Sultan of sultans, conqueror on three continents, Süleyman-I shook the world of the 16th century. He was both a brilliant military strategist and an acclaimed legislator. His imposing monogram, or tugra, above, endorsed the many edicts issued during his 46-year reign.

Süleyman, Commander of the Faithful, Shadow of God on Earth, Lord of the Lords of the World, East and West...Feared and admired by the West as the Magnificent, revered by his people as Kanuni, the Lawgiver, Süleyman brought the Ottoman Empire to the pinnacle of its power, ruling from the city "most apt to command the world"-Istanbul, the famed Constantinople founded by centuries before at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.

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