes.com/merchant/page_44.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://es.scribd.com/document/192873081/Shakespeare-s-Merchant-St-Antony-and-Sultan-Suleiman|title=Shakespeare's Merchant: St Antony and Sultan Suleiman – The Merchant Of Venice – Shylock|website=Scribd}}</ref>

Through the distribution of court patronage, Suleiman also presided over a golden age in Ottoman arts, witnessing immense achievement in the realms of architecture, literature, art, theology and philosophy.<ref name="atil24" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D6163EF935A15752C0A961948260|title=The Age of Sultan Suleyman |access-date=9 August 2007 |first=John |last=Russell|date=26 January 2007|newspaper= The New York Times}}</ref> Today the skyline of the [[Bosphorus]] and of many cities in modern Turkey and the former Ottoman provinces, are still adorned with the architectural works of [[Mimar Sinan]]. One of these, the [[Süleymaniye Mosque]], is the final resting place of Suleiman: he is buried in a domed mausoleum attached to the mosque.

Nevertheless, assessments of Suleiman's reign have frequently fallen into the trap of the [[Great Man theory]] of history. The administrative, cultural, and military achievements of the age were a product not of Suleiman alone, but also of the many talented figures who served him, such as grand viziers [[Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha|Ibrahim Pasha]] and [[Rüstem Pasha]], the [[Shaykh al-Islam|Grand Mufti]] [[Ebussuud Efendi]], who played a major role in legal reform, and [[nişancı|chancellor]] and chronicler Celalzade Mustafa, who played a major role in bureaucratic expansion and in constructing Suleiman's legacy.<ref name= AG-BM-encyc />{{rp|542}}

In an inscription dating from 1537 on the citadel of [[Bender, Moldova]], Suleiman the Magnificent gave expression to his power:<ref>{{cite book|title=The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600|author=Halil İnalcık|year=1973|page=41|language=en}}</ref>

{{blockquote|I am God's slave and sultan of this world. By the grace of God I am head of Muhammad's community. God's might and Muhammad's miracles are my companions. I am Süleymân, in whose name the hutbe is read in Mecca and Medina. In Baghdad I am the shah, in Byzantine realms the caesar, and in Egypt the sultan; who sends his fleets to the seas of Europe, the Maghrib and India. I am the sultan who took the crown and throne of Hungary and granted them to a humble slave. The voivoda Petru raised his head in revolt, but my horse's hoofs ground him into the dust, and I conquered the land of Moldovia.}}

Suleiman, as sculpted by [[Joseph Kiselewski]], is present on one of the 23 relief portraits over the gallery doors of the House Chamber of the [[United States Capitol]] that depicts historical figures noted for their work in establishing the principles that underlie [[American law]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/suleiman-relief-portrait|title=Suleiman, Relief Portrait &#124; Architect of the Capitol|website=www.aoc.gov}}</ref>

{{clear}}

==See also==
* [[List of revolts during Suleiman's reign]]
* ''[[Muhteşem Yüzyıl]]'', TV series based on his life

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
===Printed sources===
{{div col}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Ágoston |first=Gábor |title=Muslim Cultural Enclaves in Hungary under Ottoman Rule |journal=Acta Orientalia Scientiarum Hungaricae |volume=45 |date=1991 |pages=181–204}}
* {{cite book |last=Ahmed|first=Syed Z|title=The Zenith of an Empire : The Glory of the Suleiman the Magnificent and the Law Giver |year=2001 |publisher=A.E.R. Publications |isbn=978-0-9715873-0-4}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Arsan |first1=Esra |last2=Yldrm |first2=Yasemin |title=Reflections of neo-Ottomanist discourse in Turkish news media: The case of The Magnificent Century |journal=Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies |date=2014 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=315–334 |doi=10.1386/ajms.3.3.315_1 |url=https://www.academia.edu/9735956 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Atıl |first=Esin |title=The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent|year=1987 |publisher= National Gallery of Art |location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0-89468-098-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Barber|first=Noel|author-link=Noel Barber|title=Lords of the Golden Horn : From Suleiman the Magnificent to Kamal Ataturk |publisher=Pan Books|location=London|year=1976 |isbn=978-0-330-24735-1}}
* Clot, André. ''Suleiman the magnificent'' (Saqi, 2012).
* Garnier, Edith ''L'Alliance Impie'' Editions du Felin, 2008, Paris {{ISBN|978-2-86645-678-8}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20090818015845/http://www.neopodia.mobi/20090519-histoire-renaissance-alliance-impie-francois-1er-ier-ottoman-soliman-suleyman-charles-quint-forces-en-presence Interview]
* {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Işıksel |first1=Güneş |editor-last=Martel |editor-first=Gordon |title=Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566) |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Diplomacy |date=2018 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.1002/9781118885154.dipl0267|isbn=9781118887912 }}
* {{cite book |last=Levey|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Levey |title=The World of Ottoman Art |publisher= Thames & Hudson|year=1975 |isbn=0-500-27065-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Bernard|author-link=Bernard Lewis |title=What Went Wrong? : Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response|year=2002|publisher=Phoenix|location=London |isbn=978-0-7538-1675-2}}
* Lybyer, Albert Howe. ''The Government of the Ottoman Empire in the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent'' (Harvard UP, 1913) [https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/76054 online]. 
* {{cite book |last=Merriman|first=Roger Bigelow|author-link=R. B. Merriman|title=Suleiman the Magnificent, 1520–1566|location=Cambridge|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1944|oclc=784228 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.87496}}
* Norwich, John Julius. ''Four princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the obsessions that forged modern Europe'' (Grove/Atlantic, 2017) popular history.
* {{Cite book |last= Peirce| first= Leslie P. |author-link=Leslie P. Peirce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L6-VRgVzRcUC |title=The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-508677-5 |language=en}}
* {{cite book | last=Peirce | first=Leslie P. |author-link=Leslie P. Peirce | title=Empress of the East : How a slave girl became queen of the Ottoman Empire | publisher=Basic Books | date=2017 | isbn=978-0-465-03251-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/empressofeasthow0000peir |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |title=Padışahların kadınları ve kızları|last=Uluçay |first= Mustafa Çağatay |publisher=Türk Tarihi Kurumu Yayınları |year=1992 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Yermolenko |first=Galina |title=Roxolana: The Greatest Empress of the East |journal=The Muslim World |volume=95 |number=2 |year=2005 |pages=231–248|doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2005.00088.x }}
* {{cite journal |title=Suleiman The Lawgiver |access-date=18 April 2007 |journal=Saudi Aramco World |date= March–April 1964 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=8–10 |issn=1530-5821 |location=Houston, Texas |publisher=Aramco Services Co |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196402/suleiman.the.lawgiver.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140505041323/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196402/suleiman.the.lawgiver.htm |archive-date=5 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}
{{div col end|2}}
{{refend}}

===Additional on-line sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book| last= Yalman| first= Suzan| chapter-url= https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/suly/hd_suly.htm | chapter= The Age of Süleyman 'the Magnificent' (r. 1520–1566)| title= Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History| place= New York| publisher= The Metropolitan Museum of Art| year= 2000}} Based on original work by Linda Komaroff.
* {{cite web|url=http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575054_2/Suleiman_I.html|title=Suleiman I |access-date= 17 April 2008|first=Malcolm Edward|last=Yapp|author-link=Malcolm Yapp|work=Microsoft Encarta| year= 2007| url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081003071213/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575054_2/Suleiman_I.html|archive-date= 3 October 2008}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|last=Finkel |first=Caroline |title=Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923 |place=New York |publisher=Basic Books |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-465-02396-7}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=İnalcık |editor1-first=Halil |editor2=Cemal Kafadar |title=Süleyman the Second and His Time |place=Istanbul |publisher=The Isis Press |date=1993 |isbn=975-428-052-5}}; deals with Suleiman 1494–1566 
* Lamb, Harold. ''Suleiman the Magnificent Sultan of the East'' (1951) [https://archive.org/details/suleimanthemagni001564mbp online]
* {{Cite book | last=Necipoğlu | first=Gülru | title=The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire| publisher=Princeton University Press|date= 2005|isbn= 9780691123264| url= https://archive.org/details/ageofsinanarchit0000neci/page/n3/mode/2up | url-access= registration | oclc=1204337149 }}
* Parry, V. J. "The Ottoman Empire, 1520–1566." in ''The New Cambridge Modern History II: The Reformation 1520–1559'' (2nd ed 1990): 570–594 [https://archive.org/details/newcambridgemode00elto_126 online]
* Yermolenko, Galina I., ed. ''[https://chtyvo.org.ua/authors/Zbirnyk_statei/Roxolana_in_European_Literature_History_and_Culture_anhl.pdf Roxolana in European literature, history and culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226065927/https://shron2.chtyvo.org.ua/Zbirnyk_statei/Roxolana_in_European_Literature_History_and_Culture_anhl.pdf?PHPSESSID=3u4pf52h3fqdmkdscl0phcn9c5 |date=26 December 2022 }}'' (Routledge, 2016) {{ISBN|9780754667612}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Suleiman I}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060614160210/http://paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Genl%20Images/Single%20Frames/Suleiman.htm Portraits and Tughra of Suleiman]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Ottoman Dynasty|House of Osman]]||6 November 1494||6 September 1566}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Selim I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan of the Ottoman Empire]]|years=22 September 1520&nbsp;– c. 6 September 1566}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Selim II]]}}
{{s-rel|su}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Selim I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of caliphs|Caliph of the Ottoman dynasty]]|years=22 September 1520&nbsp;– c. 6 September 1566}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Selim II]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Sultans of the Ottoman Empire}}
{{Sons of the Ottoman Sultans}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suleiman the Magnificent}}
[[Category:Suleiman the Magnificent| ]]
[[Category:1494 births]]
[[Category:1566 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century sultans of the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Filicides]]
[[Category:Islam and Judaism]]
[[Category:Divan poets from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars]]
[[Category:Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars]]
[[Category:Ottoman period in Hungary]]
[[Category:People from Trabzon]]
[[Category:Turkish poets]]
[[Category:Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques]]
[[Category:Ottoman caliphs]]
[[Category:Sons of sultans]]
[[Category:Sultans of Egypt]]