Transformation of the Ottoman Empire
Sultan Suleiman I (r. 1520–1566) was the longest-reigning sultan in Ottoman history, but the last years of his reign were characterized by uncertainty over who would be his successor. Suleiman had three sons who could hope to succeed, Mustafa, Bayezid, and Selim. While the latter two were the children of Suleiman's wife Hurrem Sultan, the first was the son of an earlier concubine. Mustafa may have felt that his half-brothers possessed an unfair advantage over him, and thus worked to secure the favor of the military. Perhaps suspecting that Mustafa planned to dethrone him just as his own father had done to his grandfather, Suleiman acted first and in 1553 ordered that Mustafa be executed. The death of Hurrem Sultan in 1558 triggered open conflict between the two remaining candidates, and Selim ultimately emerged victorious. Suleiman further strengthened his son's position by arranging a marriage between Selim's daughter and the influential Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (Grand Vizier 1565–1579). Suleiman died in 1566, while besieging the fortress of Szigetvar in Hungary, bringing Selim to the throne.
Salim bin Thuwaini, Sultan of Muscat and Oman
Sultan Sālim bin Thuwainī Āl Saʿīd () was the Sultan of Muscat and Oman from 11 February 1866 – October 1868. He was the eldest son of Sultan Thuwaini bin Said and his wife Sayyida Ghaliya bint Salim Al-Busaidiyah, and acceded to the throne in succession to his father. Lewis Pelly and Henry Bartle Frere were deeply disappointed by the death of Sultan Thuwaini bin Said in their hopes for a military action against the Wahhabis, and were well aware of Salim's opposing views and refusal to join the ensuing war. Hence the British Political Resident General in the Gulf at Bushehr, Colonel Lewis Pelly, fiercely opposed the recognition of Salim whom he feared was to stop foreign interference and forge a peace deal with the Wahhabis.