Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent)
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1520-1566 AD
Silver Akche, 11 x 12 mm.
Inscription and star both sides.
Uskub Mint.
Dated 926 AH = 1520 AD, but these coins were struck throughout Suleiman's reign
with this inaugural date but no actual date.
Gold Sultani, 20.5 mm.
Inscription both sides.
Constantinople Mint.
Dated 926 AH = 1520 AD, but these coins were struck throughout Suleiman's reign
with this inaugural date but no actual date.
Copper Mánghir, 14 x 14.5 mm.
Inscription / Geometric design.
Constantinople Mint, dated 972 AH = 1564/5 AD.
Ottoman sultan from 1520 to 1566, he brought the empire to its height of
power and grandeur, and its arts flourished. Suleiman succeeded his
father, Selim I, who left a throne with unprecedented wealth and power,
enabling Suleiman to consolidate and expand his holdings. He emphasized fair
systems of justice and taxation and a balanced budget, and was a preeminent
patron of the arts. He reformed the Ottoman legal system (he was also
known as the Lawgiver). Suleiman concentrated most, however, on
military campaigns, conquering Hungary and Mesopotamia (Iraq).
In his later years Suleiman withdrew from government participation, and his
three sons contested bitterly for the succession. The weakest of these, Selim
II (sultan 1566-74), succeeded, and the long Ottoman decline began.