Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent is the tenth sultan of the Ottoman Empire and ruled for 46 years from 1520 to 1566. He is one of the most successful Ottoman sultans.

Suleiman the Magnificent came to the throne after his father Sultan Selim and was the sultan who participated in the war the most, and the Ottoman empire at its peak played an important role.

If you are interested in the Ottoman Empire, we recommend you to read our article on the Ottoman empire map at its peak.

Sultan Suleiman History

Prince Suleiman is the only son of I.Suleiman, I.Selim (Yavuz Sultan Selim) and Ayşe Hafsa Sultan. He was born on 6 November 1494 in Trabzon.

Who is Sultan Suleiman?

Suleiman, who lived in Trabzon until the age of 7, was then sent to Enderun (Janissary school) in Topkapi Palace to receive his military and political education.

Later, Suleiman who was sent to the Bolu Sanjak was sent as the heir to the Manisa Sanjak after his father ascended the throne.

Suleiman the magnificent history

Suleiman, who served as a prince in the Manisa sanjak until 1520, became the 10th sultan of the Ottoman Empire on September 30, 1520, with the death of his father. You can able to see Sultan Suleiman real picture below.

Sultan Suleiman Wars

The Magnificent Sultan Suleiman remained on the throne for 43 years and organized 13 expeditions. His nickname came from the wars he won.

Under the leadership of Sultan Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire reached its peak. He conquered Belgrade, Rhodes, Moldavia, and most of Hungary and the Middle East.

One of the most important victories of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was the Battle of Mohac with the Hungarian army. This war lasted two hours and the Hungarian army was destroyed. The Battle of Mohacs is known as the shortest war ever fought.

The Magnificent Suleiman appointed Hızır Hayrettin Pasha (known as Hayreddin Barbarossa) to the head of the naval forces and conquered countries such as Algeria and Morocco today.

Magnificent Sultan Suleiman besieged the city of Vienna, but he could not win the war. This war prevented Sultan Suleiman’s advance in Europe and became a turning point for the Ottomans.

Suleiman the Magnificent Battle list

• Conquest of Belgrade – 1521
• Conquest of Rhodes – 1522 – 1523
• Battle of Mohacs – 1526
• First Siege of Vienna – 1529
• German War – 1532
• Conquest of Iraq – 1534 – 1536
• Conquest of Corfu – 1537
• Moldavia Conquest – 1538
• Budin Conquest – 1541
• Conquest of Esztergom – 1543
• Safavid Wars – 1548 – 1549
• Nakhchivan Conquest – 1553 – 1555
• Conquest of Zigetvar – 1566

Hurrem Sultan – Sultan Suleiman Wife

Hürrem Sultan was a resident of the Kingdom of Poland, which is now within the borders of Ukraine. After being captured by the raiders, she was sent to Istanbul as a slave.

Aleksandra (Hürrem sultan), who was accepted into the Sultan’s harem in the Topkapı Palace, attracted the attention of Sultan Suleiman and this is how he became one of the most important Sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

Suleiman and Hurrem

It is believed that there was great love between Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem Sultan. Although Suleiman had other concubines (slave women), he married Hurrem Sultan and remained loyal to her. Sultan Suleiman and Hurrem had many children.

Hürrem Sultan has four male princes and is very talented in politics. She had good relations with important viziers and officials in the Ottoman Empire. She also took advantage of Sultan Suleiman’s love for Hürrem Sultan and sometimes misled Suleiman.

There were problems and conflicts between Hürrem Sultan, the sister of Suleiman, and Mahidevran Sultan, the mother of Prince Mustafa. Hürrem Sultan emerged from all of them successfully and ascended his son Selim to the throne after Suleiman.

Sultan Suleiman wife list

Suleiman Sultan has four wives as far as is known. Sultan Suleiman’s first wife Fulane Sultan is not well known since it was before the time of his emperor time.

• Fülane Sultan
• Gülfem Hatun
• Mahidevran Sultan
• Roxelana Hurrem Sultan

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Sultan Suleiman Sisters (Suleiman the magnificent siblings)

Sultan Suleiman is an only son and has four sisters. Unfortunately, we do not know which child is older, as their date of birth is unknown. Let’s get to know the sisters of Sultan Suleiman;

Şah Sultan

Şah Sultan spent his childhood with Suleiman in Manisa. She married Lütfi Pasha in 1523 and divorced in 1541. Mimar Sinan had a special mosque built for Şah Sultan.

Hatice Sultan

She married Iskender Pasha, the governor of the Ottoman State, in 1509. Iskender Pasha was later executed for taking bribes. She married Pargalı İbrahim Pasha, who was a close friend of Sultan Suleiman and later became a vizier. After the execution of İbrahim Pasha, he committed suicide.

Fatma Sultan

Fatma Sultan is one of the very colorful characters. She was married to Mustafa Pasha, the sanjak chief of Antakya. She was later divorced due to her husband’s perversions. It is said that Fatma Sultan got married several more times. She had a mosque built in Topkapı.

Beyhan Sultan

She married the Ottoman statesman Ferhat Pasha. However, Suleiman the Magnificent kept Damat Ferhat Pasha a widow. Beyhan Sultan died young.

Children of Sultan Suleiman (Suleiman the magnificent children)

According to sources, Sultan Suleiman had a total of 11 children from different wives. Some sources say that there were only 11 sons. In addition to this, he also have daughters. Apart from the popular ones, there is not much precise information about how many of them live and how long.

His daughter Mihrimah Sultan is also very popular in history.

Sultan Suleiman sons

In the Ottoman Empire, boys were called princes, and they were the most authoritative and important people after the sultan. Sultan Suleiman children receive intensive military and political training.

Sehzade Mustafa(Prince), is the greatest prince. Mahidevran is the only child of the sultan. He was loved by the soldiers and the public. Prince Mustafa was executed by Sultan Suleiman for treason.

Sehzade Mehmet(Prince), the first son of Hürrem Sultan, passed away at a young age in the sanjak of Manisa.

Sehzade Cihangir(Prince) is the youngest son of Sultan Suleiman and is a hunchback from birth. For this reason, he was never seen as the heir to the throne. After the execution of Şehzade Mustafa, he fell ill with sadness and died.

After the death of Şehzade Mustafa, Sehzade Beyazid(Prince) loses the war with his older brother Şehzade Selim and is strangled by Selim.

Sehzade Selim(Prince) became the 11th Ottoman sultan after the death of Sultan Suleiman. Prince Selim, known to have an alcohol problem, did not go to war with his army, and after this period, a period of decline began for the Ottoman Empire.

Did Sultan Suleiman regret killing Mustafa?

The people and the soldiers loved Mustafa very much and they thought that the slanders of Hürrem Sultan and Rüstem Pasha were behind his execution. Sultan Suleiman was suspicious of this like the people, and he always thought that he had made a mistake.

Death of Sultan Suleiman

Sultan Suleiman was a great warrior and he wanted to conquer a new place before he died, even though he was very ill in his last years. He went to conquer the Zigetvar castle in 1566 and died of illness during the siege.

The death of Sultan Suleiman was hidden from the soldiers for 42 days so that the morale of the soldiers would not deteriorate.

How did Sultan Suleiman died?

Sultan Suleiman was died because of podagra illness. It is said in different sources that the emperor, who is known to have spent his last years fighting gout, may also have died from diseases such as tumor, dysentery and paralysis.

What did Sultan Suleiman died of?

There are any exact evidence about how did Suleiman die, but according to sources, progressive gout disease most likely caused his death.

Sultan Suleiman series

The biggest reason for the interest in Sultan Süleyman and Hürrem sultan in the world is the Turkish series called Magnificent Century. It was published in many countries and attracted a lot of attention.

Suleiman’s show lasted 4 seasons and important Turkish actors took part in the cast of the series.

Suleiman the magnificent series

After the Magnificent Century series about the Magnificent Sultan, a TV series called Magnificent Century Kösem was filmed and it tells about one of the most powerful sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Kosem Sultan.

Sultan Suleiman Cast

• Kanuni Sultan Süleyman – Halit Ergenç
• Hürrem Sultan – Meryem Uzerli / Vahide Perçin
• Şahzade Mustafa – Mehmet Günsür
• Mihrimah Sultan – Pelin Karahan
• Pargali İbrahim Pasha – Okan Yalabık
• Şehzade Beyazıd – Aras Bulut İyemli
• Şehzade Selim – Engin Öztürk
• Şehzade Cihangir – Tolga Sarıtaş
• Rüstem Paşa – Ozan Güven
• Malkoçoğlu – Burak Ozcivit
• Hatice Sultan – Selma Ergeç
• Sümbül Ağa – Selim Bayraktar
• Ebu Suud Efendi – Tuncel Kurtiz
• Fatma Sultan – Meltem Cumbul
• Şah Sultan – Deniz Çakır
• Valide Sultan – Nebahat Çehre
• Huricihan Sultan – Burcu Ozberk

For Burcu Ozberk fans, I recommend to watch one of the popular romantic Turkish movies in 2023, In Your Dreams.

Also there are some amazing Turkish horror movies that you can see familiar faces from the Magnificent Century’s cast. Take a look at these Turkish Horror Movies IMDb rates and facts.

Frequently asked questions about Suleiman the Magnificent

I will try to answer frequently asked questions about Suleiman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Empire.

Arabs lived under the Ottoman Empire for many years. For this reason, Turks and Arabs are very confused. If you are asking this question, Are Turkish people Arabic? We recommend that you read our article.

Check Free Turkish Learning Resources and Frequently used Turkish words for tourists