As a young man brimming with energy takes the Ottoman throne, the West is distracted. As shifting alliances and internal divisions turn one of the great European powers into a shadow of its former self, where will young Suleiman direct his wrath?

Major Characters in This Episode

Sultan Suleiman

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

Louis II of Hungary

Neagoe Basarab

Teodosie of Wallachia

Radu of Afumați

Selma Reis

King Francis I of France

Timeline for This Episode

• 1521, Neagoe Basarab dies

• 1521, Revolt by the governor of Damascus

• 1521, Siege of Belgrade

• 1522, the Ottomans take Skradin and Knin in Croatia

• 1522, Siege of Rhodes

• 1524, the death of a Crimean Sultan means the Ottomans now directly appoint them

• 1524, Sigismund signs an Alliance with France

• 1524, after 5 years of back and forth, Charles V is close to an alliance with the Safavid Persians, but the death of the Shah puts it on hold.

• 1525, Suleiman appoints Selma Reis as admiral of the Ottoman fleet in the Red Sea to protect against Portuguese attacks.