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