Suleiman I (born 1494, died 1566) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566. He personally led armies to conquer Belgrade, Rhodes, the Balkans and Hungary up to Vienna.
He captured the Middle East and North Africa up to Algeria, and the Ottoman fleet ruled the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
Suleiman was a poet and goldsmith and spoke 4 languages: Persian, Arabic, Serbian and Chagatay (old Turkish). He was born in Trabzon. From 7 he studied science, history, literature, theology and military tactics. At 17 he was made governor of Kaffa. He became Sultan when his father died.
He led naval campaigns against the Portuguese till India. In 1564, he helped Aceh, Indonesia against the Portuguese. He appointed Khairuddin Barbarossa as naval commander who made the Ottoman navy the biggest, defeated the Spanish and captured parts of Italy.
The law of the empire was Shariah (Islamic Law). Suleiman issued a legal code that lasted 300 years. He helped protect Jews for centuries. He established schools for free education, with further education at Madrasahs (colleges) covering grammar, metaphysics, philosophy, astronomy and astrology. Higher Madrasahs provided university level education. Hundreds of artisan societies were set up. Suleiman sponsored buildings, restored the Dome of the Rock and renovated the Ka’aba.
He had 2 wives and 8 sons. At his death the Ottoman Empire was the world’s superpower. Suleiman controlled the major Muslim cities of Makkah Mukarramah, Madinah Munawwarah, Jerusalem, Damascus and Baghdad.
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