Selim I

Selim I (1470?-1520), 9th sultan (1512-1520) of the Ottoman Empire, who in less than a decade brought the Arab world into the Ottoman Empire and doubled its territory. Known also as Yavuz or The Grim, Selim was one of five sons of Sultan Bayazid II. Selim seized the throne from his father in 1512, immediately renewed peace treaties with Europe, and began eliminating all possible competitors for the sultanate. His victims included two of his four brothers (the other two had already died), his nephews, and eventually all his own sons except Süleyman, whom he chose to succeed him.

By securing power at home, Selim could focus on expanding and consolidating Ottoman rule. Between 1514 and 1517 Selim subdued the Persian Safavid dynasty to the east (weakening but not occupying this traditional Ottoman enemy), secured easy victories in Syria, and finally crossed the Sinai Peninsula in a remarkable five days to capture and execute the Mamluk sultan in Egypt. In response, the guardian of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina sent Selim the keys to Cairo's most sacred shrines; the Ottoman sultan thus became an Islamic caliph, protector of the Sunni Muslim world.

With peace secured in both the east and the west, Selim finished moving the Ottoman government from the old capital of Edirne to İstanbul, developed a criminal code, and created a powerful Ottoman naval fleet. During Selim's reign thousands of Egyptian merchants, artists, and religious leaders sailed to İstanbul, creating a vigorous cultural and intellectual atmosphere there. Selim died in the village of Siirt, in 1520, possibly of cancer or a carbuncle. At his death the empire stretched from the Danube River and the Adriatic Sea in Europe to the banks of the Nile River and the Indian Ocean in Africa and Asia. Suleiman became sultan on Selim's death; during Süleyman's reign, the empire reached its peak in power.