"a magnanimous exponent of justice"". The overriding law of the empire was the Shari'ah, or Sacred Law, which as the divine law of Islam was outside of the Sultan's powers to change. Yet an area of distinct law known as the ""Kanuns"" (, canonical legislation) was dependent on Suleiman's will alone, covering areas such as criminal law, land tenure and taxation. He collected all the judgments that had been issued by the nine Ottoman Sultans who preceded him. After eliminating duplications and choosing between contradictory statements, he issued a single legal code, all the while being careful not to violate"
"not of Suleiman alone, but also of the many talented figures who served him, such as grand viziers Ibrahim Pasha and Rüstem Pasha, the Grand Mufti Ebussuud Efendi, who played a major role in legal reform, and chancellor and chronicler Celalzade Mustafa, who played a major role in bureaucratic expansion and in constructing Suleiman's legacy. Printed sources On-line sources Suleiman the Magnificent </nowiki> Suleiman I ( '; or '; 6 November 1494 – 6 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Kanunî Sultan Süleyman (; ""The Lawgiver Suleiman"") in his realm, was the tenth and"
"the time of Süleyman I, known throughout the world as ""The Magnificent"", even among other significant leaders such as Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor—ruling Spain, Germany and parts of Italy), Henry VIII (the Tudor king of England), and Francis I (Valois King of France). Süleyman, in his own land known as ""Kanuni"", the Legislator, reigned between 1520 and 1566, and was succeeded by his son Selim II, for whom Mimar Sinan built the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, considered to be Turkey's most beautiful mosque. Most importantly, it was the era of Murat III (1546–1595) where the Ottoman Empire reached its"
"Osman I Osman I or Osman Gazi (; ; died 1323/4), sometimes transliterated archaically as Othman, was the leader of the Ottoman Turks and the founder of the Ottoman dynasty. He and the dynasty bearing his name later established and ruled the nascent Ottoman Empire (then known as the Ottoman Beylik or Emirate). The state, while only a small principality during Osman's lifetime, transformed into a world empire in the centuries after his death. It existed until shortly after the end of World War I. Historians commonly mark the end date at the abolition of the sultanate in 1922, the"
"the Magnificent in loving memory of his father. Sultan Selim I who died at the age of 50 conquered and unified the Islamic holy lands. Protecting the lands in Europe, he gave priority to the East as he believed the real danger came from there. By most accounts, Selim had a fiery temper and had very high expectations of those below him. Several of his viziers were executed for various reasons. A famous anecdote relates how another vizier playfully asked the Sultan for some preliminary notice of his doom so that he might have time to put his affairs in"
"and unequaled in the Islamic world for its size and duration. The Ottoman sultan, pâdişâh or ""lord of kings"", served as the empire's sole regent and was considered to be the embodiment of its government, though he did not always exercise complete control. The Ottoman family was originally Turkish in its ethnicity, as were its subjects; however the kingship quickly acquired many different ethnicities through intermarriage with slaves and European nobility. Throughout Ottoman history, however — despite the supreme ""de jure"" authority of the sultans and the occasional exercise of ""de facto"" authority by Grand Viziers — there were many"
"Ertuğrul Osman Ertuğrul Osman (), also known as Osman Ertuğrul Osmanoğlu with a surname as required by the Turkish Republic (18 August 1912 – 23 September 2009), was an Imperial Prince (or Şehzade) of the Ottoman Empire and the 43rd Head of the Imperial House of Osman from 1994 until his death. Had the Ottoman Empire not been dissolved and succeeded by the Republic of Turkey, he would have become caliph and Sultan Osman V. He was also known as Sultan Ertuğrul II in reference to Ertuğrul, the father of Osman I. Until the abolition of the monarchy on 1"
"""hadım"", ""eunuch"", in their subsequent careers), and several are considered as among the greatest Ottoman statesmen of the period. The post reached its height in the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (1520–1566), when its holders became the steward of the charitable foundations and endowments (""vakifs"") designated for the upkeep of the two holy cities (""Haramayn"") of Islam, Mecca and Medina, and of over seventy large mosques. During this time, the holders of the office engaged in open rivalry with the Grand Viziers for control over state affairs. Soon after, however, through the influence of the women of the Imperial Harem,"
"ash-Sharifayn"" in Arabic, from Barakat Effendi Grand Sharif of Mecca when conquering Hijaz and with it the Muslim Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. Selim I full style was: ""Sovereign of the House of Osman, Khan of Khans of the Two Lands and the Two Seas, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe, Custodian of the Two Noble Sanctuaries, Emperor of the Three Cities of Constantinople, Adrianople and Bursa, Conqueror of the two Armies"" (i.e. the European and Persian armies). In Europe, all Ottoman Emperors were commonly referred to by the title"
"superiority over the Ottoman ruler. Its provisions were honoured by Süleyman as well as by Mehmed I, the victor of the Ottoman succession struggle, but collapsed after Mehmed's death in 1421. On 26 July 1402, in the Battle of Ankara, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I was defeated and captured by Timur. This momentous event overturned the balance of power in the region, as the Ottoman domains in Anatolia were divided by Timur, who restored many of the Anatolian beyliks previously absorbed by Bayezid. Timur did not interfere with the Balkans, where the Ottoman conquest was also far advanced: before Ankara,"
"Mehmed IV Mehmed IV (Ottoman Turkish: محمد رابع ""Meḥmed-i rābiʿ""; Modern Turkish: ""IV. Mehmet""; also known as ""Avcı Mehmet"", Mehmed the Hunter; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of six after his father was overthrown in a coup. Mehmed went on to become the second longest reigning sultan in Ottoman history after Suleiman the Magnificent. While the first and last years of his reign were characterized by military defeat and political instability, during his middle years he oversaw the revival"
"“code of regulations” or “state law”, a well-defined secular distinction to “Muslim law” known as the s̲h̲arīʿa. The ḳānūn took on significant importance during the period of modernization in the Ottoman Empire. The ḳānūn and s̲h̲arīʿa did not contradict each other concerning administrative matters, and therefore the ḳānūn was assimilated easily into Ottoman regulatory functions. The ḳānūn promulgated by Ottoman sultans also came to be used for financial and penal law. Under Sultan Mehmed II (1451-1481) the ḳānūn continued to be strictly applied for these practices. However due to the influence of Abu ʾl-Suʿūd, grand muftī of Istanbul from 1545"
"over the ancient trade routes between East Asia and Western Europe. Despite the increasingly prominent European presence, the Ottoman Empire's trade with the east continued to flourish until the second half of the 18th century. The Ottoman Empire's power and prestige peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, who personally instituted major legislative changes relating to society, education, taxation and criminal law. The empire was often at odds with the Holy Roman Empire in its steady advance towards Central Europe through the Balkans and the southern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At"
"Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ""Mahmud-u s̠ānī"", ""Mahmud-u Âdlî""; ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms he instituted, which culminated in the Decree of Tanzimat (""reorganization"") that was carried out by his sons Abdulmejid I and Abdülaziz. Often described as ""Peter the Great of Turkey"", Mahmud's reforms included the 1826 abolition of the conservative Janissary corps, which removed a major obstacle to his and his successors' reforms in the Empire. The reforms"
"at one end. The bathhouse was connected to the palace with a walkway. South to the main courtyard, ""Matbah-ı Amire"" (literally: Imperial kitchen) was situated. It is a long-stretched rectangular-plan building under eight domes. The building's north facade disappeared to a large extent. The building is restored today.</tan1""/> Erected in 1561 by Suleiman the Magnificent, who is called in Turkey as Suleiman the Lawmaker, the ""Kasr-ı Adalet"" (literally: Justice Pavilion) is the only structure as part of the palace complex, which remained intact. In the form of a rectangular tower with a pointed metal roof, it is situated next to"
"Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II (; Modern ; 30 March 1432 – 3 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (), was an Ottoman Sultan who ruled first for a short time from August 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to May 1481. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire. Mehmed continued his conquests in Anatolia with its reunification and in Southeast Europe as far west as Bosnia. Mehmed is considered a hero in modern-day Turkey and parts of the wider Muslim world. Among other"
"""La Grande Aquila è morta!"" ('The Great Eagle is dead!') After the Conquest of Constantinople, Mehmed founded many mosques and religious schools in the city, such as the ""külliye"" of the Fatih Mosque. Mehmed II is recognized as the first Sultan to codify criminal and constitutional law, long before Suleiman the Magnificent; he thus established the classical image of the autocratic Ottoman sultan. Mehmed's thirty-one year rule and numerous wars expanded the Ottoman Empire to include Constantinople, the Turkish kingdoms and territories of Asia Minor, Bosnia, the Kingdom of Serbia, and Albania. Mehmed left behind an imposing reputation in both"
"Grand vizier In the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier () () was the ""prime minister"" of any soverign state in the pre-modern Greater Middle East. The office of Grand Vizier was first held by officials in the Abbasid Dynasty, later the Ottoman Empire even in the Mughal Empire. The Grand Vizier Viewer is authorized with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissible only by the sultan himself. Sometimes the Grand Vizier held the imperial seal and could convene all other viziers to attend to affairs of the state; the viziers in conference were called """"Kubbealtı"" viziers"" in reference to"
"the Magnificent, whose architects designed a large entrance, behind which stood a cannon emplacement. For 400 years, the citadel served as a garrison for Turkish troops. The Ottomans also installed a mosque near the southwest corner of the citadel commonly known as the Mehrab e Qala'a e Daood (Prayer niche of Tower of David), erecting a minaret during the years 1635-1655. In the 19th century the conspicuous minaret, which still stands today, took over the title of ""Tower of David"", so that the name can now refer to either the whole Citadel or the minaret alone. During World War I,"
"Taner Ölmez. Osman II Osman II ( ""‘Osmān-i sānī""; 3 November 1604 – 20 May 1622), commonly known in Turkey as Genç Osman (""Osman the Young"" in English), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1618 until his death by regicide on 20 May 1622. Osman II was born at Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, the son of Sultan Ahmed I (1603–17) and his first wife Mahfiruz Hatun. According to later traditions, at a young age, his mother had paid a great deal of attention to Osman's education, as a result of which Osman II became a known poet and would"
"the Golden Horn, in Istanbul where he worked with other Ottoman reformers such as the Franco-Hungarian military engineer and aristocrat François Baron de Tott. Gelenbevi received an award from the Emperor Sultan Selim III for his very accurate ballistic computations. Gelenbevi Ismail published some thirty five scientific articles including a treatise on the game of chess, written in Turkish and Arabic. He is credited with the introduction of logarithms in Turkey. The late Orttoman era Cabinet Minister Mehmet Cemaleddin Efendi (1848–1917) (Turkish: Mehmet Cemâlüddin Efendi), senior judge of the Ottoman Empire and Şeyhülislam or Cabinet Minister in charge of religious"
"Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (; , ', literally ""The Exalted Ottoman State""; Modern Turkish: ' or '), also historically known in Western Europe as the Turkish Empire or simply Turkey, was a state that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt (modern-day Bilecik Province) by the Oghuz Turkish tribal leader Osman I. After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans, the Ottoman beylik was transformed"
"power to overrule these, and suggested kadı candidates to the Grand Vizier. Kazasker A kazasker or kadıasker (, ""ḳāḍī'asker"", ""military judge"") was a chief judge in the Ottoman Empire, so named originally because his jurisdiction extended to the cases of soldiers, who were later tried only by their own officers. Two kazaskers were appointed, called ""Rumeli Kazaskeri"" and ""Anadolu Kazaskeri"", having their jurisdiction respectively over the European and the Asiatic part of the Empire. They were subordinated to the Grand Vizier, later Şeyhülislam, and had no jurisdiction over the city of Constantinople. Moreover, they attended the meetings at the Imperial"
"Republic of Turkey. Gül Baba Gül Baba (died 1541), also known as Jafer, was an Ottoman Bektashi dervish poet and companion of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who took part in a number of campaigns in Europe from the reign of Mehmed II onwards. A native of Merzifon (""Marsiwān"", in the vilāyet of Sivas, Anatolia), he was the son of Kutb’ül Arifin Veli’üddin İbn Yalınkılıç. In Hungary, Gül Baba is known as the ""Father of Roses,"" a literal translation of the meaning of his names in Turkish; he is said to have introduced the flower to the country. However, this is"
"Orhan I (1284–1359), the second ruler of the Ottoman Empire and it evolved until it reached the classical form in the tughra of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566). Tughras served a purpose similar to the cartouche in ancient Egypt or the Royal Cypher of British monarchs. Every Ottoman sultan had his own individual tughra. The tughra has a characteristic form, two loops on the left side, three vertical lines in the middle, stacked writing on the bottom and two extensions to the right. Each of these elements has a specific meaning, and together they make up the form that is"
"family. He was married to Zeynep until his death at 97 years of age. Ertuğrul Osman Ertuğrul Osman (), also known as Osman Ertuğrul Osmanoğlu with a surname as required by the Turkish Republic (18 August 1912 – 23 September 2009), was an Imperial Prince (or Şehzade) of the Ottoman Empire and the 43rd Head of the Imperial House of Osman from 1994 until his death. Had the Ottoman Empire not been dissolved and succeeded by the Republic of Turkey, he would have become caliph and Sultan Osman V. He was also known as Sultan Ertuğrul II in reference to"
"Ertuğrul Ertugrul (, , Erṭoġrıl; often with the title ""Gazi"") (died c. 1280) was the father of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. While his historicity is proven by coins minted by Osman I which identify Ertuğrul as the name of his father, nothing else is known for certain about his life or activities. According to Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, leader of the Kayı tribe of Oghuz Turks, who fled from eastern Iran to Anatolia to escape the Mongol conquests. According to this legend, after the death of his father, Ertuğrul and his"
"who had followed the traditional way of education. Other authors at that time called the Ottoman law scholars ""Hanafi of Rūm [i.e., the Ottoman Empire]"" ""(Rūmi ḫānāfi)"", ""Scholars of Rūm"" ""(ʿulamā'-ı rūm)"" or ""Scholars of the Ottoman Empire"" ""(ʿulamā' al-dawla al-ʿUthmaniyyā)"". The Shaykh al-Islām ""()"" in Istanbul became the highest-ranking Islamic scholar within, and head of the ulama throughout the empire. The ulama in the Ottoman Empire had a significant influence over politics because it was believed that secular institutions were all subordinate to Islamic law, the Sharia ""()"". The ulama were responsible for interpreting the religious law, therefore they"
"Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520–66), although it may have existed for far longer than that as a junior post attached to the government. As its name attests—""reis ül-küttab"" means as much as ""head scribe"" or ""head clerk""—the post was in charge of the clerks of the Imperial Council (""divan-ı hümayun""), which formed the government of the Ottoman Empire. Prior to Suleyman's reign, the functions of the office were shared by the ""emin-i akham"" (""depository of the decisions"") and the ""nişancı"" (""chancellor""). Analogues existed however in other eastern Islamic states, as well as in Ottoman provinces, where a ""divan efendi"" presided"
"Bayezid I Bayezid I (; (nicknamed Yıldırım (Ottoman Turkish: یلدیرم), ""Lightning, Thunderbolt""); 1360 – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Gülçiçek Hatun. He built one of the largest armies in the known world at the time and unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople. He adopted the title of Sultan-i Rûm, Rûm being an old Islamic name for the Roman Empire. He decisively defeated the Crusaders at Nicopolis (in modern Bulgaria) in 1396, and was himself defeated and captured by Timur at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 and died in"
"Kazasker A kazasker or kadıasker (, ""ḳāḍī'asker"", ""military judge"") was a chief judge in the Ottoman Empire, so named originally because his jurisdiction extended to the cases of soldiers, who were later tried only by their own officers. Two kazaskers were appointed, called ""Rumeli Kazaskeri"" and ""Anadolu Kazaskeri"", having their jurisdiction respectively over the European and the Asiatic part of the Empire. They were subordinated to the Grand Vizier, later Şeyhülislam, and had no jurisdiction over the city of Constantinople. Moreover, they attended the meetings at the Imperial Council. A Kazasker handled appeals to the decisions of kadı's, had the"
"Lütfi Pasha Lütfi Pasha (, ""Luṭfī Paşa""; Modern Turkish: ""Lütfi Paşa"", more fully ""Damat Çelebi Lütfi Paşa""; 1488 – 27 March 1564, Didymoteicho) was an Ottoman statesman and grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent from 1539 to 1541. Lütfi was an Albanian from Vlora. As a devshirme youth, he entered Bayazid II's ""harem-i hass"", where he received a thorough education in the Islamic sciences. His first appointment to service outside the palace was as sanjakbey of Kastamuni, and he subsequently became beylerbey of Karaman. Lütfi Pasha himself gave these details of his life in the introduction"
"Selim I Selim I (Ottoman Turkish: سليم اول, Modern Turkish: ""Birinci Selim""; 1470/1 – September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. 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, Tihamah, and Egypt itself. On the eve of his death in 1520, the Ottoman Empire spanned about , having grown by seventy percent during Selim's reign. Selim's conquest of the Middle"