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".
Suleiman II
Suleiman II was born on 15 April 1642 at Topkapı Palace in Constantinople, the son of Sultan Ibrahim and Aşub Sultan, a Serb woman originally named Katarina. Suleiman was only 3 months younger than his half-brother Mehmed IV, who was born on 2 January 1642. After the deposition and execution of his father in 1648, Suleiman's half-brother Mehmed came to the throne. In 1651, Suleiman was confined in "kafes" (cage), a kind of luxurious prison for princes of the blood within the Topkapı Palace (it was designed to ensure that none could organize a rebellion), and he stayed there for 36 years until he took the throne in 1687.