The Great Achievements of Suleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman the Magnificent is one of the most important and successful Sultans in the Ottoman Empire. A large portion of Ottoman historians consider Suleiman to be among the top 3 most important Sultans. There are several reasons why Suleiman is remembered as such a successful Sultan. When Suleiman ascended the throne, he inherited an empire of 6,500,000 km2 from his father, Yavuz Selim. Suleiman succeeded in expanding this state of 6.5 million km2 into an empire larger than 14,000,000 km2. Suleiman is both the Sultan who reigned the longest and the one who spent the most time on campaign in the Ottoman Empire. He spent 10 years and 1 month of his life on campaigns.

Why Did Sultan Suleiman and the Akinjis Spend the Night in a Ditch?

Sultan Suleiman's first major campaign was the Battle of Mohacs. In the Battle of Mohacs, Sultan Suleiman annihilated the entire Hungarian army in a very short period of 2.5 hours. The Hungarian army was a large force comprising soldiers from many European states. In contrast, the Ottoman Empire had no allies in this battle. European states considered Suleiman to be a young and inexperienced Sultan. However, Sultan Suleiman managed to defeat the Hungarians with superior skill. After this great victory, Sultan Suleiman spent one night in a ditch. During this night spent in the ditch, Suleiman contemplated: 'Do not forget, Suleiman, even though you have achieved a great victory today, you too will end up in a ditch tomorrow and will be held accountable to God.' In fact, this was a tradition adopted by the Akinjis (vanguard cavalry) in the Ottoman Empire. After achieving a great victory on campaigns, the Ottoman Akinjis would spend one night in a ditch, striving not to succumb to arrogance. For this reason, on the evening after a campaign, hundreds of ditches would be dug, and each soldier would spend the night in contemplation. This practice demonstrates how great the Ottoman Empire was.