Suleiman the Magnificent
The longest reigning sultan, at 46 years. He won at Mohacs, besieged Vienna and is remembered at home as Kanuni, the Lawgiver.
At a glance
- Lived
- 1494 to 1566
- Role
- Ruler
- Dynasty
- Ottoman Sultans
- Era
- Three gunpowder empires
- Chapter
- 5. The Ottomans
Battles
- 1522Siege of Rhodes
Ottoman victory. After a six-month siege the knights surrendered and were allowed to leave.
- 1526Battle of Mohacs
Ottoman victory. Hungary's army was destroyed in about two hours and its king drowned while fleeing.
- 1529First Siege of Vienna
Siege failed. Rain, mud and the late season forced Suleiman to turn back.
- 1565Great Siege of Malta
Siege failed. Nearly four months of assaults failed against the forts of Malta, and the famous corsair Turgut Reis was killed.
Suleiman the Magnificent's world
1683: Three gunpowder empires
Mehmed II took Constantinople in 1453. Selim I conquered Egypt in 1517 and the caliphate passed to the Ottomans. Suleiman won at Mohacs in 1526, and a second siege of Vienna failed in 1683. Further east, Safavid Iran and the Mughals of India ruled at the same time.
People of the same era
Dates for early figures are often approximate. Spotted a mistake? Tell us