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( Suleiman the Magnificent)
Suleiman I (Ottoman Turkish ?????? Sulayman, Turkish Süleyman; almost always Kanuni Sultan Süleyman) (27 April 1494/1495/6 November 1494 &_160;– 5/6/7 September 1566), was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent[1] and in the East, as the Lawgiver (in Turkish Kanuni; Arabic ?????????, al-Qanuni), for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system. Suleiman became the pre-eminent monarch of 16th century Europe, presiding over the apex of the Ottoman Empire's military, political and economic power. Suleiman personally led Ottoman armies to conquer the Christian strongholds of Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary before his conquests were checked at the Siege of Vienna in 1529. He annexed most of the Middle East in his conflict with the Persians and large swaths of North Africa as far west as Algeria. Under his rule, the Ottoman fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.[2] At the helm of an expanding empire, Suleiman personally instituted legislative changes relating to society, education, taxation, and criminal law. His canonical law (or the Kanuns) fixed the form of the empire for centuries after his death. Not only was Suleiman a distinguished poet and goldsmith in his own right; he also became a great patron of culture, overseeing the golden age of the Ottoman Empire's artistic, literary and architectural development.[3] In a break with Ottoman tradition, Suleiman married as his fourth wife a harem girl Roxelana, who became Herenzaltan; her intrigues as queen in the court and power over the Sultan have become as famous as Suleiman himself. Their son, Selim II, succeeded Suleiman following his death in 1566 after 46 years of rule, while their daughter Mihrimah Sultana married Grand Vizier Rustam Pasha. On the eve of his death in 1566, the Ottoman empire spanned almost 2 billion acres (doubling during Suleiman's reign). Suleiman was born in Trabzon along the coast of the Black Sea, probably on 6 November 1494.[4] His mother was Valide Sultan (1520) Aishe Hafsa Sultan or Hafsa Hatun Sultan, trAyse Hafsa Sultan, who died in 1534. At the age of seven, he was sent to study science, history, literature, theology, and military tactics in the schools of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. As a young man, he befriended Ibrahim, a slave who later became one of his most trusted advisers.[5] From the age of seventeen, young Suleiman was appointed as the governor of first Kaffa (Theodosia), then Sarukhan (Manisa) with a brief tenure at Edirne .[6] Upon the death of his father, Selim I (1465–1520), Suleiman entered Istanbul and acceded to the throne as the tenth Ottoman Sultan. An early description of Suleiman, a few weeks following his accession, was provided by the Venetian envoy Bartolomeo Contarini "He is twenty-five years of age, tall, but wiry, and of a delicate complexion. His neck is a little too long, his face thin, and his nose aquiline. He has a shade of a moustache and a small beard; nevertheless he has a pleasant mien, though his skin tends to pallor. He is said to be a wise Lord, fond of study, and all men hope for good from his rule. His turban is also excessively large."[7] Some historians claim that in his youth Suleiman had an admiration for Alexander the Great.[8][9] He was influenced by Alexander's vision of building a world empire that would encompass the east and the west, and this created a drive for his subsequent military campaigns in Asia and in Africa, as well as in Europe.
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