Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire

Reign: November 6, 1494 – September 7, 1566
Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, reigned as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for 69 years, longer than any other Sultan. His reign marked the beginning of the golden age of the Ottoman Empire. During his rule, the Ottoman Empire encompassed most of the Middle East, Southeastern Europe and Rhodes. Suleiman also made educational, legislative, taxation and criminal reforms. Suleiman the Magnificent has been known as one of the greatest rulers of the Ottoman Empire. He is mostly remembered as a fierce conqueror of the Islamic religion. In Middle Eastern cultures, however, he is often referred to as a great builder. During his rule as sultan, the Ottoman Empire reached its peak in power and prosperity. Suleiman was born in 1495 to Selim, who soon became sultan. Little is known about the prince’s younger life, but by the age of 16 he was governing certain cities in the empire. After Selim’s death on September 22, 1520, Suleiman, having no brothers, became the next sultan at the age Suleiman the Magnificent has been known as one of the greatest rulers of the Ottoman Empire. He is mostly remembered as a fierce conqueror of the Islamic religion. In Middle Eastern cultures, however, he is often referred to as a great builder. During his rule as sultan, the Ottoman Empire reached its peak in power and prosperity. Suleiman was born in 1495 to Selim, who soon became sultan. Little is known about the prince’s younger life, but by the age of 16 he was governing certain cities in the empire. After Selim’s death on September 22, 1520, Suleiman, having no brothers, became the next sultan at the age of 25.
James I of England

Reign: March 24, 1603 – March 27, 1625
James I, also known as “the wisest fool in Christendom”, was the first king of both England and Scotland. Under his rule, the two kingdoms were united. Literature and the fine arts flourished under his reign, he himself writing many books and poems. During his rule, international trade through the British East India Company increased dramatically. James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. He was descended through the Scottish kings from Robert the Bruce, and the English Tudors through his great grandmother Margaret Tudor sister of Henry VIII. His parent’s marriage was short-lived and Darnley was found murdered 8 months after James was born in June 1566. His mother married again, but in 1567 was forced to renounce the throne of Scotland in favor of her infant son. James became King James VI of Scotland aged 13 months in July 1567, and was crowned at Sterling. Mary fled to England where she was eventually executed following Catholic plots against Elizabeth I in 1587. His childhood and adolescence were unhappy, abnormal, and precarious; he had various guardians, whose treatment of him differed widely. His education, although thorough, was weighted with strong Presbyterian and Calvinist political doctrine, and his character – highly intelligent and sensitive, but also fundamentally shallow, vain, and exhibitionist – reacted violently to this. He also sought solace with extravagant and unsavory male favorites who, in later years, were to have a damaging effect on his prestige and state affairs. A suitable Queen was found for him in Anne of Denmark and they were married in 1589. As King of Scotland, he curbed the power of the nobility, although his attempts to limit the authority of the Kirk (Church of Scotland) were less successful.

John III of Poland-Lithuania

Reign: 1674 – 1696
John III, also known as the Lion of Lehistan, was a military and political genius. Under his rule, Poland-Lithuania became a stable, flourishing state. John became known as the Lion of Lehistan after his victory against the Turks in the Battle of Vienna. James Francis Edward Stuart was born June 10 (Old Style), June 20 (New Style), 1688, at St.