Suleiman the Magnificent
At the time of Suleiman's death, the Ottoman Empire was one of the world's foremost powers. Suleiman's conquests had brought under the control of the Empire major Muslim cities (such as Baghdad), many Balkan provinces (reaching present day Croatia and Hungary), and most of North Africa. His expansion into Europe had given the Ottoman Turks a powerful presence in the European balance of power. Indeed, such was the perceived threat of the Ottoman Empire under the reign of Suleiman that Austria's ambassador Busbecq warned of Europe's imminent conquest: "On [the Turks'] side are the resources of a mighty empire, strength unimpaired, habituation to victory, endurance of toil, unity, discipline, frugality and watchfulness ... Can we doubt what the result will be? ... When the Turks have settled with Persia, they will fly at our throats supported by the might of the whole East; how unprepared we are I dare not say." Suleiman's legacy was not, however, merely in the military field. The French traveler Jean de Thévenot bears witness a century later to the "strong agricultural base of the country, the well being of the peasantry, the abundance of staple foods and the pre-eminence of organization in Suleiman's government".
Mohammad Taher Vahid Qazvini
Mohammad Taher Vahid Qazvini (, died 1699), was an Iranian nobleman, who served as the "vizier" of the Safavid king ("shah") Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694) and the latter's son Sultan Husayn (r. 1694–1722) from 1691 to 1699. He had diwan in Persian and Turkish languages.
Born in the early 1620s in Qazvin in northern Iran, Taher Vahid was the son of Mortezaqoli Khan Sa'dlu, and belonged to a prominent family, which were known for often serving as the court registrar ("vaqa'i-nivis") of the empire. During Nowruz on March 21, 1691, Taher Vahid was appointed by shah Suleiman I as his "vizier". During the same year, Shahqoli Khan Zanganeh, who had been recently appointed as the head of the royal bodyguard ("qurchi-bashi"), became a rival with Taher Vahid.