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.
Sulaiman Syah
The previous sultan Alauddin Mahmud Syah I led a troubled reign and often encountered opposition from the chiefs of the kingdom. He was briefly deposed by an usurper, Badr ul-Alam Syah in 1764-1765. A new uprising was launched in April 1773 by people of the often-rebellious XXII Mukims, one of the three "sagis" (regions) of Aceh. Being joined by people from the XXV Mukims, the insurgents expelled Alauddin Mahmud Syah who fled to Mukim Peuët. At the end of May the victorious party appointed Raja Udahna Lela as sultan under the name Sulaiman Syah. Whether he was the same person as a Raja Udahna Lela who was the son of the previous usurper Badr ul-Alam Syah, is unsure. Alauddin Mahmud Syah was nevertheless able to gather supporters from the "mukims" (districts) Daroy Pang Uleë Susuh, Lam Ara and Jampel. Sulaiman Syah was attacked and expelled after only two months' reign, and Alauddin Mahmud Syah was restored. If Sulaiman Syah is the same person as Badr ul-Alam Syah's son Raja Udahna Lela, he later played an important rule in the history of the sultanate and died under dramatic circumstances in 1805.