Selim II

Selim II , also known as Selim the Blond (Turkish: Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunkard (Sarhoş Selim), was the <a href="/facts/Sultan_of_the_Ottoman_Empire/kEpbIIMQ">sultan of the Ottoman Empire</a> from 1566 until his death in 1574. He was a son of <a href="/facts/Suleiman_the_Magnificent/AQKbFdJu">Suleiman the Magnificent</a> and his wife <a href="/facts/Hurrem_Sultan/mpyjNy3G">Hurrem Sultan</a>. Selim had been an unlikely candidate for the throne until his brother <a href="/facts/%25C5%259Eehzade_Mehmed/t12ucDQs">Mehmed</a> died of smallpox, his half-brother <a href="/facts/%25C5%259Eehzade_Mustafa/RfNh506G">Mustafa</a> was strangled to death by the order of his father and his brother <a href="/facts/%25C5%259Eehzade_Bayezid/LdvaNhSY">Bayezid</a> was killed on the order of his father after a rebellion against him and Selim.
During his reign, his grand vizier <a href="/facts/Sokollu_Mehmed_Pasha/AMqdRqHP">Sokollu Mehmed Pasha</a> exerted significant control over state governance. The <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Famagusta/I4csa8Gm">conquest of Cyprus</a> and <a href="/facts/Conquest_of_Tunis_(1574)/zzt96CIA">Tunis</a> were notable achievements during his reign but setbacks occurred in the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Lepanto/a2lLxV0G">Battle of Lepanto</a> and the failed capture of Astrakhan as part of the <a href="/facts/Russo-Turkish_War_(1568%25E2%2580%25931570)/eIduqwMa">war with Russia</a>.

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Selim II