Knowra Selim II Selim II Selim II was Ottoman sultan from 1566 to 1574, succeeding his father Süleyman the Magnificent. His reign saw Ottoman rule expand in Yemen and Cyprus and suffer defeat at Lepanto.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha : An Ottoman grand vizier who served under Süleyman I, Selim II, and Murad III. He led much of the government during Selim II’s reign.
Ottoman conquest of Cyprus : The Ottoman campaign that captured Cyprus from the Republic of Venice in 1570–1571. Selim authorized the conquest, a major expansion of Ottoman power in the eastern Mediterranean.
Süleyman the Magnificent : The Ottoman sultan who ruled from 1520 to 1566 and led the empire during its sixteenth-century expansion. Selim succeeded his father after Süleyman died during the siege of Szigetvár.
Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) : A war in which the Ottoman Empire conquered Cyprus from Venice but lost at Lepanto. The conflict defined Selim’s Mediterranean policy and ended with Venice recognizing Ottoman possession of Cyprus.
Ottoman dynasty : The ruling house of the Ottoman Empire from its foundation through the empire’s abolition in 1922. Selim’s succession belonged to this dynasty’s hereditary system.
Battle of Lepanto : The 1571 naval battle in which a Holy League fleet defeated the Ottoman fleet in the Gulf of Patras. The defeat occurred during Selim’s reign, though the Ottomans rebuilt their fleet soon afterward.
Hürrem Sultan : The influential consort and legal wife of Süleyman I and mother of Selim II. Her support helped Selim’s position in the struggle over Süleyman’s succession.
Holy League (1571) : A coalition of Catholic states formed under papal auspices to fight the Ottoman Empire in 1571. Its fleet defeated Selim’s forces at Lepanto, despite the coalition’s short-lived unity.
Ottoman imperial harem : The household of the Ottoman sultan, including royal women, attendants, and enslaved servants. Selim’s mother, Hürrem Sultan, had shaped dynastic politics before his accession.
Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590) : A war between the Ottoman and Safavid empires fought from 1578 to 1590 over territory in the Caucasus and western Iran. Selim’s 1555 peace with the Safavids held through his reign but broke after his death.
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