Remembered as "Suleiman the Magnificent" and "Suleiman the Lawgiver," this Ottoman Empire Sultan reigned from 1520 until 1566. He led his subjects in numerous military campaigns and also earned a reputation as an excellent legislator on matters of policing, education, and taxation.
After studying in Constantinople, he held office as Governor of both Kaffa and Sarukhan.
He played a major role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire; his fleet dominated a vast area stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
He had at least four wives and fathered eleven children. He appears to have been deeply in love with Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana), whom he married in 1531 and to whom he dedicated a love poem (written under his pen name of Muhibbi).
Centuries after his death, he was portrayed by Turkish actor Halet Ergenc in a film titled Muhteşem Yüzyii.