Suleiman the Magnificentnote , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566. The son of Selim the Grim and Hafsa Sultan, he became Sultan at the age of 26. In his early reign, he did some conquests in Europe, including in Hungary and Rhodes. It was also in his early reign he met Hürrem Sultan, his legal wife and the Ottoman Empire's first haseki sultan. He nearly got to Austria before his defeat at the Siege of Vienna.
He later went to war with Safavid Persia in 1533, and after three campaigns, he signed a peace treaty which lead to Safavid losses. His Turkish nickname, "The Lawgiver", comes from his legal and political reforms in his reign. He also protected the Jewish subjects of the empire during his reign.
During his reign, the Ottoman went through a cultural golden age where hundreds of artistic societies were formed. It was during his reign the Ottomans saw their own distinct culture form. He was a poet himself, and sponsored architectural developments.
His later life was marred by conflicts in his own family. Suleiman personally envisioned Hürrem’s eldest son Mehmet as successor until he died of smallpox at age 22. His oldest son, Mustafa, was growing to be a capable prince, and Suleiman became paranoid. Thought to have been aided by Hürrem, Suleiman executed his oldest son. Hürrem died in 1558, and three years later, after fleeing to Persia, he executed his son Bayezid, leaving only Selim left as heir (Sehzades Cihangir, Mahmud and Murad had all died of natural causes by this point).
Tropes as depicted in fiction:
- Birds of a Feather: He and his Top Wife Hürrem both loved poetry; in fact, that was one of the factors that drew them to each other. He even wrote poems dedicated to her.
- Enemy Mine: With France against the Habsburgs. At times, however, this crossed into We ARE Struggling Together, seeing as France and the Ottomans had a historically turbulent relationship, and neither was happy to have to work with the other, leading to mixed results.
- Offing the Offspring: He killed two of his sons, Mustafa and Bayezid, as attempts to secure a peaceful transition of power after his death. This was, however, more or less standard practice during the time, as civil wars tended to plague the Empire after the death of the sovereign, as heirs would often engage in civil wars to take the throne, leading some Sultans making sure they only had one living son by the time they died.
- Parental Favouritism: He doted on his first two children with Hürrem, Mehmet and Mihrimah.
- Top Wife: He created the position of Haseki Sultan for his wife and favourite Hürrem.
- Would Hurt a Child: He killed Mustafa and Bayezid’s sons, some of whom were under 10.
- The Magnificent
- The Good King: He is known as ‘The Magnificent’ in the Western world and ‘The Lawgiver’ in Turkey.
- Dated History: At first, his mother, Hafsa, was originally thought to have been called Ayse Hafsa and she was a crimean princess. In reality, Hafsa was probably a slave concubine, and the crimean princess Ayse was a different person.
- Evil Chancellor: His Pargali Ibrahim Pasha is often depicted as this trope, how much of this is due to his ruthless policies to curb regional strongmen to centralize power, and how much of it is due to him being born a commoner to a Christian family, before being Made a Slave and ascending to a leadership position in a deeply Islamic and socially stratified nation, is up for debate.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: He is often depicted as nicer and more heroic than the real Suleiman(for example in Magnificent Century, Selim is the one who executes Bayezid and his sons, not Suleiman)
- Worthy Opponent: In Hungary, a nation he defeated and briefly conquered, he is known as "The Great".
He appeares in the following media:
- Magnificent Century: He is the main character of the show.
- Yume no Shizuku, Kin no Torikago: He is also a main character.
- Now Blooms the Tudor Rose: He is a supporting character in the book.
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations: He appears as a young prince and befriends Ezio Auditore.
- Age of Empires III: He is an early offscreen opponent in the first campaign, as the first part of it involves fighting off one of his generals during the siege of Malta.
