The period of the reign of Suleiman the Lawgiver, which begins in 1520 and lasts for forty-six years, began to be called the “Golden Age” during the lifetime of the Sultan himself. Suleiman himself was called nothing less than “The Magnificent”.
Inheritance
Before we start talking about political life Suleiman, it should be noted that he inherited from his father Suleiman the Terrible an excellent economic base, under which he could freely implement the desired world and domestic policies. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Ottoman state treasury was virtually overflowing with finances, and the territory of the Porte was increased several times.
International "architect"
Directions of Sultan the Magnificent in foreign policy were so diverse that the Porte began to play an integral role in almost every corner of the world:
- Western and Central Europe. The Ottoman Empire, represented by Suleiman the Lawgiver, is the main enemy of Christian Europe. From the very beginning of his reign, the Sultan managed to subjugate Hungary. Immediately after this event, Europe was divided into two camps: those who supported the “infidel” (like the French Francis I) and those who were wary (like Karl Habsburg). Interest arose in the political and military organization of the Porte, and the Ottomans themselves began to play a huge role in Europe;
- Mediterranean. Suleiman constantly issued decrees to expand the territories of the Mediterranean Sea, which significantly undermined European trade. The Turks advanced to the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus;
- Moscow kingdom. After the Porte captured Transcaucasia, it began to successfully advance towards the trade routes of the Volga region and the Caspian Sea. Confrontation between the Ottomans and Ivan the Terrible became inevitable.
Thus, we can see Suleiman's maximum achievement in creating a global Muslim Empire.
Domestic policy
The enormous conquests of Suleiman and his father required satisfying the broad social base of the Porte. That is why the Sultan took a number of popular measures that presented his status in the eyes of the population. He lowered numerous taxes, repealed a number of laws on confiscation of property, and reformed the administrative system, making it “democratic-despotic.”
1. Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the MagnificentThis cord of power, so beautifully woven, belonged to one owner - the monarch. (Prince Zbarazhsky)
– Who had this cord of power in the Ottoman Empire? (Sultana)?
– Do you think the prosperity of the state will depend on the character and abilities of the Sultan?
The Ottoman Empire reached its greatest power under Suleiman the Magnificent. Suleiman the Magnificent is the most famous of all Ottoman rulers. During his long reign (1520-1566) he expanded the borders of his empire in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Western world called him "Magnificent". To his subordinates he was Suleiman the "Lawgiver".
Tall, thin, with a high forehead, an aquiline nose and a very big eyes Exuding true greatness, Suleiman was a pious, wise, adamant and highly moral man, he forced others to respect his views.
Show on the map the territories that were part of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, Asia, and Africa in the middle of the 17th century.
The territory of the Ottoman Empire expanded significantly, which required clear management. Suleiman promulgated the new secular legislation “Kanun”, a kind of set of laws that ensures the strength and stability of the state.
Suleiman's subjects, recognizing the completeness and importance of his work, gave their ruler the nickname “Lawgiver.”
The Ottoman state had centralized administration, the seat of power was in the palace. At the head was the Sultan, who had all the rights and powers in his hands. All nations were obliged to obey his decrees; he was “the shadow of God on Earth,” i.e. spiritual leader of Muslims, commander of the army, supreme judge. At the same time, he could not resist the commandments of Islam.
The unlimited power of the Sultan, the support of his power: a large army and the Muslim church.
2. “The saber and religion are inseparable”
– What were the Turkish military forces like?
Janissaries- standing foot army.
The fate of the Janissary
During the war, the region where I was born was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and I ended up in the Janissary army while still small.
You are the future warriors of Allah - the Janissaries - the support of the Ottoman Empire and the Sultan. You cannot have a family, you cannot do anything other than military craft. The kingdom of the Ottomans won with a saber and will hold on.
The Sultan made up his personal guard from the Janissaries. On holidays, we performed in parades in all our glory. There was no man who dared to resist the Janissary. Even those close to the Sultan were afraid of our anger. As a sign of displeasure, we took cauldrons out of the barracks and beat them, and then spread throughout the city, destroying everything in our path. But if the displeased one was able to hide in the Janissary cauldron, he became a friend of the “Janissaries”.
I also had to participate in cruel wars. The Janissaries took heavily fortified cities, and knights clad in armor fled from us. We killed and captured enormous wealth.
One day the Sultan himself noticed my bravery and gave me an elaborately decorated saber - the high point of my life. And now I’m old, and the Janissaries are not the same now; They start families, engage in crafts, shout a lot in the squares and fight little. Is the Ottoman saber really dull? The Ottomans will die at the hands of their enemies.
The sultans were the leaders of the Muslims in holy war with the infidels and spent on campaigns most life, even the rite of coronation of the Sultan did not consist in laying on the crown, but in girding it with a “sacred ball”.
When, after the coronation, returning to the palace, the Sultan passed by the Janissary barracks, one of the commanders came out to meet him and brought him a bowl of sherbet. After drinking the sherbet and filling the cup with gold coins, the Sultan uttered the ritual phrase “Kyzyl elmada geryushuryuz.” – We will meet again in the land of the Golden Apple. This meant that the Janissaries had to prepare for a campaign to the west - to Christian Europe, which the Turks called the “Land of the Golden Apple”.
In 1526, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, at the head of 100 thousand army with 300 cannons, invaded Hungary. On August 29, on the field near Mohacs, the Turks met the Hungarians. The Hungarian cavalry rushed into a desperate attack on the Janissary fortifications and was shot at point-blank range by artillery. King Louis II drowned in a swamp while fleeing. The Turks captured most of Hungary and in 1529 moved to Vienna, all of Europe was gripped by fear. It seemed that the Christians would not be able to stop the Muslim advance. At the end of September, the Ottomans besieged the Austrian capital and moved 300 cannons to its walls, the cannonade continued from morning to evening, miners dug tunnels and blew up fortifications. On October 9, the Turks launched an assault, which lasted continuously for 3 days, but the Janissaries failed to break the besieged; Anticipating the onset of cold weather, the Ottoman army lifted the siege. Returning, the Turks ravaged the Austrian lands and took more than 10 thousand peasants into captivity.
The war for faith knew no mercy and neither Muslims nor Christians spared their opponents. However, any Christian captive could say: “I acknowledge that there is no god but Allah,” and immediately receive freedom.
- On contour map mark the sites of the largest battles in Central Europe.
3. The situation of conquered peoples
The poem “Prayer against the Turks” by the Croatian poet Marko Marulić (second half of the 15th-early 16th century) reflects the misfortunes of the Slavs in the Balkan Peninsula during the Ottoman conquest.
“The Turks, having plundered the fields and the whole city, burned it.
He groans, old and young, he carried everyone into slavery.
Yunakov's army fell, cut off by the sword.
Those who did not have time to escape are groaning under the whip.
The enemy also chopped up children in the arms of their mothers,
Ruthlessly ruined the innocence of his daughters,
He knew only selfishness, he tore families apart:
He sold his wife here, and sold his husband there.
Altars were overthrown, shrines were desecrated,
He razed your monasteries to the ground,
Horses were led into the temple with a cursed foot
The honorable cross was trampled on your sons for shame.”
– What disasters brought by the Ottoman conquest does the poet name? What sentiments of the people did he express in this poem?
– What similarities do you see in the situation of conquered peoples in Muslim countries?
The situation of the conquered peoples:
– theft of the population into slavery;
– eviction from cities;
– heavy poll tax;
- humiliating prohibitions.
Fizminutka
4. The struggle of peoples against conquerors
- Who are the Haiduks?
Haiduki- Bulgarian and Serbian partisans.
– It is difficult to give a definite assessment to the Haiduk movement. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of this movement.
– Give facts proving that the peoples of the 16th Balkan Peninsula heroically defended their independence in the fight against the Ottoman invasion.
5. The beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire
– What are the reasons for the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 16th century. How did it manifest itself?
- The struggle of conquered peoples against conquerors.
- The transformation of the warriors' lands into their property, the weakening of the army.
- Reduction of treasury revenues due to the end of the conquerors.
He was the greatest of the sultans of his dynasty, and under him the Ottoman Empire reached its greatest development. In Europe, Suleiman is known by the nickname Magnificent, and in the East this ruler deserved, perhaps, a less colorful, but much more honorable nickname - Kanuni, which means “Fair”.
In all its splendor
The Venetian ambassador Bragadin, in a letter dated June 9, 1526, wrote about him like this: “He is thirty-two years old, he has a deathly pale skin color, an aquiline nose and a long neck; He doesn't look too strong, but his arm is very strong, which I noticed when I kissed it, and they say he can bend a bow like no one else. By nature, he is melancholic, very partial to women, generous, proud, quick-tempered and at the same time sometimes very gentle.”
Suleiman became famous for his military campaigns, wise rule and love story that connected his name with a woman who received the nickname Roksolana.
Military campaigns
Suleiman I, son of Sultan Selim I Yavuz and daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray Ayse, tenth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was born in November 1494, his reign began in September 1520, when he was 26 years old. Suleiman I died in September 1566.
Suleiman I spent his entire life on military campaigns.
Before he could sit on the throne of the Ottoman Empire, he began to expand its borders. In 1521, Suleiman took the Šabac fortress on the Danube and besieged Belgrade. After a long siege, the city fell. In 1522, Suleiman landed on Rhodes with a large army. This island at that time was the support base of the Knights of the Order of St. John, who felt themselves masters in this part of the Mediterranean litter. However, not even a few months had passed before the fortified citadel of the knights fell.
Having gained a foothold in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, Suleiman set about the Red Sea, where Portuguese sailors were in charge at that time. In 1524 Turkish fleet entered the Red Sea from the port of Jeddah (modern Saudi Arabia) and cleared it of Europeans. In 1525, Suleman captured Algiers.
From 1526 to 1528, Suleiman waged continuous wars in Eastern Europe. He conquered Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slavonia, and the rulers of Hungary and Tansylvania recognized themselves as vassals of Suleiman. Turkish troops invaded Bulgaria and Austria.
Suleiman returned from these campaigns with rich booty, he ravaged cities and fortresses, and drove thousands of inhabitants into slavery. Austria recognized Turkey's dominance over central and eastern Hungary, pledging to pay Suleiman an annual tribute.
Not satisfied with victories in the west, Suleiman also fought with the eastern countries. In 1533, Suleiman began a campaign against the Safavid state (modern Azerbaijan). After capturing the Safavid capital Tabriz, he moved towards Baghdad and captured it in 1534. Not only the rulers of Baghdad and Mesopotamia, but also the princes of Basra, Bahrain and other states of the Persian Gulf submitted to him.
By the 50s of the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire extended from Hungary to Egypt, from the Balkan Peninsula to Iran and Transcaucasia. In addition, Suleiman had possessions in northern Africa, he controlled the Mediterranean Sea and seriously threatened Rome itself.
Suleiman also caused a lot of trouble to Russia. The Crimean Khan was his vassal. IN different time Kazan and even Siberian khans recognized themselves as vassals of Suleiman. The Turks more than once took part in the campaigns of the Crimean khans against Moscow.
Suleiman set out on his last campaign on May 1, 1566. The Turkish army moved into eastern Hungary and besieged the Szigetvár fortress. This was the thirteenth campaign in which the Ottoman ruler took direct part. Thirteenth and last. On the night of September 5, the ruler died in his camp tent. The tireless conqueror was 72 years old at that time.
Domestic policy
Suleiman took his father's throne as a young man, but a fairly experienced ruler. He, as was customary in the Ottoman dynasty, during his father’s lifetime became the ruler of one of the regions of the empire centered in the city of Manisa.
When the next sultan took the throne, a series of executions began in his family. According to bloody custom, the Sultan destroyed all possible rivals from among the contenders for the throne. Since each of the rulers of the Ottoman Empire had a huge harem, the sons of all the Sultan’s concubines could be considered such applicants. Ensuring a calm reign for himself, the new ruler did not spare anyone, not even small children. It was not for nothing that there was a special cemetery at the Sultan’s palace for little “shah-zade” - princes who became victims of intrigues and wars of adults.
Suleiman's reign began without such horrors. It so happened that all his little brothers died in infancy from illnesses.
In addition, the first step of the young Suleiman was a good deed: he released the Egyptian captives who were kept in chains by his father.
It was not in vain that Suleiman earned the honorary nickname “The Just”. He fought against corruption and became known as an ardent enemy of the abuses of officials. They said about him that he, like the legendary Harun al-Rashid, walks around the city, dressed in simple clothes, and listens to what people say about him and about the order in his capital.
But you should not imagine Suleiman as an ideal ruler, kind to his subjects but harsh to the enemies of the empire. He was as cruel, suspicious and despotic as all representatives of the Ottoman dynasty, mercilessly executing anyone who, in his opinion, could pose a danger to him or simply caused displeasure. As an example, we can cite the fates of three people close to Suleiman, whom he, in his own words, once loved.
His eldest son and heir Mustafa, the son of a concubine named Mahidevran-sultan, was executed on his orders and before his eyes. Suleiman suspected that Mustafa wanted to take the throne without waiting for his father to die from natural causes.
Ibrahim Pasha, nicknamed Pargaly, the grand vizier and Suleiman's closest friend since his youth in Manisa, was also executed by order of the Sultan on suspicion of certain intrigues. Suleiman swore in his youth that Pargaly would never be executed while he, Suleiman, was alive. Deciding to execute yesterday's favorite, he resorted to the following trick: since sleep is a kind of death, let Ibrahim Pasha be executed not while Suleiman was alive, but when the ruler was sleeping. Ibrahim Pasha was strangled after a friendly dinner with the ruler.
Finally, one of his concubines, Gulfem Khatun, was also strangled by order of Suleiman. In her youth, she was his favorite and gave birth to an heir for the ruler. However, the child soon died of smallpox. Suleiman, contrary to custom, did not drive Gulfem away, but left her in his harem. And although she never returned to his bed, he considered her a friend, valued conversations with her and her advice. However, the end of Gulfem Khatun’s life was the same silk lace.
The portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent would not be complete without mentioning his love for the arts. Under him, Istanbul was decorated with magnificent buildings, mosques and bridges. He loved poetry and composed poems himself, which are considered excellent in Turkey to this day. In addition, Suleiman was fond of blacksmithing and jewelry, and became famous for making jewelry himself for his favorite concubines.
Love for Hurrem
And, of course, when talking about Suleiman the Magnificent, one cannot help but recall his love for his concubine, who received the nickname Roksolana in European diplomatic correspondence.
Who this woman was is not known for certain today. The nickname given to her clearly hints at Slavic, even Russian origin, since it was Russians who were called “Roksolans” in the Middle Ages. Considering the numerous military campaigns of Turkish and Crimean troops in the territories occupied by Ukraine today, such an origin of this girl can be considered quite probable. According to tradition, Roksolana is considered the daughter of a priest from the western regions of Ukraine and is called Alexandra Lisovskaya, but there is no documentary evidence of this. The Sultan noticed and brought this girl closer to him, and gave her the name Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, which means “Joy”. Apparently, the Slavic woman had a really cheerful disposition. Hurrem Sultan managed the impossible: she achieved that Suleiman released her and made her his legal wife, which had never happened in the Sultan's harem before. Moreover, she had a serious influence on the foreign and domestic policies of the Sultan, which was noted by all diplomats who visited Istanbul.
It was Hurrem Sultan who was the mother of Shah-Zade Selim, who became the next ruler of the empire after Suleiman.
When Hurrem died, Suleiman ordered the construction of an ornate mausoleum for her. Next to this mausoleum, a tomb was erected in which the great conqueror himself rested.
Suleiman (1495-1566), nicknamed the Magnificent in Europe, was the tenth and considered to be the greatest Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was born on April 27, 1495 in Trabzon. The son of Sultan Selim I (reigned 1512-1520), took the throne after the death of his father in 1520 and reigned until the end of his life. He was an educated man, patronized science and art, reformed and codified Ottoman legislation.
During his thirteen imperial wars, Suleiman stood up as equals to nation states Europe and Asia of the 16th century. Rhodes, the islands of the Aegean and Ionian seas, Algeria, and Tripoli came under the sovereignty of the Turks.
The Europeans called him Magnificent, but the Turks themselves called him nothing other than “Kanuni”, i.e. Legislator. The conquests of Suleiman I complemented the Ottoman Empire in the west and east, so Suleiman's reign looks like a period of consolidation of the conquests of his predecessors. Suleiman issued a series of laws that covered all aspects of government and social life. For the first time, the system of government of the Ottoman Empire was set out in writing, and at the same time an attempt was made to bring it into conformity with Sharia law.
Suleiman was a great connoisseur and connoisseur of art, talented in poetry and art. He is considered one of best poets Islam. During his era, Istanbul became a center of visual art, music, poetry and philosophy. Suleiman patronized a whole army of artists, religious thinkers and philosophers, who made up the most educated court in all of Europe. This cultural growth during Suleiman's reign became the most creative period in Ottoman history. He attracted the best minds of that time, the most gifted people, to his country.
The era of Suleiman's reign became a period of great justice and harmony throughout the Islamic world.
However, during Suleiman's reign the seeds of the subsequent decline of the Ottoman Empire were sown. The initial successes of the Ottomans were associated with the personal contribution of the first ten Ottoman sultans, who showed extraordinary ability in governing the Empire and themselves led armies on campaigns. In his old age, Suleiman practically retired from affairs and handed them over to the Grand Vizier, who became the main ruler and military leader. This enabled various factions in government and society to compete for appointments in the army and administration and for succession to the throne.
Suleiman left a huge mark on the history of the Ottoman Empire. His mysterious personality, the magnificent monuments erected during his reign and the records of his contemporaries have always aroused great interest. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its development and became the most powerful empire in cultural, social, political and military terms. Looking at this period helps us appreciate the historical and cultural legacies that have largely shaped the current appearance of modern Turkey. Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan Sultanov, the conqueror of three continents, who shocked the whole world in the 14th century and raised the Ottoman Empire to unknown heights of greatness, this personality attracted the attention of the whole world.
Suleiman I died on September 7, 1566 in Szegesvár (Hungary) during his last trip against the Habsburgs. The throne passed to his son Selim II, with whom the period of decline of the Ottoman Empire began.