New
New
Year 2

Suleiman the Lawgiver

I can explain how Suleiman changed the laws and buildings of the Ottoman Empire.

New
New
Year 2

Suleiman the Lawgiver

I can explain how Suleiman changed the laws and buildings of the Ottoman Empire.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Suleiman was not just a powerful general; he cared about the law and making sure his empire was run fairly.
  2. Suleiman changed the laws in the Ottoman Empire so that everyone followed the same rules.
  3. He also spent lots of money improving the cities of his empire.
  4. In major Islamic cities like Mecca, Damascus and Baghdad he built great mosques, bridges and even aqueducts.
  5. He spent huge sums of money building an impressive mosque in Istanbul that is named after him.

Keywords

  • Laws - laws are a set of rules that everyone has to follow

  • Mosque - a mosque is a place of prayer for Muslims

  • Aqueduct - an aqueduct is a large system of bridges built for carrying water from one place to another

  • Mecca - Mecca is the most important city in the religion of Islam and many choose to make a long journey to travel there

Common misconception

Some may think that the buildings commissioned by Suleiman are not used or in existence today.

Many of them still exist 500 years later and can be seen today, particularly the mosques and religious buildings which have been continually renovated over time.

You could use a map or an atlas to locate all the places mentioned in the lesson and look at routes to Mecca from different places in the world to give a sense of how far some people travel to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Suleiman was the Sultan of the Empire.
Correct Answer: Ottoman
Q2.
Which is the correct definition of the word ‘Sultan’?
when an army surrounds a castle to get the people inside to surrender
the capital city of Austria, a country in Europe
Correct answer: the leader of the Ottoman Empire
Q3.
Suleiman’s army failed to take over which city with a siege?
Correct answer: Vienna
Belgrade
London
Q4.
Suleiman became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire around…
1,000 years ago.
Correct answer: 500 years ago.
3,000 years ago.
Q5.
The Ottoman Empire was the largest in history when Suleiman was the Sultan.
Correct answer: true
false
Q6.
When an army surrounds a castle or a city to force the people inside to surrender, this is called a...
Correct Answer: siege

6 Questions

Q1.
Suleiman had the nickname: Suleiman the...
Correct Answer: Lawgiver, law giver
Q2.
Suleiman is remembered for improving lots of cities in the empire.
Correct answer: true
false
Q3.
The city of Constantinople is today known as...
Ankara
Vienna
Correct answer: Istanbul
Q4.
Match the keywords to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:aqueduct,a system of bridges built for carrying water

a system of bridges built for carrying water

Correct Answer:mosque,a place of prayer for Muslims

a place of prayer for Muslims

Correct Answer:laws,a set of rules that everyone has to follow

a set of rules that everyone has to follow

Q5.
Select all the buildings that Suleiman had built in the cities in the Ottoman Empire.
Correct answer: schools
Correct answer: mosques
Correct answer: aqueducts
Q6.
There is a named after Suleiman in Istanbul.
Correct Answer: mosque

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