Selim II

Selim II (May 28, 1524 – December 12, 1574) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death. He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his favourite Aleksandra Lisowska (also Hurrem or Roxelana).

Related Topics:
May 28 - 1524 - December 12 - 1574 - Sultan - Ottoman Empire - 1566 - Suleiman the Magnificent - Aleksandra Lisowska

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After gaining the throne after palace intrigue and fraternal dispute, he became the first sultan devoid of active military interest and willing to abandon power to his ministers, provided he were left free to pursue his orgies and debauches. Therefore, he became known as Selim the Drunkard or Selim the Sot. An able grand vizier, Mehmed Sokollu, controlled much of state affairs, and two years after Selim's accession succeeded in concluding at Constantinople an honourable treaty (February 17, 1568) with the emperor Maximilian II, whereby the emperor agreed to pay an annual "present" of 30,000 ducats and essentially granted the Ottomans authority in Moldavia and Walachia.

Related Topics:
Grand vizier - Mehmed Sokollu - Constantinople - February 17 - 1568 - Emperor Maximilian II - Ducat - Moldavia - Walachia

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Against Russia he was less fortunate, and the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern rival gave presage of disaster to come. A plan had been elaborated at Constantinople for uniting the Volga and Don by a canal, and in the summer of 1569 a large force of Janissaries and cavalry were sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and begin the canal works, while an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov. But a sortie of the garrison of Astrakhan drove back the besiegers; 15,000 Russians, under Knes Serebianov, attacked and scattered the workmen and the Tatar force sent for their protection; and, finally, the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by a storm. Early in 1570 the ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible concluded at Constantinople a treaty which restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the tsar.

Related Topics:
Russia - 1569 - Janissaries - Astrakhan - Azov - Knes Serebianov - Tatar - 1570 - Ivan the Terrible

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Expeditions in the Hejaz and Yemen were more successful, but the conquest of Cyprus in 1571, which provided Selim with his favourite vintage, led to the calamitous naval defeat against Spain and Italian states at Lepanto in the same year, the moral importance of which has often been underestimated, and which at least freed the Mediterranean Sea from the corsairs by whom it was infested.

Related Topics:
Hejaz - Yemen - Cyprus - 1571 - Spain - Italian - Lepanto - Mediterranean Sea - Corsair

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The empire's shattered fleets were soon restored (in just 6 months) and the Ottomans maintained control of the Mediterranean (1573). In August 1574, months before his death, the Ottomans regained control of Tunisia from Spain who had controlled it since 1572.

Related Topics:
1573 - August - 1574 - Tunisia - 1572

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