Talking about the Ottoman Empire cannot go without the mention of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Who is this Sultan, and what was his contribution that he is able to be remembered to this moment? What were the aspects of his life that and how did this reflect in his poems? This longest-serving Sultan was born in 1494 and served as the Ottoman Empire’s tenth Osmanli Sultan. This empire received its world power status under his rule. In the analysis of his rule, Suleiman is ranked within the likes of the Holy Roman Empire’s Charles V, France’s Francis I, England’s Henry VIII and Poland’s Sigismund II.
Under his command, the army was able to conquer Belgrade, most parts of Hungary, Rhodes, Vienna, great parts of North Africa, and vast regions in the Middle East. Apart from that, under his rule, the Ottoman Empire had great naval dominance over the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. His impact was so great that the Empire experienced its impetus a whole century after his death. According to sources, most of the life and times of this great Sultan has been recounted within his poems. Most of his poems were based on his life and exploits. As a result, this paper will focus on the way his life was portrayed in his works.
One of the greatest events in the life of Sultan was his greatness through the increasing of the size of the Ottoman Empire. Ghazi is what Turks call leaders the likes of Suleiman. These are conquering leaders who, in person, led their armies into conquest ventures. According to Agazade (2003), under his commandership, Suleiman’s army made ten conquest campaigns in Europe and three others in Asia.
Most of these campaigns were marked by great success. This led to the doubling of the territory which he inherited from his father. In fact, Suleiman was probably the strongest ruler on earth by the time of his death, with his kingdom stretching all the way from Sudan to Crimea, and far West from Vienna to the Arab Peninsula. In Europe, his greatness was experienced in the capture of Belgrade, which was by then referred to as the “gateway to Europe,” he send fear within the Habsburg Dynasty by the engulfing of Hungary and Albania. With the strength of his fleet, he became the ruler of the ports in North Africa and several islands including Rhodes. Later, he had a good share of Persia after the abdication of the last Abbasid Shah getting control over the lands that are present day Iraq and Azerbaijan.
How does this greatness manifest itself within Suleiman the Magnificent’s poetry? Nothing comes out clearly within the poems by this writer as the consciousness of his greatness. Suleiman the poet was very much affected by his exploits that he never failed to mention them within his works. For example, in one of his poems he writes, “I am the Shah of Baghdad and Iraq, Caesar of all the lands of Rome, and the Sultan of Egypt.
I seized the Hungarian crown and gave it to the least of my slaves” (Muhibbi, as cited by Agazade 2003). This is a clear indication that he was outlining the areas he had conquered within his poems. He is mentioning the exploits he had made in his conquering ventures he made to spread the Ottoman Empire from Asia to Europe and parts of North Africa.
One person who made a great impact on the life of Sultan Suleyman the magnificent was Roxelana, his wife. Coming into the harem as a slave from Ukraine, she joined four other chief concubines and three hundred other minor concubines. Of the four chief concubines, one of them would be supposed to give birth to the Heir of the Empire. In the Courts, Roxelana was referred to as Khourrem meaning the “laughing one.” When she joined the harem, she came as a minor concubine but her charming character and story telling abilities consequently contributed to the elevation of her status from the low ranks to the King’s favorite.
As a result, she accompanied him to public occasions causing ire on the part of Gulf who was the Emperor’s senior consort. She was so influential to the King that she even made him take the consort and his sons to a faraway land. Later she influenced him to kill his Grand Vizier Ibrahim purporting that he was a traitor. All these were strategies by Roxelana to ensure that her son Selim ascended to power. He also went as far as killing his two sons under the same influence of Roxelana, but the most remarkable thing that she did that no other concubine had afforded to do was convincing the Sultan to marry her.
No other Sultan of the Ottoman Empire had ever married. The law in Islam allowed the Sultan to marry up to four wives and limitless concubines provided he could afford their upkeep. Suleiman the Magnificent became the first Sultan to marry (Istanbul Guide).
This extraordinary attachment and compassion to his wife was clearly brought out in his poems. Among his most famous poem are the love lyrics that he wrote for his wife Roxelana. His love for her was so great that he described her in a very flamboyant manner. This is one of the poems he writes in honor of his wife Roxelana:
Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight
My most sincere friend, my confidant, my very existence, my Sultan
The most beautiful among the beautiful…
My springtime, my merry faced love, my daytime, my sweetheart, laughing leaf
My plants, my sweet, my rose, the only one who does not distress me in this world
My Istanbul my Caraman, the earth of my Anatolia… (Muhibbi, cited by MEIC)
In addition, Suleyman the magnificent was so much in love with Roxelana to the extend that he could keep thinking about her every time he went out during his great conquering expeditions. This is evident in that Suleyman led his army in person in ten conquering expeditions in Europe and three in Asia. During these times, Roxelana could not come out of his mind. This is one of the poems he writes in honor of her during one of the expeditions:
Come, don’t let
The army of sorrow
crush the heart’s soldiers;
if it is my life you demand
just send those looks of yours
that should be enough.
The heart can no longer
reach the district where you live,
but it yearns for reunion with you:
(Translated by Talât Sait Halman)
The Ottoman Empire was a purely Moslem dominion (Agazade). Most of the Sultans ruled the people using the Sharia law. This was not an exception to Suleyman the magnificent. During his reign, he ensured that the Sharia laws were strictly followed. In addition, he included other secular laws that were referred to as the Kanun. In this Empire, Christians and other religions were given the freedom to worship their gods without any restrictions.
They were even given other posts within the government. In fact, all the grant viziers of Sultan Suleiman were Christians. To stress the importance of the Islam religion in this Empire, other religions could only practice their faiths if they paid a small tax. In addition, the Sharia judges, also referred to as the Ulamas were positions strictly for Moslems only because the country was ruled under the Moslem traditions. This earned the Empire the name “the lawgiver.”
This religious part of the Empire was greatly portrayed within the Suleiman the Magnificent’s poems. Although he viewed himself as a great conqueror, he never failed to recognize the greatness of God within his endeavors. In fact, he belittled himself in the eyes of God.
This is evident in the way he viewed himself in relation to God within his poetry. Among the titles he gave himself in relation to God and Islam religion were “…Slave of God, powerful with the power of God, deputy of God on earth, obeying the commands of the Qur’an and enforcing them throughout the world, …I am Süleyman and my name is read in all the prayers in all the cities of Islam” (Muhibbi, as cited by Agazade). These quotations show that although he regarded himself among the greatest, he knew that one thing overwhelmed his greatness. This was God. He submitted completely under him calling himself a slave to him. The following poem shows his devotion to Allah:
In the Name of Allah
I begin in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, and the Merciful
Secret or open, nothing hidden from You
Dear Lord! Heal my anguish-stricken heart
You’re the Wise One who knows a cure for all patience
Merciful Lord! Thanks to you
You made this slave of yours Moslem
Keep my faith till the last breath
Do not let damned Satan come near me
Dear Lord! For the sake of Mustafa, your Messenger
Grant us your bountiful paradise
Dear Lord! At the day of Judgement
Keep Muhibbi, the slave on your side.
(Translated by Talât Sait Halman)
In the Ottoman Empire, Christians and people of other religions were allowed to practice their faiths. They even accessed government positions. This privilege was not just for Christians and other religious people but also slaves. In the Empire, slaves were allowed to climb in ranks provided they showed capabilities (Agazade). This shows that Suleyman was one person who believed in love and coexistence. Furthermore, the Sultan moved through his kingdom and identified laws that were oppressing his subjects and removed them, replacing them with softer laws that could not subject his people to suffering. In short, he considered everyone important and gave them freedom to practice their daily life endeavors without hindrances. This part of his life was exhibited in the poem Here is Your Crown which had such lines like:
O Suleiman; here’s your crown:
To be generous and kind-hearted
Is the pageantry of the throne
If you want to see your subjects happy
Do not be arrogant, think that they may be
better than yourself.
We are all brothers; we must love each other…
(Translated by Talât Sait Halman)
Sigmund Freud’s theory of creativity which dictates that a person’s psychological package can highly influence his work could be truly experimented within the life of Suleyman the Magnificent. In the works mentioned above, he referred to himself with pride and greatness through his bragging poetic lines that showed his vast Empire that covered several parts of the world. He referred to himself as the great Sultan of Sultans, “master of all lands, the shadow of God over all nations, Sultan of Sultans in all the lands of Persians and Arabs, the propagator of Sultanic laws (Nashiru kawanin al-Sultaniyye), the tenth Sultan of the Ottoman Khans,” (Muhibbi, as cited by Agazade).
In later years, the life of Suleyman took a new turn. The psychological part of his mind did not fail to influence his writing string. In its manifestation, Suleyman changed his tone and themes. He wrote like a man who was not moved by the wealth of this earth. This could be attributed to his change of mind. As Agazade puts it, towards the end of his life, Suleyman was a broken man. This was attributed to his perceived betrayals of his two sons. As a result, he left the ruling of his state to his grand vizier and went to the Topkapi Palace where he isolated himself from the rest. This moment of life made him change his approach to life. It was evident when he wrote:
…The people think of wealth and power as the greatest fate,
but in this world a spell of health is the best state.
What men call sovereignty is a worldly strife and constant war;
Worship of God is the highest throne, the happiest of all estates…
These lines show a change of state concerning wealth and worldly glory and splendor. While he used to brag of these possessions, he eventually changed and put health and worship of God as the only worthy things in the world.
Works Cited
Agazade. “Suleiman I, Tenth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.” Everything 2. 2003. Web.
Halman, S. Talat. Poems by Suleyman the Magnificent under the pseudonym Muhibbi. Millenium. 2007. Web.
Istanbul Guide. “Roxelana a Woman With Power at the Ottoman Empire.” Private Tour Guide for Istanbul. 2002. Web.
Middle East Information Center. “The Ottomans: Suleiman the Magnificent.” 2005. Web.