Suleiman the Magnificent

Selim I, the Ottoman sultan who had vastly enlarged the empire by conquering the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria and securing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, died in 1520. He was succeeded by his only surviving son, who took the throne as Suleiman I.

Suleiman reigned for some forty-six years, until his death in 1566, presiding over what is often regarded as the golden age of the Ottoman Empire. Known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and to his own subjects as Suleiman the Lawgiver, he oversaw extensive reform and codification of Ottoman law.

Under his rule the empire reached the height of its power. His armies captured Belgrade and Rhodes, crushed the Hungarians at the Battle of Mohacs in 1526, and laid siege to Vienna in 1529. He extended Ottoman control into the Middle East and North Africa, while his navy, aided by corsair admirals, contested the Mediterranean. His reign also saw a flowering of architecture, poetry, and the arts.