Sultan Suleiman: The Last Son of the House of Othman

                                                        Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

 Suleiman the magnificent, great-grandson of the Mehmet the Conqueror, inherited the Ottoman throne after the death of his father. After consolidating his power, Suleiman immediately started to organize his next military campaign to mark and legitimize his succession to the throne.

While organizing his next conquest, he approved the construction of the Suleymaniye Mosque, which will be one of the most magnificent landmarks of Istanbul until today.

There is little known fact about Suleiman's accession to the throne that it did not have a mournful line of children and baby coffins coming out of Palace Harem which was a normal part of every accession.

Ottoman tradition required that Sultan was obliged to kill all his male siblings to prevent a future civil war. Court assassins would also go the every corner of the empire to execute the older brothers, however; Suleiman did not have to deal with such a tragedy unlike his father Selim. Before transfer of the throne to his smartest son, Selim already killed 6 of his own sons to leave Suleiman as the sole successor.

Suleiman was the de facto emperor of the great Ottoman Dynasty without any viable opposition.



Aerial View of the Suleymaniye Mosque

Suleiman's reign will coincide with the Hapsburgs, Tudors in England, Ivan the Terrible in Muscovy,  Shah Ismail of Iran ;and in India, The mogul emperor Akbar. Suleiman will soon claim the title of Caesar by controlling Mediterranean sea and expanded the Empire beyond the existing border.

It seems that Selim's faith in Suleiman was well-founded despite the tragedy that surrounded it.  

Lachin Hatemi is a physician located in Buffalo, New York. His interests include human rights, racial equality and interfaith dialogue. You can reach Dr. Hatemi at Lachinhatemi@gmail.com.