Suleiman the Magnificent stayed on the throne for forty-six years, from 1520 to 1566, the longest reign in Ottoman history. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, in this period he set out on thirteen great campaigns and died on the battlefield. In this article we take up the main events, institutions and turning points of his reign in order.
Quick Summary
- Suleiman came to the throne from Manisa on the death of his father, Selim I, in September 1520.
- Belgrade (1521) and Rhodes (1522) were the first great targets.
- The Mohács (1526) and Vienna (1529) campaigns shook Central Europe.
- Baghdad was taken on the Campaign of the Two Iraqs; the Peace of Amasya was signed in 1555.
- At Preveza (1538) Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha defeated Andrea Doria.
- The execution of Prince Mustafa in 1553 deepened the struggle for the throne.
Contents
- Accession
- Belgrade, Rhodes and Hungary
- Eastern campaigns
- The Mediterranean and Preveza
- Law and government
- The palace and the princes
- The last campaign
- Frequently asked questions
How Did Suleiman the Magnificent Come to the Throne?
According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Suleiman received his early education at the palace in Trabzon. In July–August 1509 he was sent to the sanjak of Caffa (Kefe), and in April 1513 to Manisa. He was in Manisa when his father, Selim I, died on 21–22 September 1520. It was probably also during his last years in Manisa that he met his beloved wife Hürrem Sultan.
The new sultan’s first acts answered the expectation of justice. According to the encyclopedia, he allowed some 600–800 craftsmen and notables whom his father had exiled from Tabriz and Cairo to return to their homelands. He also lifted the ban on the silk trade with Iran. The revolt of Janbirdi al-Ghazali in Damascus was put down in January 1521.
According to the encyclopedia, in 1520 the Venetian envoy described the young sultan as tall, slender but strong, with a thin, bony face. The envoy found him likable and good-natured and wrote that he was “true to his name”.
Suleiman in the West: Belgrade, Rhodes and Hungary
According to the encyclopedia, Suleiman set two main targets: Belgrade, considered the key to Central Europe, and Rhodes, critical for dominion over the Mediterranean. Both were places where his great-grandfather Mehmed the Conqueror had failed. Of Böğürdelen, the first fortress taken on the Belgrade campaign, he said: “It is the first fortress I have conquered; it must be kept in good repair.”
The timing was favorable, too. According to the encyclopedia, Charles V and King Francis I of France had gone to war in March 1521. Louis II, the young king of the Hungarians who held Belgrade, had not yet established his authority. In this setting the sultan acted with great determination and discipline throughout the campaign.
Rhodes was a Christian base on the sea route between Cairo and Istanbul. After a long and bloody siege, the knights surrendered on 20 December 1522. The sultan received their grand master, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, and allowed them to leave the island. Then came two great campaigns against Hungary.
The battle fought on the plain of Mohács on 29 August 1526 was short, and the Hungarian king lost his life. On 11 September the sultan entered Buda without meeting any resistance. The campaign three years later reached the walls of Vienna, but because of unrest among the troops and the approach of winter the siege was lifted on 14 October 1529. Buda, for its part, became the seat of a beylerbeylik in 1541. We discussed the tactics of these wars in our article on the war strategies of the Ottoman sultans.
The German Campaign and Esztergom
The sultan set out on campaign again on 25 April 1532. According to the encyclopedia, this time the aim was to meet Charles V in a pitched battle. The army besieged Kőszeg (Güns), 60 miles from Vienna, and waited for the emperor to come. When the imperial army did not move, the Ottomans advanced toward Graz and, as the season was advancing, turned back.
The struggle in Hungary continued in the following years. On the campaign of 1543, after Valpovo, Pécs and Siklós, Esztergom was taken on 10 August. With the fall of Tata and Székesfehérvár as well, the territory of the beylerbeylik of Buda was enlarged. On his way back, however, the sultan received bitter news: Prince Mehmed, his son by Hürrem Sultan and considered the strongest candidate for the throne, had died in Manisa in November 1543.
Eastern Campaigns and the Peace of Amasya
Before the campaign the sultan suffered heavy losses. His mother, Hafsa Sultan, died on 19 March 1534, and the Shaykh al-Islam Kemalpaşazade, whom he greatly esteemed, died on 16 April.
On 11 June 1534 Suleiman crossed to the Üsküdar side for his sixth great campaign. On the way he visited the tomb of Rumi (Mevlana) in Konya. Grand Vizier İbrahim Pasha entered Tabriz on 6 August. During this operation, known as the Campaign of the Two Iraqs, the sultan was away from Istanbul for a year and a half.
According to the encyclopedia, the campaign clearly showed that the Safavids could not be disposed of as easily as had been hoped. The only gains were the capture of Baghdad and the submission of the ruler of Basra. Tabriz passed back into Safavid hands, and the Van region remained under threat.
The eastern question continued in the following years. After the third Iranian campaign, Shah Tahmasp’s envoy came to Amasya, and peace was made on 1 June 1555. In this way the wars between the two states were halted for a time.
In between, a second Iranian campaign was made in 1548. According to the encyclopedia, the sultan reached Tabriz on 27 July 1548 and considered placing Alqas Mirza on the Iranian throne, but gave up the idea. On the way back he left the capture of Van to Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha.
Barbaros and Preveza in the Mediterranean
Seeing the need for a strong navy in the Mediterranean, the sultan decided to put the famous seaman Barbaros Hayreddin at the head of the fleet. According to the encyclopedia, Hayreddin Pasha was sent to İbrahim Pasha to be appointed to the newly created beylerbeylik of the Archipelago (Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid). On 28 September 1538 Hayreddin Pasha defeated his old rival Andrea Doria at Preveza. The news reached the army camp on 14 October.
In the same year Hadım Süleyman Pasha was ordered to set out with the fleet at Suez to prevent the activities of the Portuguese in Indian waters. According to the encyclopedia, the small Muslim sultanates in India were complaining about the Portuguese and expecting help from the sultan. The conquest of the island of Djerba in 1560 was greeted with joy in Istanbul, while the rout at Malta in 1565 grieved the sultan deeply.
Law, Religion and Government
The law code attributed to Suleiman was based on a text from the reign of Bayezid II that included the amendments of Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the chancellor (nişancı) Celalzade Mustafa Çelebi made important changes to the general law codes in this period. Selim I’s law code also stood out in the adaptation put into force in his son’s time.
In religious affairs, the terms of office of the Shaykh al-Islams Kemalpaşazade, Çivizade Mehmed and Ebussuud Efendi were decisive. According to the encyclopedia, the Hanafi school became established as the state’s basic school of law. After İbrahim Pasha’s execution, a line emerged that reconciled the sultan’s mission as protector of Islam with the idea of the caliphate.
We explained in our article on why he was called “the Magnificent” that the epithet Kanuni (Lawgiver) first appears in the sources in the 18th century. We discussed the architecture and art of the period in our article on the Ottoman sultans and art.
The Palace, the Viziers and the Princes
İbrahim Pasha, the sultan’s closest friend and grand vizier, was suddenly executed in the palace on 14–15 March 1536. According to the encyclopedia, this event probably affected Suleiman deeply enough to bring about a change in his inner world. His daughter Mihrimah Sultan married Rüstem Pasha in 1539.
The struggle for the throne marked the last years. In October 1553 his eldest son, Prince Mustafa, was met by executioners when he entered his father’s tent at the army camp at Ereğli near Konya. Shortly afterwards his son Cihangir also died in Aleppo.
According to the encyclopedia, the death of Hürrem Sultan in April 1558 meant that Prince Bayezid lost his strongest protector. Selim and Bayezid fought on the plain of Konya on 30 May 1559; the defeated Bayezid withdrew to Amasya. Rüstem Pasha died on 12 July 1561, and the person who remained closest to the sultan was his daughter Mihrimah Sultan.
The Last Campaign: Szigetvár
Suleiman spent the last fifteen years of his life with incurable gout. Even so, he planned his last campaign with Sokollu Mehmed Pasha; the targets were the fortresses of Szigetvár and Eger. He left Istanbul on horseback on 1 May 1566 amid great ceremony.
According to the encyclopedia, the sultan died during the siege of Szigetvár on the night of 6–7 September 1566 and did not live to see the fortress taken. His death was skillfully concealed; one of the few who knew of it was Feridun Bey. The funeral prayer was led by Ebussuud Efendi in the Süleymaniye Mosque on 23 November, and he was buried in his tomb beside the mosque.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many years did Suleiman the Magnificent reign?
By the Gregorian calendar he stayed on the throne for forty-six years (1520–1566), the longest reign of any Ottoman sultan.
What campaigns were made in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent?
Belgrade, Rhodes, Mohács, Vienna, the Two Iraqs and Szigetvár are the main ones. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, he set out on thirteen great campaigns.
When was the Peace of Amasya signed?
It was concluded on 1 June 1555 with the envoy of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp.
When was Prince Mustafa killed?
He was killed in October 1553 at the army camp at Ereğli near Konya.
Where did Suleiman die?
He died during the siege of Szigetvár, on the night of 6–7 September 1566, without seeing the fortress taken.
Conclusion
The forty-six-year reign of Suleiman the Magnificent was filled with conquests stretching from Belgrade to Baghdad and from Rhodes to Buda. The reorganization of the law codes and powerful Shaykh al-Islams gave the government a clear legal framework. On the other hand, the executions of İbrahim Pasha and Prince Mustafa brought with them tensions within the palace that would affect later periods.
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