Was Suleiman The Magnificent Worthy Of The Title?

Suleiman the magnificent was a great Ottoman Sultan of the 16th century. He was an incredible leader who brought the Ottoman Empire to the pinnacle of its power. During this time, Suleiman was not only a great conqueror, but also a fair leader, a brilliant lawmaker, and a supporter of the arts. In my opinion, Suleiman was truly magnificent and played a very important role in the success of the Ottoman Empire.

Suleiman can first be seen as a magnificent leader through his military's strength and power. He conquered vast territories and had great military success. This success included campaigns in Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean, and even as far as North Africa. Two battles that show Suleiman's military power was his conquest of Belgrade and Rhodes. Capturing Belgrade was important to the success of the Ottoman Empire because the inhabitants of that area were still strong supporters of the once powerful Byzantine Empire and the community of Belgrade was the last force blocking further expansion into the West. Suleiman encircled Belgrade and began a series of heavy bombardment from an island in the Danube River. With a stronghold of only seven hundred men, and receiving no aid from Hungary, Belgrade fell in August 1521. The news of this victory spread fear throughout Europe and played an important role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Another significant battle during Suleiman's rule was the invasion of the island of Rhodes. Rhodes was the key to the eastern Mediterranean and posed a potential problem to the Ottomans' interests. Rhodes was soon taken and the Ottoman Empire was on its way to becoming a permanent power in Eastern Europe. As a result of Suleiman's superior military power and leadership ability, the Ottoman Empire was able to expand over thousands of miles. At the end of his rule, Suleiman had nearly doubled the Ottoman territories, which stretched from Vienna in the west to the Upper Arab Peninsula in the East, Crimea in the North and to the Sudan in the south. Suleiman's conquests built up the Ottoman Empire into a world power of its time.

Another reason that Suleiman was a magnificent leader can be seen through the laws and rules that were created to govern his people. Suleiman was also known as the lawgiver and the laws he created worked successfully to better rule his empire. Suleiman worked on new ideas that strengthened his government and military, but also addressed taxation and the treatment of peasants. Suleiman changed laws so that people were paid for their services, established a simpler taxation policy, and established