“I own many countries, three continents and two seas,” said Suleiman the Magnificent, a famous Ottoman emperor who was often very ruthless when his power was threatened but proved to be generous at other times. He was right. When he came to throne in A.D. 1520, the Ottoman empire was already a powerful kingdom, but Suleiman was determined that he would become the most powerful ruler of the world. During his region he captured many parts of Europe and added them to his great Ottoman empire. He also strengthened his navy by appointing Barbarossa, a merciless sea pirate, as his admiral. Suleiman the Magnificent never succeeded in capturing Vienna, but his invasions terrified the kings of Europe. In A.D. 1543, when the last member of Abbasid family died, Suleiman declared himself as a caliph and asked all the Muslim countries to show him respect. By then, he had become so powerful that nobody could oppose him.
Suleiman made some useful laws to bring happiness to his people. He appointed ‘pensions’ for the retired army officers and also passed a law forbidding cruelty against animals. However, Suleiman was also a very jealous person who could not tolerate anyone becoming popular in his empire. He ordered the death of his own son Mustafa, just because he had become popular with the army. A little later Suleiman also executed another son Baized along with all his children. The youngest was only three years old. When Suleiman died, he was one of the most powerful man on the earth and was called Suleiman the Magnificent. However, he was followed by a very weak and useless son and the empire started breaking up soon afterwards.