Notes

Suleyman came to the throne in 1520 and
ruled for 46 years. Suleyman the Lawgiver got his name from his own people but in the West he was known as
Suleyman the Magnificent. This title was given to him as a tribute to the
splendor of his court and to his cultural achievements.
The Empire Reaches Its Limits Suleyman was a superb
military leader. He conquered the important European city
of Belgrade in 1521. The next year, Turkish forces captured
the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean and now domi-
nated the whole eastern Mediterranean.
Applying their immense naval power, the Ottomans cap-
tured Tripoli on the coast of North Africa. They continued
conquering peoples along the North African coastline.
Although the Ottomans occupied only the coastal cities of
North Africa, they managed to control trade routes to the inte-
rior of the continent.
In 1526, Suleyman advanced into Hungary and Austria,
throwing central Europe into a panic. Suleyman’s armies
then pushed to the outskirts of Vienna, Austria. Reigning
from Istanbul, Suleyman had waged war with central
Europeans, North Africans, and Central Asians. He had
become the most powerful monarch on earth. Only Charles
V, head of the Hapsburg Empire in Europe, came close to
rivaling his power.