Süleyman I

The Tenth and longest-serving monarch and the Second Caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty (1520-1566)

Under the leadership of Süleyman I, the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith and became a world power, and Süleyman was considered one of the preeminent rulers of 16th Century Europe, a respected rival to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Sigismund II of Poland; a protecting ally of Francis I of France; and a contemporary of Henry VIII of England.

He personally led Ottoman armies to conquer Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary, besieged Vienna, and annexed huge territories of North Africa as far west as Morocco and most of the Middle East during his reign. Under his command, Ottoman Turks achieved naval dominance in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf, and the empire continued still to expand slowly for a century after his death.

Süleyman transformed the state into an organization of rules and set procedures and that is why we earned his nickname “Kanuni”.

However, like his father Selim I, Süleyman was a warrior sultan, the last of them in a century actually. He, himsel, and the generals he chose were able to muster together the resources of a vast empire for war. This evolved considerable change from the military system of the early Empire.

The Ottoman military evolved during his reign into a complicated mixture of regulars, volunteers, raiding horsemen, infantry, a large artillery corps and vassals troops.

Within the empire, Süleyman I was known as a fair ruler and opponent of corruption. He was a great patron of artists and philosophers, as well as an accomplished goldsmith.

Süleyman was born in Trabzon. At the age of seven, he was sent to study history, literature, theology, and military techniques in the schools of the Istanbul palace (enderun)

Süleyman's early experience of government was as governor of several provinces of the Empire, most notably Bolu in northern Anatolia, and his mother's homeland of Kefe in Crimea – his mother was a Crimean Tatar princess.

Upon succeeding his father Selim I, Süleyman I began a series of military conquests, first putting down a revolt led by the Ottoman-appointed governor in Damascus, which he completed by success in 1521. By August, 1521, Süleyman I had completed the capture of the city of Belgrade (the Hungarian fortified city of Nandorfehervar) penetrating deeper into the heart of Central Europe.

Prior to Süleyman’ reign, by 1517 the Ottoman Empire under Selim I had captured Palestine from the Egyptian Mamelukes. Süleyman I was personally interested with the city of Jerusalem and its walls (having suffered centuries of neglect under Mameluke rule), that he ordered the construction of a magnificent surrounding fortress-wall that still stands around the "Old City."

Selim I had planned to assault the Christian stronghold of Rhodes, an offensive base of the Knights of Saint-John (Chevaliers de Saint Jean) against Anatolia prior to his death.

In 1522, Süleyman I accomplished his father's goal as after a siege of six months the Knights agreed to make peace with the Ottoman sultan.

Süleyman I permitted the survivors to leave and retreat to the Kingdom of Sicily. In exchange, the Knights promised to leave Ottoman territories in peace, a promise they would soon violate.

On August 29, 1526 Süleyman I defeated Louis II (Lajos II) of Hungary and his Hungarian heavy cavalry at the Battle of Mohács thanks to the Ottoman field artillery and more developed firearms. Ottoman forces occupied southern and central Hungary. The 15 years old King Lajos II of Hungary was killed on the battlefield,

After the defeat in front of the Ottoman Turks and death of the king, central authority collapsed and a power struggle ensued in Hungary, with some Hungarian nobles proposing that Ferdinand of Habsburg, the brother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was the ruler of neighbouring Austria and tied to Lajos's family by marriage, be King of Hungary, due to the earlier agreements on the fact that the Habsburgs would take the Hungarian throne if Lajos died without any heir.

Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain and his brother Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria the Habsburgs occupied Hungary and Süleyman I twice re-invaded the country, and, in 1529 he went on to Vienna and laid siege to the Austrian capital. However, without the indispensable preparations lacking, the Ottoman forces failed to capture the city.

In 1533 a treaty was signed with Ferdinand, splitting Hungary between the Habsburgs and Zapolya, but on Zapolya's death, Ferdinand, started another struggle to annex Hungary and several peace treaties restored the status-quo.

Süleyman I supported also John Zápolya, an influential Hungarian aristocrat.

A three-sided conflict ensued as Ferdinand moved to assert his rule over as much of the Hungarian kingdom as he could, resulting in a partition of the Kingdom by 1541: Süleyman I claimed most of present-day Hungary for the Ottoman Empire, and installed Zápolya's family as rulers of the independent principality of Transylvania, a vassal state of the Empire. Ferdinand I claimed "Royal Hungary", including present-day Slovakia, western Croatia, and adjacent territories,

So the Ottoman-Habsburg frontier was temporarily fixed along a heavily fortified “military frontier”.

The Ottoman-Habsburg Military Frontier

As conflict raged along the European borders of Süleyman's domain, success continued on another front: the longstanding rivalry with the Shi'ite Safavide Empire that ruled Persia and modern-day Iraq. Süleyman I waged three campaigns against the Safavide Empire of Tahmasp I.

In the first campaign, the historically important city of Baghdad, a former capital of the Caliphate, fell to the Ottoman forces in 1534, and became one of the cities in the Empire although it was to be under the shadow of the impressive capital Istanbul.

The second campaign taking place between the years of 1548-1549, resulted in temporary Ottoman gains in Tabriz and Azerbaijan, and a lasting presence in the province of Van, and some forts in Georgia.

In his third campaign, in 1555, Ottoman forces failed to eliminate the Shah's army, which withdrew into Persia, and eventually signed a treaty at Amasya, in which the Shah recognized the existing borders and promised to end his raids into Ottoman territory.

Huge territories of North Africa west to Morocco were annexed. The Barbary coast of Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria became autonomous provinces of the Empire, and served as the advanced bases of Süleyman's in his conflict conflict with Charles V.

The naval raids of Turkish corsairs carried on thereafter from the bases of North Africa remained part of the wars against Spain, and the Ottoman expansion was associated with naval dominance for a short period in the Mediterranean Sea.

Ottoman navies also controlled the Red Sea, and held the Persian Gulf until 1554, when their ships were defeated by the Portuguese navy. The Portuguese Empire continued to challenge the Ottoman forces for control of Aden at the entrance of the Red Sea.

In 1533, Hızır Reis known to Europeans as “Barbarossa”, was made Admiral-in-Chief (Kapudan Pasha or Kaptan-ı Derya) of the Ottoman navies under the name of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha and was already actively fighting the Spanish navy.

In 1535 the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V won a victory against the Ottomans at Tunis, but in 1536 Francis I of France allied himself with Süleyman I “The Magnificent” against Charles V. In 1538, the fleet of Charles V was defeated at the Battle of Preveza by Barbaros Hayreddin’s fleet, securing the eastern Mediterranean for the Ottoman Turks for 33 years.

The French king Francis I (François I) had signed a peace treaty with Charles V of Austria in 1538, however he allied himself with the Süleyman I in 1542.

In 1544, when Spain declared war on France, the French king Francis I, asked for help from Süleyman I. He then sent a fleet commanded by Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha who attacked the Spanish and Italian coasts unchallenged. The Ottoman navy used even Toulon as naval base for some time.

When the Knights of St John were re-established as the Knights of Malta in 1530, their actions against Muslim navies quickly drew the attention of the Ottoman Empire, which assembled another massive army in order to dislodge the Knights from Malta. In 1565 they invaded, starting the Great Siege of Malta, which began on May 18 and lasted until September 8, 1565.

At first the battle looked to be a repeat of the one on Rhodes, with most of the cities destroyed and about half the Knights killed in battle, but a relief force from Spain entered the battle, resulting in the failure of the siege and the loss of 30,000 Ottoman troops, the famous Ottoman admiral Turgut Reis included.

Süleyman was renowned as a just and fair ruler, choosing his subordinates according to merit rather than social status or popularity.

The Austrian Ambassador to Istanbul, de Busbecq, had written of him, "In making his appointments, the Sultan pays no regard to any pretensions on the score of wealth or rank, nor does he take into consideration recommendations or popularity; he considers each case on its own merits, and examines carefully into the character, ability and disposition of the man whose promotion is in question."

Christian converts (devşirme) in the Ottoman Empire under Süleyman rose to positions of great prominence. Ibrahim Pasha was Grand Vizier for thirteen years.

Alexandra Lisowska, also known as Roxelana (Ruslana) or Hürrem, a captured Ukrainian girl, rose through the ranks of the Harem to become Süleyman's favorite wife. Breaking with 300 years of Ottoman tradition, Süleyman I married Roxelana in a formal ceremony, making her the first former slave to gain legitimacy as the Sultan's legal wife.

By her he had one daughter and four sons Mehmed (who died young), Selim, Bayezid and Cihangir (born physically disabled). He allowed her to remain with them at court for the rest of her life, despite another tradition that when imperial heirs became 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 sons succeeded to the throne.

Süleyman's son Mustafa, born from another favorite of the Sultan, preceded Roxelana's children in the order of succession, and was supported by Damat Ibrahim Pasha, Suleyman's Grand Vizier. In power struggles apparently instigated by Roxelana, Süleyman had Ibrahim murdered and replaced with her son-in-law, Rustem Pasha, and later, Süleyman, apparently believing that Mustafa's popularity with the army threatened his own position, had Mustafa strangled.

Before the death of Süleyman I, in 1559 his sons by Roxelana (Hürrem Sultan), Selim and Bayezid, engaged in a series of battles for the succession,. This chaos and inter-princes civil war led Süleyman I to order the death of Bayezid on September 25, 1561, after he was repatriated by the Shah of Persia, after having fled there for protection, leaving Süleyman's only remaining son Selim the heir-apparent prince.