Sent by Idris Tuna from Mustafa Zeki Demir Ortaokulu, Istambul. Part of eTwinning project - Meeting point in history: Szigetvár (translation from Turkish)

2. Süleyman the magnificent was born in1494 Trabzon which
is a north city in the shore of Black sea of Turkey. His father Selim
I was the governor of Trabzon before he became a sultan. His
mom’s name was Ayşe Hafsa Valide Sultan. He became a
governor, in turn, in Bolu, Şebinkarahisar, Kefe. He had 4 wives
whose names were Mahidevran Sultan, Fülane Hatun, Hürrem
Sultan, Gülfem Hatun and16 children. During his 46 year rule, he
set military campaign 13 times and captured 300 castles.
Suleiman I who was born in 1494 and
passed away in 1566 was known as the
magnificent in the West and Kanuni (the
Lawgiver) in the East. He was the 10th king on
the Ottoman throne. He ruled the empire totally
46 years from 1520 to 1566. He was called
“Kanuni” because of his justice.

3. He set out on his 13th and last Campaign to Szigetvár in the
year 1566 even though he was ill. His sultanate was in 46th year and
he was 73 years old during the Campaign. The city Szigetvár was
surrounded by rivers and consisted of three parts. This made
difficult to capture.Therefore he could not get immediate results.
Close to the last days of the siege, Suleiman the Magnificent’s
illness was deteriorated and he passed away in 1566 on the night of
September 6-7 in the morning
HIS DEATH

4. Sultan Suleiman the magnificent’ death and the reasons of its concealment:
The day after the death of Suleiman, Szigetvár was captured, but the sultan’s
death were never told anyone. If the enemy and Janissaries who were one kind
of Ottoman military army and their first duty was to protect the sultan had learnt
the sultan’s death, the situation would have become much worse. The enemy
would have increased the likelihood of benefit from learning this situation and
the Janissaries with sadness could have turned into an uncontrollable crowd
and left the field of the battle. Sokullu Mehmet Pasha who was the prime
minister was very clever and used all his political genius. Sultan's death was
hidden from, including the viziers (some ministers). Only some people who were
very closed him knew his death. Sokullu Mehmet Pasha sent a letter to Selim,
one of his son and the first governor of Kutahya city to become a sultan.
Meanwhile, the sultan's dead body was washed in his tent and his funeral prayer
was performed with twelve people who knew his death. The Sultan's internal
organs were removed and buried there (later a tomb was built for the sultan in
Szigetvar). His dead body was embalmed and put in a coffin under the throne.
Later viziers were informed of the situation. And the next day, the festival of the
conquest was held.
THE CONCEALMENT OF HIS DEATH

5. 1) Conquest of Belgrade: Belgrade was
siezed by Mehmed II who was the grand father
of Suleiman's father. But the siege was unfailed.
Belgrade was captured by Suleiman the
Magnificent in August 1521.

6. 2) Conquest of Rhodes:
Suleiman the Magnificent sent a navy to
capture Rhodes in 1522 and the island was seized
by Ottomans. The knights of Rhodes left the island
to Malta. Therefore Ottoman Empire increased its
power in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea.

7. 3) The Battle of Mohacs:
Suleiman the magnificent prepared the
army to Mohacs, Hungary because Hungary
which was getting closer to the Habsburgs was a
threat for the Ottomans. Also Hungary had
rejected the Empire’s attempts to deal including
its demands. Suleiman the Magnificent defeated
the Hungarian army just in a two hour and took
over the capital Budapest.

8. 4) The I. Siege of Vienna:
In spring 1529, Suleiman mustered a great army in
Ottoman Bulgaria, with the aim of securing control of
Hungary and reducing the threat posed at his new borders
by Ferdinand and the Holy Roman Empire Charles V. But
he failed in front of the Castle of Vienna because of heavy
winter and lack of powerful cannons. Nevertheless, this
siege showed the Ottomans’ power and its enlargement in
the Middle Europe. John Zapolya was the king of Hungary
until his death in the name of the Ottoman Empire.

9. 5) A Campaign to Germany:
Suleiman I, the Magnificent launched a
campaign to German lands between 1532-1533. He
wanted to capture some Hungarian lands controlled
by Germans and break German’s power in the area.
Some sources claims that Suleiman would also like to
siege and take Vienna. Although he did not take
Vienna, the campaign was successful for the
Ottomans.

11. Suleiman I sent a navy to seize Corfu Island in the
Aegean Sea in 1537. Although it could not be captured, some
other islands as Patmos, Naksos were conquered by
Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha who was a very famous admiral.

12. Osmanlı'ya vergi ödemeyen ve
isyan eden Boğdan Voyvodası Petru Rareş
üzerine yapılmış bir seferdir. Osmanlı
ordusunun harekâtı karşısında Rares,
Transilvanya içlerine doğru kaçmaktan başka bir
çare bulamamıştı. Osmanlı ordusu ise Yas
şehrini yakıp yıktığı gibi 16 Eylül 1538'de
Voyvodanın merkezi olan Suçeva şehrini de alır.
Bu seferin sonunda Osmanlılar, Prut ile
Dinyester nehirleri arasında kalan yerleri
ellerine geçirmişlerdi. Elde edilen bu yerler, bir
sancak haline getirilmişti. Boğdan Seferi
Süleyman'ın en kısa süren seferlerinden
birisidir.

14. 10) The Siege of Esztergom Fortress:
Sultan Suleyman went to Buda in 1543. Then, he reached to the fortress of
Esztergom in Hungary. Thus, a fierce battle began between the Ottomans and
Hungarian forces in the castle. When the forces in the fortress realized that
they could not stand for a long time in the castle , sent a delegation for an
agreement to Suleiman and delivered the castle to the Turks in August 10th,
1543.

15. Sultan Süleyman , Avusturya seferinde
iken Safevi Şahı I. Tahmasb Tebriz, Nahçıvan ve Van'ı ele geçirdi.
Ayrıca Şii hakimiyetini de güçlü bir şekilde tesis etmiş, hatta
bölgeye "halife" adlı casuslar bile göndermişti. Tahmasb'ın
kardeşi Elkas Mirza ise Safevi Devleti tahtına çıkmak istiyordu.
İsyan etti, fakat başarılı olamayarak I. Süleyman'a sığındı. Bu
gelişmelerden haberdar olan Tahmasb da ordusunu topladı.
Tebriz'deki İran Şahı I. Tahmasb padişahın Hoy'a geldiğini
öğrenince bütün şehri tahliye ettirir ve kendiside Kazvin'e kaçar.
27 Temmuz 1548 tarihinde padişah zorlanmadan Tebriz'i işgal
eder. I. Süleyman şehirde 5 gün kaldıktan sonra Van'a geçer ve
kaleyi kuşatır. 25 Ağustosta Van kalesi alınır. 29 Eylülde padişah
Diyarbakır'a 25 Kasımda Halep'e geçip kışı orada geçirir. Sultan
Süleyman 21 Aralık tarihinde İstanbul'a döner.

16. The Safavids that was a
dynasty in Iran and Azerbaijan) attacked to the eastern of theOttomans again and
besieged Erzurum which is an eastern city of Anatolia in Turkey in 1553. Suleiman
launched his 12th military campaign to Azerbaijan (1553-1555). After the Ottoman
Army had arrived at Kars; Yerevan, Nakhchivan and Karabakh had been burned by.
Shah Tahmasp who was the king of Safavids. When Suleiman the Magnificent’s army
returned to Amasya, Shah Tahmasp wanted peace by sending a letter to the
Suleiman. According to Amasya Treaty in 1555, İran agreed that Tabriz, Baghdad and
some parts of Georgia belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Empire and Safavid Empire
oThis was the first written agreement in history between the Ottoman Empire and
Safavid Empire (İran). Thanks to this agreement, Ottomans had eastern Anatolia and
Indian trade route through Anatolia and Iraq.

17. 13) Szigetvár Siege:
Suleiman launched his last campaign to Szigetvár because
Austrian Archduke Maximilian I broke the Treaty of Istanbul, not
to pay his taxes to the Ottomans and entered into Transylvania
which belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Szigetvár became an
Ottoman land after approximately one month siege. A day before
Szigetvár being conquered, Suleiman the Magnificent died on
September 6, 1566.

18. Hungary
King II.Layoş
(1521-1526)
(1, 3. campaigns)
The Holy Rome-
Germen Emperor
V. Charles
(1529-1543)
(4, 5, 9, 10.
campaign)

19. The leader of the Knights
Hospitaller at Rhodes
L'Isle Adam
(1522-1523)
(2. campaign)
Austria King
I. Ferdinand
(1529-1543)
(4, 5, 9, 10.
campaigns)

20. Safavid Shah
I. Tahmasp
(1534-1555)
(6, 11, 12. campaign)
The Republic of
Venice
Presedent
Andrea Gritti
(1537-1540)
(7. campaign)

21. Bogdan Voivode
Petru Rareş
(1537-1541)
(8. campaign)
Austria King
II. Maximilian
(1564-1566)
(13. campaign)

22. My pain for thee balm in my sight resembles
Thy face's beam the clear moonlight resembles.
Thy black hair spread across they cheeks, the roses
O Liege, the garden's basil quite resembles.
Beside thy lip oped wide its mouth, the rosebud;
For shame it blushed, it blood outright resembles.
Thy mouth, a casket fair of pearls and rubies,
Thy teeth, pearls, thy lip coral bright resembles.
Their diver I, each morning and each even;
My weeping, Liege, the ocean's might resembles.
Lest he seduce thee, this my dread and terror,
That rival who Iblis in spite resembles.

23. My resident of solitude, my everything, my beloved, my shining moon
My friend, my privacy, my everything, my shah of beautifuls, my sultan
My life, my existance, my lifetime, my wine of youngness, my heaven
My spring, my joy, my day, my beloved, my laughing rose.
My delight, my wine, my tavern, my lamp, my light, my candle
My orange and pomegranate and sour orange, my candle of night
My plant, my sugar, my treasure, my delicate in world
My saint, my Joseph, my everything, my Khan of my heart´s Egypt
My İstanbul, My Karaman, my land of Rum
My Bedehşan, my Kıpchak, my Bagdad, my Horosan
I am a flatterer near your door, I always praise you
Heart is full of sorrow, eye is full of tears, I am Muhibbi and I am happy.

25. Suleiman the Magnificent was also called (‘lawgiver’-
Kanuni). However, this title was not because of new laws,
the reason was that he regulated existing rules. Everyting
was perfectly recorded by the Ottomans. It was a strong
tradition the legal system. Suleiman, the Magnificent
published ‘The Laws of Suleimans by classifying the laws
and rules according to Islamic law which served as a kind of
constitution. In the Suleiman Law books, criminal, tax, public
and military-related laws, legal, administrative, financial,
military matters were classified under headings. He was
helped by eminent scholars when he was preparing his laws
and rules. He aimed to protect citizens composed of
different nationalities and communities.

27. TRANSLATED BY IDRIS TUNA
(History Teacher)