Conquerors Suleiman the Magnificent

consider this before viewing Suleiman the Magnificent what do you know about the Ottoman Empire which spread out around the Mediterranean Sea have you ever heard of the sultan Suleiman as you watch the documentary pay attention to the impact that Suleiman interest in art and poetry had on his legacy and the legacy of the Ottoman Empire itself assignment discovery now presents Suleiman the Magnificent in 1553 in what is now Turkey a king is fighting two battles one against another army the other against his conscience the outcome of the second battle will prove more decisive for the conscience belongs not to a mere king but to the great ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent his magnificent Empire spans three continents but Suleiman worries for his realm the trouble lies not across the battlefield but within his own household Prince Mustafa is the brightest of Suleiman sons and the favorite of the army most men expect he'll be the next Sultan when his father dies as does Mustafa himself some whisper that Suleiman has grown too old for his throne some whisper that young Prince Mustafa is plotting to take it Suleiman has summoned his son to join him Moustafa has heard the rumors too and wrestled with his own conscience whether to avoid his father and confirm his doubts or obey him and risk his life the army awaits the outcome of the meeting a family reunion or stab in the back thirty years earlier it was Europe that held its breath at Suleiman's accession in 1520 celeb the Terrible died leaving behind only one heir an unknown quantity by the name of Suleiman the father rained for just eight bloody years he slaughtered so many subjects that they called their sultan selim the Grimm he slaughtered so many in war his enemies thought him the devil incarnate fear and curiosity brought tribute from all nations to topkapi palace for the sons coronation from Egypt Persia India and Europe ambassadors came to pay their respects to the new ruler and to size him up from what they see the Sun seems nothing like the father selim secured his throne by killing every male relative his temper was so quick and so cruel that a common curse was may you be an advisor to celeb but under Suleiman fear no longer stalked the palace instead he surrounded himself with poets painters and musicians celebs favorite hobby was war Suleiman preoccupied himself with fashion he measured his conquests in linen and silk selim bellowed angry threats at his enemies across his borders east and west and remorselessly carried them out Suleiman seemed a man of peace all men agree an ambassador wrote that a gentle lamb has succeeded a fierce lion or Suleiman is young without experience altogether given to quiet repose named after Solomon the wise King revered by Christian Jew and Muslim alike young Suleiman began his reign by trying to live up to his name safe he emptied his father's prisons fired corrupt bureaucrats and rewarded the royal bodyguard for its loyalty under Sulaimon it seems life will be fair and peaceful and dull then he issues a bold Proclamation believing the devil you know is better than the one you do not he demanded that each and every subject of his vast and ancient lands declare his loyalty those who were slow to respond were declared his enemies my sublime commandment decreed Suleiman as inescapable as fate is that rich and poor town and country subjects and tribute payers everyone must hasten to obey those who delay must suffer the ultimate punishment it had the intended effect within three months a rebellion broke out within the army Suleiman had the rebels executed killing three with his own hands the lamb had become a lion soon after the governor of Syria broke from the Empire Suleiman ordered the ringleaders beheaded the young Sultan had seemed had paid closer attention to the brutal lessons learned by his forebearers than anyone thought sultan Suleiman proved himself ambitious and ruthless even vain but he was not too proud to take advice Suleiman placed more trust in his advisers than any Sultan before him his closest was a foreigner and a Christian and his slave his childhood friend Ebru him from Solomon's pageboy Ibrahim rose to become an administrator diplomat general brother-in-law and ultimately his Grand Vizier or prime minister in Suleiman's name hebrew him installed himself in the governor's palace he enacted laws that brought peace he lowered taxes freed prisoners and to be safe executed the ringleaders back in Istanbul Suleiman exalted in the triumphs and loyalty of his beloved Ibrahim he heaped praise and even more power on his Grand Vizier next to the Sultan Ibrahim was the most important man in the Empire only one person was closer to Suleiman another slave in the comfort of his harem he regaled the young slave girl with stories of his old friend and their exploits rocks Alana acquired during one of the armies campaigns in Russia cast a spell on Suleiman he called her her room or smiling one the court called her a witch eventually rocks Alana would charm Suleiman into granting her freedom she would manage what even Suleiman's best friend could not to break the chains of the massive and honoured institution of slavery upon which the Sultan's power was founded according to Machiavelli who lived two empires away the Ottoman Empire was ruled by one man all others were his servants yet Suleiman couldn't rule the world's largest Empire alone even a sultan must delegate authority it was a paradox that would confound the world for centuries the vast majority of those who wielded power in the Sultan's name were slaves abducted young and steeped in reverence for the emperor they learned early that their opportunities for advancement far exceeded both those of Ottoman citizens and the people of their homelands the fighters among them formed the backbone of Europe's first standing army and the Empire's greatest weapon the fabled Janissaries on every Christian household within the Empire's borders the Sultan levied a human tax the payment one of their sons brought to topkapi as the Sultan's personal property these Christian boys learned to be soldiers for Allah while Nobles fit or unfit ran the European armies the Janissaries won promotion through merit a slave might become a general a position he could only dream off in his native land the result the strongest and most loyal fighting force in the world they were so devoted to the Sultan that it was said 10,000 could be led by a thread and a thread by which Suleiman led them seemed a charmed one the time has come to take the army back on the path of war and he will give them more victories than any other Sultan Suleyman promises his Janissaries even more of Europe the key to Suleiman strategy cannons deployed by the hundreds copper and tin are fused to produce a bronze strong enough to withstand the burst of gunpowder day and night his foundries blaze turning out cannons on a scale never before seen for the first 20 years of his reign he had much to be thankful for Scalia by the 1540s Suleiman collected as many titles as he had kingdoms he was Sultan by the grace of God King of Kings all-powerful king of Persia King of Arabia king of Syria and of Egypt Prince of Mecca Master of Jerusalem and ruler of the universal see only a fraction of his subjects were Muslim the rest were Jewish Roman Catholic Greek Orthodox Protestant alone among Europe's monarchs Suleiman allowed his conquered subjects to keep their faiths with the wisdom of a Solomon and the political finesse of a Machiavelli the Sultan realized that to force a new religion on an old culture would be the surest route to rebellion he made his decision so long as he owned their loyalty they could keep their souls yet there was no code to rule such different people Suleiman needed laws that would please a Muslim God without offending any others he went even further he had laws written that neither offended the priests nor burdened the merchants this new code oiled the gears of trade and helped make his empire the richest in the world Suleiman's laws governed everything from commerce to wages down to the proper amount of fruit in a pastry in Istanbul's great market the world's largest a dishonest shopkeeper risked public flogging across Europe Suleiman knew Christians burned each other at the stake for worshipping the same God differently the irony did not escape him he was determined that his subjects whether Muslim Christian or Jew would be treated equally not surprisingly Turkish historians would remember him not as Suleiman the Magnificent but Suleiman the lawgiver like many Sultan's before him Suleiman wielded the pen as well as the sword but if law giving was his genius poetry was his passion he proved a generous patron of literature and in his reign Ottoman poetry reached its peak Suleiman himself wrote more poems than any other Sultan including dozens to his wife rocks Alanna who had already won his heart had come to rule his head she quickly learned that life in taupe copy was governed by Suleiman swims other wives had come and gone his devotion to her had never wavered but she would take no chances over the years she tried to swing the balance of power in her favour having risen from slave girl to royal wife rocks Alanna has now become Suleiman's most trusted advisor half the civilized world is now ruled by Suleiman the other half tries to buy him off but it isn't tribute that keeps Suleiman from conquering the rest of the world it is distance and weather by the 1540s he had pushed his borders to Central Europe North Africa and Persia he owned virtually all of the Mediterranean but he could go no farther his soldiers could fight only when the weather permitted refusing to winter his army so far from his capital Suleiman marched back each autumn to Istanbul he could conquer only as much land as he could cross before the leaves turned and no more the European frontier settled uneasily between Budapest and Vienna in the Ottoman Empire few Sultan's reigned more than 20 years by 1550 - Suleiman has held the throne for more than 30 years who will follow him his sons are impatient and nervous by tradition when the Sultan dies his offspring fight for the throne until a victor emerges Suleiman had sired five sons for Barak solana determined that one of hers should be the next Sultan she launches a campaign of rumours more than power is at stake if she fails she and her sons could lose their lives the most promising candidate is the eldest Prince Mustafa he is a popular governor and the favorite of the army intelligent and able he only has one shortfall the wrong mother rocks Alanna knows Mustafa wants the throne but - Suleiman she twists the facts and turns ambition into treason when rumors reach Mustafa he faces a crisis would his father's trust transcend rocks Ilana's slander the question will be decided in 1553 as suleiman prepares to go to war with Persia atop all the other lies about Mustafa he has now fed the biggest he is told that his son is plotting the Persians to overthrow him Suleiman summons the prince to join him on camp a Mustafa has made up his mind to stay away would be to admit guilt he will prove his loyalty with obedience as the army waits anxiously Mustafa walks into a trap we'll stop up words up a fight and the assassins fumble furious at the delay Suleiman tells his men to finish the job Suleyman displays his beloved son's corpse before the dismayed army and warns his soldiers that the same fate awaits anyone foolish enough to challenge him anyone gonna cause you got me a call car sir son of allah ejected yes it is the army mourn the loss of mustafa whom they called this son whose brightness would have increased the glory of the imperial house the killing did not stop there assassins took the life of Mustafa's young son as well then grief-stricken one of rock's Ilana's own sons committed suicide the house of Suleiman was bathed in blood the Eclipse of Suleiman's wisdom compelled one poet to ask of the Emperor is this tenderness to kill someone as dear to you as Mustafa you killed him deluded by a lying trick and where is the truth in that you have shed his blood is that the Justice of a caliph what's become of Mustafa why did you kill him my Sultan Sulaiman losing the battle with his conscience let the poet live more and more Suleiman became a recluse abandoning the trappings of court for the rituals of Islam as his religion dictated he washed each day before his daily prayers but the ritual cleansing x' could not rinse away his guilt to the end he remained blind to its cause the cruelest blow of all fell in 1558 the light of his life rocks Ilana died Suleiman old ailing and alone would find no peace in his last years only one son remained standing as the aging Sultan approached death one who was by all accounts a drunkard and an idiot Suleiman the Magnificent would be followed by Salim the sahte first of many fools and the worst Sultan in three centuries Suleiman the unparalleled Conqueror just law giver lavish patron of the Arts had become a vain and empty shell on the rare occasions he appeared in public he even took to wearing makeup his people still hailed him for his 12 great campaigns of conquest but he had not seen the battlefield for more than a decade when a 13th campaign would be thrust upon him for 40 years his great European prize Hungary had been ruled by a puppet of his own choosing but in 1564 the Austrians installed a new king and put Suleiman on notice they were taking Hungary back in retaliation the Janissaries would lay siege to the town of Siegen bar a 72 year old Suleiman resolved to lead them crippled with gout he painfully mounted his charger before his Janissaries but a 13th victory would evade him while the battle raged Suleiman fell mortally ill two days before his army took the stronghold he died his death was kept secret for 43 days his advisors forged his signature and issued orders awaiting the arrival of sillim Suleiman had already prepared his legacy in Istanbul he had commissioned the Empire's finest painters to record the milestones of his reign for 50 years he ruled the largest Empire of the day but what a harem girl ruled his heart he compelled respect from Christian Kings and evoked contempt from his own Islamic poets his legacy remains as brand and tragic as his life his artistic and legal gifts to the world live on in the end none would soar as high as Suleiman the Magnificent don't go away discussion topics activities and resources are coming up next now that you've seen Suleiman the Magnificent talk about this Sulaiman did not impose his faith on those he conquered and he gave them equal opportunity to prosper in his empire discuss whether or not you think this was a successful way to rule did it have any drawbacks now try this choose one year during the reign of Salima and research the events that took place during that year create a presentation using maps and other illustrations showing what was happening inside and outside of the Ottoman Empire log on to discovery.com/mythbusters Alima on the magnificent to learn more assignment discovery suggests Suleiman the Magnificent by Andre plot the preceding program is part of cable in the classroom a service of the cable television industry and your local cable company

Channel: Deadvibe 2

Views: 95,411

Rating: 4.7267952 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: DeMwXew4B-s

Length: 24min 49sec (1489 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 28 2015