Suleiman: The Golden Age of the Ottoman

Empire

1520-1566

What are the characteristics of a

leader that is considered

“magnificent?

Military Conquests

Conquered Budapest (1526), burned the city, and withdrew his troops

Took over control of N. Africa

1543 took over control of Hungary

Expanded east into Persia and south into Mesopotamia

Europeans considered him important to balance of power – allied with Charles V of France

Suleiman, the Lawgiver

Awarded based on merit

Updated and simplified the legal code

Crime punishments more focused on fines than physical punishment

Regulation of market and trade

Education

All through the ulema

Ulema exempt from taxes – created education aristocracy

Free education to all Muslim boys

Art & Architecture

Greatly patronized the arts

Istanbul becomes center of Islamic civilization

Series of building projects – mosques, palaces

Movie: Suleiman, Leader of the Ottoman Empire

Choosing his successor

Woman convinced him to choose her son, Selim

Selim takes over – kills everyone else

The Ottoman Empire Declines….

Why did it decline after Suleiman?

Islamic historians say…

Corruption in the government

Decreased interest of the government in popular opinion

Began with Selim II, Suleiman’s son

Selim II

Didn’t really care about affairs of government – gave a lot of power to his vizier

“Selim the Drunkard”

Never had the training from Suleiman

Relied heavily on Great Vizier – sets a model

Only rules for 8 years

Problems only continue…

Power struggles

Rise no longer based on merit

Strong European military powers beat back Ottomans

Rapid population increase

Creation of new trade routes that bypassed Istanbul

Failure to Industrialize

Then you had little thing called World War

I...

Ottoman Empire defeated

Turkey officially a country on November 1, 1922