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Suleiman the Magnificent (Kanuni Sultan Suleyman) - Suleyman I (November 6, 1494 – September 5/6, 1566), was the tenth and longest‐serving Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1520 to 1566. He is known to the West as Suleiman the Magnificent.
In the Islamic world, he is known as the Lawgiver , deriving from his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system. Within the empire, Suleiman was known as a fair ruler and an opponent of corruption. As well as being a capable goldsmith and distinguished poet, Suleiman was also a great patron of artists and philosophers, overseeing the golden age of the Ottoman Empire's cultural development.
Suleiman was considered one of the pre‐eminent rulers of 16th‐century Europe, a respected rival to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1519–56), Francis I of France (1515–47), Henry VIII of England (1509–47), Sigismund II of Poland (1548–72), and Ivan IV of Russia (1530–84). Under his leadership, the Ottoman Empire reached its Golden Age and became a world power. Suleiman personally led Ottoman armies to conquer Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary, laid the Siege of Vienna, and annexed most of the Middle East and huge territories in North Africa as far west as Algeria. For a short period, Ottomans achieved naval dominance in the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf. The Ottoman Empire continued to expand for a century after his death.
Early life
Suleiman was born in Trabzon in modern day Turkey, probably on November 6 1494. At the age of seven, he was sent to study science, history, literature, theology, and military tactics in the schools of the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. As a young man, he befriended Ibrahim, a slave who would later become one of his most trusted advisors (see Pargalı İbrahim Pasha).
From the age of seventeen, young Suleiman was appointed as the governor of first Istanbul, then Sarukhan (Manisa) with a brief tenure at Edirne (Adrianople).It was in Manisa, where he stayed until his ascendancy to the throne, that Suleiman became proficient in matters of administrative affairs. Racked by banditry, Suleiman restored law and order to the province and in the process acquired the necessary legislative experience which would later see him named Kanuni, or the Law Giver.
At the age of 26, upon the death of his father, Selim I (1512–20), Suleiman inherited the title of Caliph and started to rule a powerful Empire, which he would continue to expand until his death 46 years later.
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