Suleiman I (6 November 1494 – 5/6/7 September 1566) is the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566.

He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as the Lawmaker, for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system.

Suleiman becomes a prominent monarch of 16th century Europe, presiding over the apex of the Ottoman Empire's military, political and economic power.

Suleiman personally leads Ottoman armies to conquer the Christian strongholds of Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary before his conquests are checked at the Siege of Vienna in 1529.

He annexes most of the Middle East in his conflict with the Persians and large swathes of North Africa as far west as Algeria.

Under his rule, the Ottoman fleet dominates the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.At the helm of an expanding empire, Suleiman personally institutes legislative changes relating to society, education, taxation, and criminal law.

His canonical law (or the Kanuns) fixes the form of the empire for centuries after his death.

Not only is Suleiman a distinguished poet and goldsmith in his own right; he also becomes a great patron of culture, overseeing the golden age of the Ottoman Empire's artistic, literary and architectural development.

He speaks four languages: Persian, Arabic, Serbian and Chagatay (the oldest version of Turkish language and related to Uighur).

In a break with Ottoman tradition, Suleiman marries a harem girl, Roxelana, who becomes Hürrem Sultan; her intrigues as queen in the court and power over the Sultan make her quite renowned.

Their son, Selim II, succeeds Suleiman following his death in 1566 after 46 years of rule.