SULEYMAN I BIOGRAPHY

Suleyman I or Suleyman the Magnificent was a sultan of the

Ottoman Empire during the Golden Age of the empire. He ruled his
empire for forty six years (1520-1566) which was a very long time
compared to other sultan of his empire. Forty six years under his
control, his empire reached its highest level of grandeur and
prosperity. He was the son of Aishe Hafsa, the sultan of the Crimean
Khanate and Sultan Selim I of the Ottaman Empire. He was born on
November 6, 1494 at Trabzon which is on the Turkish coast of the
Black Sea. Suleyman was tall and he have a round face with broad
forehead and thin beard. Suleyman was a smart child. He learned
many subjects such as history, science, warfare, literature, and
theology when he was young. Aside from learning the main subjects
at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, he also learned many languages
such as Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, Serbian, and Chagatai Turkish. He
seems to be learning so many things from many teachers but his
first teacher was actually his own grandmother, Gulbahar Hatun.
His father, Sulatn Selim, gave him an authority to rule over
different regions within the Ottoman Empire since he was
seventeen. Sultan Selim I died in 1520 when Suleyman I was
twenty-six years old. With his eagerness to expand his empire, he
began to expand his empire immediately after he ascended the
throne from his father by conquering other empires. The first
empire that he conquered was Belgrade which is in 1521 and then
followed by Rhodes in 1522. He conquered Belgrade by using both
land-based army and flotilla ship to block the empire from
communicating with other empires and also to prevent the
reinforcement. He continued to expand his empire in 1530s when
he set his goal on Persia. After that he captured Baghdad and Tabriz
in two consecutive years. When he was young, he looked up to
Alexander the Great and admired his military power so when he had
a chance to make his own decision, he created his military program
which he spent ten years out of forty six years of his reign on it.
During the last year of his reign, he still lead The Ottoman
empire into prosperity by gaining the victory from the Battle of
Szigetvar on September 8, 1566. His reason of death was not
confirmed but many sources said that he died of heart attack on
September 7 which is the day before the Battle of Szigetvar. Even
though he died long time ago, people still admired him because of
what he had done to his people and country.