Suleiman the Magnificent was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ruling from 1520 to 1566. Suleiman became the pre-eminent monarch of 16th century Europe, presiding over the apogee of the Ottoman Empire's military, political and economic power. Suleiman personally led Ottoman armies to conquer the Christian strongholds of Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary before his conquests were checked at the Siege of Vienna in 1529. He annexed most of the Middle East in his conflict with the Persians and large swathes of North Africa as far west as Algeria. Under his rule, the Ottoman fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. At the helm of an expanding empire, Suleiman personally instituted legislative changes relating to society, education, taxation and criminal law. His canonical law fixed the form of the empire for centuries after his death. Not only was Suleiman a distinguished poet and goldsmith in his own right; he also became a great patron of culture, overseeing the golden age of the Ottoman Empire's artistic, literary and architectural development. In a break with Ottoman tradition, Suleiman married a harem girl who became Hurrem Sultan, whose intrigues in the court and power over the Sultan have become as famous as Suleiman himself. Their son, Selim II, succeeded Suleiman following his death in 1566 after 46 years of rule.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
217: Roman Emperor Caracalla (bust pictured) was assassinated at a roadside near Harran. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracalla)
1093: Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire, one of the largest cathedrals in England, was dedicated by Bishop Walkelin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Cathedral)
1341: Italian scholar and poet Petrarch took the title poet laureate at a ceremony in Rome. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch)
1886: British Prime Minister William Gladstone introduced the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Government_Bill_1886)
1904: France and the United Kingdom signed the entente cordiale, agreeing to a peaceful coexistence after centuries of intermittent conflict. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/entente_cordiale)
1904: British occultist, writer Aleister Crowley began transcribing The Book of the Law, a Holy Book in Thelema. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_Law)
1929: Indian independence movement: Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh with the help of Batukeshwar Dutt bombed the Central Assembly in Delhi. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagat_Singh)
_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:
prorogue: To suspend a parliamentary session or to discontinue the meetings of a parliament without formally ending the session. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prorogue)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
Look, look, look to the rainbow Follow it over the hill and stream Look, look, look to the rainbow Follow the fellow who follows a dream. -- Yip Harburg (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yip_Harburg)