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Peerless among princes : the life and times of Sultan Süleyman

Online Oxford Scholarship Online

Peerless among princes : the life and times of Sultan Süleyman

"Süleyman ruled over the Ottoman Empire between 1520 and 1566. His domain extended from Hungary to Iran, and from the Crimea to North Africa and the Indian Ocean. The wealth of his treasury and the strength of his armies dazzled historians, poets, courtiers, diplomats, and publics across Eurasia. Süleyman fought with the Catholic Habsburgs in Europe and the Shiite Safavids in the Middle East, while presiding over a multilinguistic and multireligious empire. During his reign, imperial governance expanded considerably, and the law was emphasized as the main bond between ruler and subject. Süleyman's prolific poetic output, his frequent appearances during public ceremonies, his charity, and his patronage of arts and architecture enhanced his reputation as a universal ruler who promised peace and prosperity to his subjects"--

Empire and Power in the Reign of Süleyman : Narrating the Sixteenth-Century Ottoman World

"On a torrid August day in 2009, I visited Celalzade Mustafa's final resting place in Istanbul's Eyüp district, in a neighborhood called Nisanca. The chancellor (nisanci) is buried in the cemetery adjoining the small mosque built for him by Sinan, the chief imperial architect. His brother Salih, a teacher, judge and religious scholar, is buried nearby, but the sepulchres of poets who received plots from this patron of poetry have disappeared. The mosque, adorned with glazed tiles, has changed significantly since the mid-sixteenth century. It was damaged in a fire in 1729, and was rebuilt following a more devastating fire in 1780. The mansion where Mustafa composed his works, welcomed fellow literati, and provided advice to young and aspiring secretaries is long gone, probably destroyed in the fire of 1780, if not before"--Provided by publisher.Kaya Sahin's book offers a revisionist reading of Ottoman history during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-66). By examining the life and works of a bureaucrat, Celalzade Mustafa, Sahin argues that the empire was built as part of the Eurasian momentum of empire building and demonstrates the imperial vision of sixteenth-century Ottomans. This unique study shows that, in contrast with many Eurocentric views, the Ottomans were active players in European politics, with an imperial culture in direct competition with that of the Habsburgs and the Safavids. Indeed, this book explains Ottoman empire building with reference to the larger Eurasian context, from Tudor England to Mughal India, contextualizing such issues as state formation, imperial policy and empire building in the period more generally. Sahin's work also devotes significant attention to the often-ignored religious dimension of the Ottoman-Safavid struggle, showing how the rivalry redefined Sunni and Shiite Islam, laying the foundations for today's religious tensions.

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