The Greatest Contributions of Suleiman the Magnificent - Essay Example

AR Suleiman The Magnificent 11/16 Suleiman The Magnificent Suleiman of Ottoman was called by many s all over the world during his reign and all these names clearly showed how excellent he was as a ruler of the Ottoman Empire. People in the west used to refer him as Suleiman the Magnificent whereas in the east he was known as Suleiman the Lawmaker. It was during his time that the Ottoman legal system was established in terms of the norms of the Islamic Law and it was during his time that the Ottoman empire expanded all over the world. The three major contributions of Suleiman to the Ottoman Empire were regarding the laws he designed, the cultural reforms that he brought and the strength that he gave to the army of the Ottoman Empire (Merriman 1944). Suleiman was the son of Selim who did not enjoy a great time with the Ottoman empire during his reign. He started his time in the government by being a governor of the Adrianpole. He was known as Suleiman the Lawmaker because of the law reforms he gave to the Ottoman empire. It was during his time that laws in Ottoman empire were made according to the Shariah and the government had to follow the law known as ‘Kanun’. Shariah is the known form of Islamic Law which is still practiced all over the world in Islamic countries. This contribution by Suleiman was great in terms of the Ottoman empire as previously no codified Islamic law was to be seen in the empire. The laws were guided by religious scholars and heads who formed the law in accordance to the religious beliefs of Muslims. This can be said to be a great achievement by Suleiman as through these laws equality and administrative laws were practiced in the empire. Taxation and terms of land were involved in the laws by the Suleiman as they were previously not included properly in terms of law (McCarthy 1997). The final jurisdiction however lied in the hands of the Sultan himself who was known to be just in every matter. The laws which he made were not only for the individuals but also applied to the officials of the government hence it also kept a check on the government officials. Suleiman was a religious leader but he somehow reduced the capital judgements during his era and made sure that the people of his empire paid the taxes properly (Merriman 1944). His laws can be said to be one of the greatest contributions to the empire as they were followed after many years even after his death. He gave a platform to the future leaders to form laws which were in accordance to equality and beliefs of the general population (Merriman 1944). He also played a great role in promoting culture in the Ottoman empire. It was during his time that many buildings, mosques and palaces were built. He gave a way to the cultural reforms to be formed so that the artists and painters could prosper in terms of wealth and abilities. He himself was a poet in his time who wrote poems in many languages. His contribution to culture was such that even after so many centuries the works of his era are still appreciated. His time is appreciated as a revolution in the Ottoman culture which after his death was seen to decline considerably. It can be said that this was the best time for culture in Ottoman empire because he recognized the talents of artists and made a place for them in the royal palace. It was during his time that many repairs were made to the historical monuments in the Ottoman empire which survive till date. Textiles, ceramics and forms of paintings were promoted during his era because he himself was an artist. It can be clearly said that he played a great role in contributing towards the cultural reforms of the Ottoman empire during his era because many of the artists in the Muslim empire are famous from his era only. He gave a position to the artists and painters who were previously ignored from the society. All these reforms together gave a way for the artists to come forward and play a role in the culture of the Ottoman empire (Merriman 1944; Suzan 2002). And lastly he played a great role in the expansion of the Ottoman empire to different parts of the world. It was during his time that the Ottoman empire expanded towards the West and Europe. He eradicated many Christian islands to form a great Muslim empire. Belgrade and Island of Rhodes were the first countries that he targeted in order to expand his empire. Rhodes was considered to be a very strong state in the times of Suleiman and he with his great army was able to capture it. Following the conquest of Rhodes he became famous in the West with his might and power of soldiers (Itzkowitz 1980). In his era he led almost thirteen campaigns in which he was able to conquer Hungary, Greece, Iraq, Austria and many North African ports. Suleiman believed that Europe was a threat to the religion of Islam and it was his duty to eradicate any threat to his beloved religion. It was during his times that Islam reached the European areas. It can be clearly seen that he made a great contribution to the Ottoman Empire by adding huge states like Hungary and Austria to the state of Ottoman empire (McCarthy 1997; 1944). All these three contributions in my view are the greatest to the Ottoman Empire added by Suleiman the Magnificent. He was a ruler of grace whose contributions are still remembered in the Muslim society. By creating Islamic laws he gave a platform to the Ottoman empire to create laws from the Islamic based Shariah. By expanding the Ottoman empire he gave opportunities to his people and helped in the spreading of Islam to the European countries. And lastly his contributions to the culture are also remarkably important as these reforms helped to give opportunities to the artists and painters who were previously neglected. Moreover these reforms also account for the preservation of Ottoman culture till date. Bibliography Top of Form Top of Form Merriman, Roger B. Suleiman the Magnificent: 1520-1566, by Roger Bigelow Merriman. Cambridge: Mass., Harvard University press, 1944. Print. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form McCarthy, Justin. The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923. London: Longman, 1997. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Itzkowitz, Norman. Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition. (A Phoenix book). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980. Print. Bottom of Form Yalman, Suzan. Based on original work by Linda Komaroff. "The Age of Süleyman "the Magnificent" (r. 1520–1566)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/suly/hd_suly.htm (October 2002) Read More