The Turkish Sultan Suleiman, whose biography is inextricably linked by contemporaries with the magnificent age of the Ottoman Empire, is undoubtedly the greatest monarch of his country in its entire long history. After all, it was during his reign that the Ottoman port achieved its greatest territorial expansion and political success.
Suleiman Sultan: biography of the early period
The future sovereign was born in the city of Trabzon, on the northeast coast of Asia Minor. His father was the then ruler Selim I, and his mother was the daughter of the Crimean Tatar Khan. Until he was eighteen years old, the young man was his father's governor in Kaffa. And then he was sent to perform the same functions in Manisa. Here the heirs to the throne of the Ottoman state were traditionally brought up and practiced in government affairs.
By the way, it was in this place that Suleiman-Sultan, whose biography is closely connected with the peak of the heyday of the empire, met two slaves of European descent, who subsequently played a very significant role in his personal life and the fate of the whole country. We are talking about the future magnificent vizier Ibrahim Pasha and the brilliant Slavic Roksolana. In 1520, the current monarch Selim I dies, and the whole Ottoman Empire is in the hands of our hero .
Biography of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his reign
He was the ninth state ruler. As soon as he ascended the throne, the new monarch began large-scale preparations for grandiose external conquests. After a year in power, the first military campaign was declared - in Hungary. Turkish armies broke into the Balkans, as a result of which the empires were withdrawing significant territories on the left bank of the Danube.
After the invasion of the Balkans, the siege and conquest of the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean follows. The fact is that the latter has long been a haven of knights of the Hospitallers' order , which restrained Turkish expansion. The fight against them was started by Selim I, however, then the Ottoman onslaught was repelled. And only his son managed to take the island in 1522.
Already in 1526, Suleiman again with the 80,000th army opposed Hungary. The result of this campaign was the actual destruction of the Hungarian state. The Turks came close to the borders of the Habsburg Empire. Their armies made all continental powers tremble.
The next campaign unfolded three years later against Austria. From September 27 to October 14, the siege of Vienna continued for more than a crescent. But the invaders could not take the solidly fortified city. As history later showed, it was this city that became the last frontier in the territorial expansion of the Ottoman port to Europe.
They did not take it now, they will not take it more than a century later, after which the unhurried European reconquest in the Balkans will begin.
Over the next three decades, the Suleiman Sultan, whose biography during this period was represented by continuous wars, unleashed conflicts with the Habsburgs three more times, as a result of which the territories of destroyed Hungary were redistributed again.
In addition to the constant struggle in Europe, the sultan had political interest in the east, which resulted in constant conflicts with the Safavid Persia. This confrontation was also very successful for the Turks. The Persian dynasty was destroyed, and the troops of the Porta, led by their indefatigable military leader, later made bold campaigns in Arabia and India. As a result of these campaigns, the Turkish state has significantly expanded its territorial possessions, reaching the highest power.
Suleiman-Sultan, whose biography is represented by countless battles, he spent his whole life on campaigns. He died on May 1, 1566 during the next siege of one of the cities in the Balkans.