Suleyman I

Suleyman I is born

Nov 9, 1494

Suleyman I was born in November of 1494 in Trabzon along the coast of the Black Sea. He was born to Valide Sultan Aishe Hafsa Sultan and father, Selim I.

Suleyman I comes to the throne

Sep 30, 1520

After the death of his father, Selim I, Suleyman came to throne in Constantinople and acceded the throne as the tenth Ottoman Sultan.

Conquest of Belgrade

Aug 17, 1521

This was something his grandfather had failed to achieve. Suleyman I encircled Belgrade and began a series of heavy bombardments from an island in the Danube. Belgrade soon fell.

Capture of Rhodes

Jul 31, 1522

Suleyman diverted his attention to the island of Rhodes in the Eastern Mediteranean. He took his army of over 100,00 men and dispatched an armada. The seige lasted five months until Rhodes capitulated, or surrendered.

Battle of Mohacs

Aug 29, 1526

Suleyman resumed his campaign in Eastern Europe. At the Battle of Mohacs, Suleyman defeated King Louis II of Hungary. Hungarian resistance collapsed and the Ottoman Empire deterioated.

Siege To Vienna

Nov 20, 1529

After the Hapsburgs reoccupied Buda and took Hungary, Suleyamn marched through the Danube and took back Buda. The Ottoman Empire and Suleyman were faced with their first defeat in an attempt to win back Hungary.

Ottoman - Safavid War

Oct 17, 1532

In 1532, Suleyman ordered his Grand Vizier to lead an army into Asia. There, they retook Bitlis and occupied Tabriz without resistance. Later, Suleyman and his Grand Vizier pushed through to Perisa where they found the Shah sacrificing land.

Campains to the Indian Ocean

May 13, 1548

Suleyman lead several naval campaings against the Portugese in the Indian Ocean in an attempt to reestablish trade with India. The Ottomans captured Aden in Yemen in order to have a base for raids against the Portugese. They lost the seige of Diu to the Portugese but succeeded in recapturing Aden, controlling all of Yemen, and winning Muscat.

Ottoman - Safavid War Cont'd

Oct 17, 1554

In Suleyman's last attempt to defeat the Shah once and for all, he embarked on a second campaign. This turned out to be pointless because neither country gained territory. So, Suleyman launched a third campaign where he signed a settlement. It included Tabriz, Baghdad, lower Mesopotamia, the mouths of the Tigres and Euphrates rivers, and part of the Persian Gulf. Also, the Shah promised to cease all raids in the Ottoman territory.

Death of Suleyman I

Sep 5, 1556

Suleyman the First died in 1556. He was 71 years old. His place of death was Szigetvar, Hungary. Suleyman the "Magnificent" was buried in the Suleymaniye Mosque in Constantinople, or modern day Istanbul. He was succeeded by Selim II.