Ottoman Sultan Selim II
Selim II (Ottoman 11th Sultan);
Born in 28 May 1524 and died in 12/15 December 1574. He was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574. He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and Haseki Hürrem Sultan. Selim had been an unlikely candidate for the throne until his brother Mehmed died of smallpox, his half-brother Mustafa was strangled to death by the order of his father, and his brother Bayezid was killed in a coordinated effort between him and his father.
Early life:
Selim was born in Constantinople (Istanbul), on 28 May 1524, during the reign of his father Suleiman the Magnificent. His mother was Hürrem Sultan, a slave and concubine who was born an Orthodox priest's daughter, and later was freed and became Suleiman's legal wife.
In 1545, at Konya, Selim married Nurbanu Sultan, whose background is disputed. It is said that she was originally named Cecelia Venier Baffo, or Rachel, or Kale Katenou. She was the mother of Murad III, Selim's successor. Hubbi Hatun, a famous poet of the sixteenth century, was a lady-in-waiting to him.
Reign:
Selim II gained the throne after palace intrigue and fraternal dispute, succeeding as sultan on 7 September 1566. According to one source he became the first sultan who took no interest in military matters and was willing to abandon power to his ministers, provided he was left free to pursue his orgies and debauches, earning him the byname of "Drunkard".[3][unreliable source] Kinross, in The Seeds of Decline (1977), suggests a connection between Selim's decadence and his decision to invade Cyprus rather than supporting the Morisco Revolt (1568–1571) in Granada, as well as in the manner of his death: Selim died in Topkapı Palace after a period of fever brought on when he drunkenly slipped on the wet floor of an unfinished bath-house and received a head injury.[4][unreliable source]
Selim's Grand Vizier, Mehmed Sokollu, a native of what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina, controlled much of state affairs, and two years after Selim's accession succeeded in concluding at Constantinople an honourable treaty (17 February 1568) with the Habsburg Holy Roman 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.
Against Russia Selim was less fortunate: the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern rival gave presage of disaster to come. A plan had been prepared in Istanbul for uniting the Volga and Don by a canal, and in summer 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. However, a sortie from the Astrakhan garrison drove back the besiegers a Russian relief army of 15,000 attacked and scattered the workmen and the Tatar force sent for their protection. The Ottoman fleet was then destroyed by a storm. Early in 1570 the ambassadors of Ivan IV of Russia concluded at Constantinople a treaty that restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the Tsar.
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 naval defeat against Spain and Italian states in the Battle of Lepanto in the same year.
The Empire's shattered fleets were soon restored (in just six months, it consisted of about 150 galleys and eight galleasses), and the Ottomans maintained control of the eastern Mediterranean (1573). In August 1574, months before Selim's death, the Ottomans regained control of Tunis from Spain, which had captured it in 1572.
During Selim's reign, his elder sister Mihrimah Sultan acted as his Valide Sultan, because his mother Hürrem Sultan died before his reign began.
Sultan Selim was loved by the people because of his soft character, sensitive attitude, and generosity. He is known for giving back to Mahidevran Gülbahar her status and her wealth, contrasted with his father's decision. He also built the tomb of his eldest brother, Şehzade Mustafa, who was executed in 1553.
His cause of death was Traumatic brain injury in 12/15 December 1574.