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Suleiman the Magnificent

1494 CE – 1566 CE

Retrace Suleiman the Magnificent's life across the map — 28 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Euphrates-Tigris Expedition1515 CE
   Selim I, also known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is notable for the enormous expansion of the Empire, particularly his conquest between 1516 and 1517 of the entire Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which included all of the Levant, Hejaz, and Egypt itself. On the eve of his death in 1520, the Ottoman Empire spanned about 3.4 million km2 (1.3 million sq mi), having grown by seventy percent during Selim's reign.
2. Siege of Belgrade1521 CE
   The siege of Belgrade in 1521 is an event that followed as a result of the third major Ottoman attack on this Hungarian stronghold in the Ottoman–Hungarian wars at the time of the greatest expansion of the Ottoman Empire to the west. Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent launched his army in mid-May 1521. The Hungarian state was almost in disarray and unable to effectively counter the Ottoman army.
3. Siege of Šabac1521 CE
   The siege of Šabac or Szabács occurred on 7 July in the year 1521 when the Ottoman Empire conquered the Šabac fortress.
4. Siege of Rhodes1522 CE
   The siege of Rhodes of 1522 was the second and ultimately successful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to expel the Knights of Rhodes from their island stronghold and thereby secure Ottoman control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The first siege in 1480 had been unsuccessful. Despite very strong defenses, the walls were demolished over the course of six months by Turkish artillery and mines.
5. Battle of Mohács1526 CE
   The Battle of Mohács took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleiman the Magnificent and his grand vizier, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha. The Ottomans achieved a decisive victory through superior planning, firepower, and a well-executed encirclement that overwhelmed the Hungarian forces.
6. First Turkish Siege of Vienna1529 CE
   The 1529 siege of Vienna was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire to capture the city of Vienna in the Archduchy of Austria, part of the Holy Roman Empire. Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottomans, attacked the city with over 100,000 men, while the defenders, led by Niklas Graf Salm, numbered no more than 21,000. Nevertheless, Vienna was able to survive the siege. The siege ultimately lasted just over two weeks, from 27 September to 15 October 1529.
7. Siege of Buda1529 CE
   The siege of Buda was a military operation led by the Ottoman Empire with the aim of capturing Buda and installing John Zápolya as its ruler.
8. Siege of Buda1530 CE
   The siege of Buda in 1530 was a failed attempt to capture Buda from the Ottomans by Ferdinand I.
9. Siege of Güns1532 CE
   The siege of Kőszeg or siege of Güns, also known as the German campaign was a siege of Kőszeg in the Kingdom of Hungary within the Habsburg Empire, that took place in 1532. During the siege, the defending forces of the Habsburg monarchy under the leadership of Croatian Captain Nikola Jurišić, defended the small border fort of Kőszeg with fewer than 50 soldiers and only 700 Hungarian villagers, with no cannons and few guns. The defenders prevented the advance of the Ottoman army of over 100,000 toward Vienna, under the leadership of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha.
10. Ottoman-Safavid War1532 CE
    The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555 was one of the many military conflicts fought between the two arch rivals, the Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Safavid Empire led by Tahmasp I. Ottoman territorial gains were confirmed in the Peace of Amasya.
11. Siege of Marburg1532 CE
    The siege of Maribor was a siege of present-day Maribor, then known by its German name Marburg, in the Duchy of Styria within the Archduchy of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. In the siege that happened during September 1532, a local garrison and citizens defended the fortified town of Maribor against the overwhelming force of the Ottoman Empire, led by their Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his Grand Vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha. The Ottomans were marching south after their unsuccessful plan of the siege of Vienna, which was compromised at the siege of Güns where Ottomans have been delayed nearly four weeks.
12. Capture of Baghdad1534 CE
    The 1534 capture of Baghdad by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent from the Safavid Shah Tahmasp I was part of his Campaign of the Two Iraqs during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555). The city was taken without resistance, the Safavid government having fled and leaving the city undefended.
13. Italian War of 1536–15381536 CE
    The Italian war of 1536–1538 was a conflict between King Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. The objective was to achieve control over territories in Northern Italy, in particular the Duchy of Milan, which Charles had granted to his son Philip. The war saw French troops invading Northern Italy with the goal to capture Milan, and Imperial-Spanish troops invading France in retaliation.
14. Siege of Corfu1537 CE
    The siege of Corfu in 1537 was led by the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent, against the Republic of Venice-held island of Corfu. It is part of the Ottoman–Venetian War (1537–1540), one of the numerous Ottoman–Venetian Wars of the period.
15. Third Ottoman–Venetian War1537 CE
    The Third Ottoman–Venetian War (1537–1540) was one of the Ottoman–Venetian wars which took place during the 16th century. The war arose out of the Franco-Ottoman alliance between Francis I of France and Süleyman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The initial plan between the two had been to jointly invade Italy, Francis through Lombardy in the North and Süleyman through Apulia to the South. However, the proposed invasion failed to take place.
16. Ottoman–Habsburg War of 1540–15471540 CE
    The Habsburg–Ottoman war of 1540–1547 was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy supported by their vassals. The war ended in Ottoman victory in 1547 after signing the peace of Edirne.
17. Siege of Buda1541 CE
    The siege of Buda ended with the capture of the city of Buda, the historical capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, by the Ottoman Empire, leading to about 150 years of Ottoman rule in parts of Hungary. The siege, part of the Little War in Hungary, was one of the most important Ottoman victories over the Habsburg monarchy during Ottoman–Habsburg wars in Hungary and the Balkans.
18. Siege of Pest1542 CE
    The siege of Pest occurred in 1542, when Ferdinand I attempted to recover the cities of Buda and Pest in 1542 from the Ottoman Empire. They had been occupied by the Ottomans under Suleiman since the siege of Buda (1541).
19. Siege of Esztergom1543 CE
    The siege of Esztergom occurred between 25 July and 10 August 1543, when the Ottoman army, led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, besieged the city of Esztergom in modern Hungary. The city was captured by the Ottomans after two weeks.
20. Siege of Székesfehérvár1543 CE
    The siege of Székesfehérvár started in the month of August in 1543 when the Ottomans laid siege to the fortress.
21. Siege of Valpovo1543 CE
    The siege of Valpovo took place at Valpovo, now part of Croatia, from May to June 1543. It was part of the Ottoman–Habsburg War of 1540–1547, as well as the Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War. The siege resulted in an Ottoman victory.
22. Siege of Van1548 CE
    The siege of Van occurred in 1548 when Suleiman the Magnificent attacked Iran in his second campaign of the Ottoman-Safavid War (1532–1555).
23. Temryuk War1551 CE
    The Crimean-Circassian War of 1552–1556 was a military conflict between the Crimean Khanate and the Kabardian Principality.
24. Habsburg–Ottoman War of 1551–15621551 CE
    The Habsburg–Ottoman war of 1551–1562 was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy supported by Royal Hungary. During the war, the Turks captured many castles in Hungarian and Transylvanian territory. The war ended in victory for the Ottoman Empire after the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople in 1562.
25. Italian War of 1551–15591551 CE
    The Italian War of 1551–1559 began when Henry II of France declared war against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, with the intent of recapturing parts of Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. The war ended following the signing of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis between the monarchs of Spain, England and France in 1559. Historians have emphasized the importance of gunpowder technology, new styles of fortification to resist cannon fire, and the increased professionalization of the soldiers.
26. Safavid campaign1554 CE
    The Safavid campaign of 1554–1555 was the final bout of hostilities between the Ottomans and the Safavids during the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1532–1555. It was launched by Suleiman the Magnificent, and took place between June 1554 and May 1555. It was part of the wider conflict between the Sunni and Shia Muslims.
27. Ottoman-Habsburg War of 1565–15681565 CE
    The Habsburg–Ottoman war of 1565–1568 was a conflict between the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire fought mainly on the territory of Hungary and Croatia. During the war, the Turks captured the castle at Szigetvár but the death of Sultan Suleiman I forced them to retreat. The war ended in 1568 after the signing of a peace treaty in Edirne, under which both sides retained their territorial gains, and the Habsburgs further pledged to pay tribute of 30,000 forints to the Turks.
28. Siege of Szigetvár1566 CE
    The siege of Szigetvár or the Battle of Szigeth was an Ottoman siege of the fortress of Szigetvár in the Kingdom of Hungary. The fort had blocked Sultan Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 1566. The battle was fought between the defending forces of the Habsburg monarchy under the leadership of Nikola IV Zrinski, the former Ban of Croatia, and the invading Ottoman army under the nominal command of Sultan Suleiman.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].