Kanuni Sultan Suleyman

During the first years of his throne, Suleyman I, besieged the Hungarian famous city, Belgrade and took the city (1521).

Then after 6 months of naval war with the ottomans around 300 ships, the piracy centre of Christianity, Rhodes, was captured in 1522.

He accepted French King, Francois I’s request for the ottoman’s help against the German king, Charles V, starting Ottoman-French friendship for hundred years (1525).

Battle of Mohacs (1526)

The aggressive policy of Hungarians towards the Ottomans forced Suleyman I to attack Hungary. Ottomans met with their 300.000 army in the field of Mohac. Ottomans defeated the Hungarian army after the bloody war. Budin (Buda), the Hungarian capital became an Ottoman city, Suleyman I positioned Transilvania Ruler as the king of Hungary.

Worried by the ottoman’s enlargement through the core of Europe, Austria attacked the Hungarian king under the Ottoman control and took Budin. He requested Suleyman I to give the other cities of Hungary taken by the Ottomans. Suleyman refused, attacked Hungary and recaptured the area. In order to intimidate he laid siege of Vienna, Austria’s capital until winter. The courageous, easy and inevitable movements of Ottomans in Europe were feared by the Europeans. They united under the head of German King Charles V (Sarlken). In 1532, Suleyman I campaigned to the Germany without any reaction.

In 1533 Ottomans made a peace agreement with Austria’s request for not attacking each others.

Suleyman I forced to recapture Tabriz, once taken by his father, as Shah Ismail’s son Tahmasp announced his reign. With an enormous army Suleyman I took Tabriz, Azerbaijan and the famous Mesopotamian city, Baghdad, was annexed.

With the idea of gathering an enormous naval force, in addition to his success in the lands, Suleyman I positioned Barbarossa as “ kaptan-i derya” . After many naval wars with European famous seaman “Andrea Doria” Barbarossa achieved a great success by making the Mediterranean “an Ottoman Lake” in Preveze Naval War in 1538.

In 1541 he campaigned in Hungary again and took this country under the Ottoman governance.

In 1548 Suleyman I campaigned in Iran and captured Temisvar but while Suleyman I was in Europe in 1553 Iranians invaded Asia Minor and took Erzurum. Suleyman made a second campaign and an agreement namely “Amasya Peace Treaty” between the Ottomans and Iran signed in 1555.

In addition to the exile tradition of brothers Suleyman I killed his two sons, the ottoman successors-who were intriguing against him, in order to continue his reign. Suleyman I ruled the Ottoman Empire for 46 years and died at the age of 71, creating the “Golden Age” of the empire.

He was called as the “Magnificent” because of his prowess, in Turkish “Muhtesem” and the “law-giver” in Turkish “Kanuni” by his subjects reasoned for a new codification of Seriat undertaken during his reign.

He died while on a campaign Hungary around “Zigetvar (Szigetvar) Castle” (1566) when Ottoman Empire was a major world power.

He was buried in a splendid mausoleum in the courtyard of Suleymania Mosque in Istanbul