Suleiman the Magnificent Timeline

Suleiman encircled Belgrade on 28 August 1521 with 250,000 Turkish soldiers and over 100 ships. The city fell to him that year, marking an early triumph of his reign against the Christian powers of Central Europe.

Image source: Siege of Belgrade (1521)

In 1522, Suleiman captured Rhodes from the Knights Hospitaller, removing a major Christian naval power from the eastern Mediterranean early in his reign.

Image source: Siege of Rhodes (1522)

As relations between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire deteriorated, Suleiman resumed his campaign in Central Europe and on 29 August 1526 defeated Louis II of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács, breaking the strength of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Image source: Battle of Mohács

Reacting in 1529, Suleiman marched through the valley of the Danube and regained control of Buda; in the following autumn his forces laid siege to Vienna. With a reinforced garrison of 16,000 men, the Austrians inflicted the first defeat on Suleiman, sowing the seeds of a bitter Ottoman–Habsburg rivalry that lasted until the 20th century.

Image source: Siege of Vienna (1529)

His second attempt to conquer Vienna failed in 1532, as Ottoman forces were delayed by the siege of Güns and failed to reach Vienna.

Image source: Siege of Kőszeg

In 1533 the Treaty of Constantinople was signed by Ferdinand I, in which he acknowledged Ottoman suzerainty and recognised Suleiman as his 'father and suzerain'. He also agreed to pay an annual tribute and accepted the Ottoman grand vizier as his brother and equal in rank.

In 1541, the Habsburgs attempted to lay siege to Buda but were repulsed, and more Habsburg fortresses were captured by the Ottomans in two consecutive campaigns in 1541 and 1544. In 1542, after Ferdinand's repeated sieges of Buda and Pest, Suleiman went to Edirne on 17 November 1542 to prepare for a new campaign.

On 23 April 1543, Suleiman set out on another campaign against Hungary, continuing his efforts to secure Ottoman dominance in Central Europe.

Suleiman set out on his 13th expedition, the Siege of Szigetvár, on 1 May 1566, at the age of 72, after an absence of approximately 13 years from campaigning in Hungary.

Image source: Siege of Szigetvár

Payroll registers that survive testify to the breadth of Suleiman's patronage of the arts; the earliest documents, dating from 1526, list 40 societies with over 600 members.

In 1532, during the Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry, Suleiman wanted to show his superiority in every field, so he had a four-tiered crown made by Venetian merchants for 115,000 ducats through the Italian chief treasurer Alvise Gritti and with the encouragement of Makbul İbrahim Pasha.

The master architect of the classical period, Mimar Sinan, served as the chief court architect (mimarbaşi) from 1538 until his death in 1588, shaping the architectural legacy of Suleiman's era.

Image source: Mimar Sinan

The Şehzade Mosque complex, commissioned by Suleiman, was dedicated to Şehzade Mehmed, his son who died in 1543. The mosque complex was built between 1545 and 1548.

In 1550, through Mimar Sinan, Suleiman began construction for the Süleymaniye complex, a monumental religious and charitable complex dedicated to him. Construction finished in 1557.

Image source: Süleymaniye Mosque

From 1526 until 1543, Suleiman stationed over 900 Turkish soldiers to fight alongside the Somali Adal Sultanate led by Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi during the Conquest of Abyssinia.

In 1535, Charles V led a Holy League of 26,700 soldiers against Ottoman positions in the Mediterranean, part of the ongoing struggle between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs for control of the sea.

Aden in Yemen was captured by the Ottomans in 1538, providing an Ottoman base for raids against Portuguese possessions on the western coast of the Mughal Empire. Ottoman ships had been sailing in the Indian Ocean since 1518.

Sailing on, the Ottomans failed against the Portuguese at the siege of Diu in September 1538, but then returned to Aden, where they fortified the city with 100 pieces of artillery.

Image source: Siege of Diu (1538)

In 1541, the Spaniards led an unsuccessful expedition to Algiers, a key Ottoman stronghold in North Africa.

Image source: Battle of Algiers (1541)

In 1542, facing a common Habsburg enemy during the Italian Wars, Francis I sought to renew the Franco-Ottoman alliance. In early 1542, Polin successfully negotiated details: the Ottomans promised 60,000 troops against Ferdinand's territories and 150 galleys against Charles, while France promised to attack Flanders, harass Spanish coasts, and send 40 galleys for operations in the Levant.

Image source: Franco-Ottoman alliance

In August 1551, Ottoman naval commander Turgut Reis attacked and captured Tripoli, which had been a possession of the Knights of Malta since 1530. In 1553, Turgut Reis was nominated commander of Tripoli by Suleiman, making the city an important center for piratical raids and the capital of the Ottoman province of Tripolitania.

Image source: Dragut

In 1560, a powerful naval force was sent to recapture Tripoli, but that force was defeated in the Battle of Djerba, securing Ottoman dominance in the central Mediterranean.

Image source: Battle of Djerba

In 1564, Suleiman received an embassy from Aceh, a sultanate on Sumatra in modern Indonesia, requesting Ottoman support against the Portuguese, reflecting the empire's far-reaching diplomatic ties across the Indian Ocean world.

Image source: Ottoman expeditions to Aceh

When the Knights Hospitallers were re-established as the Knights of Malta in 1530, their actions against Muslim navies drew the ire of the Ottomans. The Ottomans invaded Malta in 1565, undertaking the Great Siege of Malta, which began on 18 May and lasted until 8 September, and is portrayed vividly in the frescoes of Matteo Perez d'Aleccio.

Image source: Great Siege of Malta

In 1533, Suleiman ordered Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha to lead an army into eastern Asia Minor where he retook Bitlis and occupied Tabriz without resistance. Suleiman joined Ibrahim in 1534.

In 1535 Suleiman made a grand entrance into Baghdad, consolidating Ottoman control over Mesopotamia following his campaign against the Safavid Shah.

Attempting to defeat the Shah once and for all, Suleiman embarked upon a second campaign against Persia in 1548–1549.

In 1553, Suleiman began his third and final campaign against the Safavid Shah, culminating two years later in a peace settlement.

In 1555, a settlement known as the Peace of Amasya was signed between the Ottomans and the Safavids, defining the borders of the two empires after decades of conflict.

Image source: Peace of Amasya