A full life and times biography of Süleyman, the longest reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Süleyman, who ruled the Ottoman Empire between 1520 and 1566, was a globally recognized figure during his lifetime. His domain extended from Hungary to Iran, and from the Crimea to North Africa and the Indian Ocean. The wealth of his treasury, the strength of his armies, and his personality were much discussed by historians, poets, courtiers, diplomats and publics across Eurasia.
Süleyman was engaged in bitter rivalries with the Catholic Habsburgs in Europe and the Shiite Safavids in the Middle East. He presided over a multilingual and multireligious empire that promised peace and prosperity to its subjects. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire became a truly global power. Imperial governance expanded considerably, and the law was emphasized as the main bond between the ruler and the ruled. Süleyman's prolific poetic output, his frequent appearances during public ceremonies, his charity, and his patronage of arts and architecture enhanced his reputation as a universal ruler with a well-rounded character. 
Behind the public façade of might and glory, Süleyman led a complicated life. He grew up with an overbearing father whose legacy was both an advantage and a burden. Defying established practice, he married a concubine named Hürrem whose love and affection became a true refuge. Towards the end of his life, he had to overcome both debilitating sickness and the agitations of his sons to remain on the throne. 
Nearly half a millennium after his death, the life of Süleyman has been obscured by romanticized and exoticized narratives. Based on original sources in multiple languages, Peerless among Princes narrates Süleyman's achievements as well as his failures. What emerges is a compelling account of a ruler, his family, his close associates, and the Ottoman imperial project itself during the transformational sixteenth century.

Reviews

"Süleyman I has long been considered the epitome of Ottoman sultans, but the man behind the official persona remains elusive. Kaya Şahin is already author of standout studies of this reign and in this new work skillfully mines contemporary sources to reveal the joys and tribulations of a life increasingly shaped by the anxieties associated with the impending Islamic millennium. From his difficult youth to sickly old age, Süleyman's life story is here reappraised in a dynamic and intimate narrative that will have wide appeal." -- Caroline Finkel, author of Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire

"One of history's most fascinating leaders, known in Europe as 'the Great Turk,' comes vividly alive in this captivating book. Combining deep research with a light writing style, it tells not just the story of a sultan but of an epoch. Learning about Süleyman's multi-talented wife, who rose from slavery to become arguably the most powerful woman in the world, is an added bonus." -- Stephen Kinzer, author of Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds

"This volume will serve as the standard English account of Süleyman's reign and the model for how to write a biography of a sultan." -- Choice

"Kaya Şahin's Peerless among Princes: The Life andTimes of Sultan Süleyman provides us with an in-depth investigation of the Ottoman sovereign's life based on thorough research of a wide array of primary sources and comprehensive reading of studies in multiple languages. This ambitious undertaking has produced a cohesive study on one of the most noteworthy sovereigns not only of the Ottoman Empire but of the early modern world, which has been particularly needed in the Anglophone world." -- Emire Cihan Yüksel, American Historical Review

"Peerless among Princes is a significant achievement. Taken together with Leslie Peirce's account of Süleyman's wife Hürrem Sultan in Empress of the Orient (2017) and Erdem Çıpa's The Making of Selim (2017), a study of Selim I's career and of sixteenth-century Ottoman historiographical presentation of it, Şahin's volume creates a solid foundation for study of the sultanate in this era. The book is well written, in an easy yet authoritative style, and will appeal to Ottomanists, students and general readers alike. Nicely produced and reasonably priced, it is illustrated with 16 colour plates (all but one taken from sixteenth-century Shahname-type manuscripts), 15 black and white figures, and 11 small but clear maps. It should immediately become the standard introduction to Süleyman's reign, if not to sixteenth-century Ottoman history as a whole." -- Christine Woodhead, Turcica 56

"Şahin's biography gives a compelling narrative that succeeds in standing clear of romanticizing Süleymān. Instead, the reader is offered an empathic portrait of a man of both virtues and vices, ambitions and anxieties. The greatest strengths of the book lie in the wealth of contemporary sources–including historical and diplomatic, epistolary and epigraphic, administrative and visual evidence, as well as extracts from the sultan's own poetry - and in the panoramic exposition of Süleymān's ageand entourage." -- András Kraft, The Byzantine Review

Purchasing information