Social and economic life in Serbia changes radically under the absolute rule of the Turkish sultan.

The Turks split Serbia among several provinces, conscript Serbian boys into their elite forces, exterminate Serbian nobles, and deprive the Serbs of contact with the West as the Renaissance is beginning.

The Turks use the Orthodox Church to mediate between the state and the peasantry, but they expropriate most church lands.

Poorly trained Serbian priests strive to maintain the decaying national identity.

In 1459 the sultan had subordinated the Serbian church to the Greek patriarch, but the Serbs hate Greek dominance of their church, and in 1557 Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic, a Serb who had been inducted into the Turkish army as a boy, persuades the sultan to restore autonomy to the Serbian church.

Turkish maltreatment and exploitation grows in Serbia after the sixteenth century, and more Serbs flee to become mountain outlaws, or hajduci.

Epic songs of the hajduci keep alive the Serbs' memory of the glorious independence of the past.

Social and economic life in Serbia has changed radically under the absolute rule of the Turkish sultan.

The Turks have split Serbia among several provinces, conscripted Serbian boys into their elite forces, exterminated Serbian nobles, and deprived the Serbs of contact with the West as the Renaissance spread throughout the rest of Europe.

The Turks use the Orthodox Church to intermediate between the state and the peasantry, but they have expropriated most church lands.

Poorly trained Serbian priests strive to maintain the decaying national identity.

The sultan had in 1459 subordinated the Serbian Church to the Greek patriarch, but the Serbs hate Greek dominance of their church, and in 1557, the Turkish military leader and minister Mehmed Pasha Sokollu (also seen as Sokolovic), a Serb who had been inducted into the Turkish army as a boy, persuades the sultan to restore autonomy to the Serbian Church.

The Middle East: 1564–1575 CE

Ottoman and Safavid Entanglements

Military and Diplomatic Maneuvers

The ongoing rivalry between the Sunni Ottoman Empire and the Shi'ite Safavid Dynasty remains acute, with intermittent hostilities and delicate diplomacy marking the era. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent launches his final campaigns against the Safavids, attempting to secure lasting peace and a clearly defined border. Although large-scale warfare subsides temporarily, border skirmishes and proxy conflicts persist, notably in the Caucasus region, where local leaders exploit the rivalry to assert autonomy.

Succession and Stability in the Ottoman Realm

In 1566, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent dies during the Siege of Szigetvár, leading to the ascension of his son Selim II (1566–1574). Known as "Selim the Drunkard," Selim II relies heavily on advisors such as Grand Vizier Mehmed Sokollu Pasha, who skillfully manages the empire's affairs. Despite Selim's personal shortcomings, Ottoman administrative systems maintain imperial stability, and major cities, particularly Istanbul and Aleppo, experience continued commercial prosperity.

Economic Realignments and Maritime Power

Ottoman Expansion in the Arabian Peninsula

The Ottoman Empire solidifies control over key territories in the Arabian Peninsula, notably in Yemen, where they expand their administrative and military presence. This expansion counters Portuguese maritime ambitions in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, ensuring Ottoman dominance in critical maritime trade routes.

Portuguese Influence and Local Resistance

The Portuguese presence remains robust in the Persian Gulf and along the Arabian coast. In Oman, increased resistance emerges from local Ibadi forces, who challenge Portuguese fortifications and commercial monopolies. This conflict sets the stage for a prolonged struggle between local Omani factions and European maritime powers, underscoring the region's strategic importance.

Cultural Flourishing and Religious Trends

Ottoman Artistic Patronage

Under Selim II, Ottoman artistic and architectural patronage continues, albeit less grandiosely than under Suleiman. Notably, construction and renovation projects in Istanbul continue to enrich the city's cultural landscape, maintaining the legacy of Ottoman architectural excellence established by Sinan and his contemporaries.

Safavid Cultural Resurgence

In Persia, Shah Tahmasp I continues to patronize arts and literature from his court in Qazvin. This era witnesses the continuation of the Persian miniature tradition and further development of Persian poetry, which strengthens Iran's cultural distinctiveness in the face of ongoing political tensions with the Ottomans.

Legacy of the Era

The period between 1564 and 1575 represents a phase of cautious stability punctuated by leadership transitions, ongoing regional rivalries, and cultural continuity within both the Ottoman and Safavid empires. Maritime power struggles and the enduring rivalry between Sunni and Shi'ite forces shape future geopolitical dynamics, with cultural patronage reinforcing the distinct identities of the dominant regional powers.

Suleiman, the conqueror of Hungary and Mesopotamia,called “the Magnificent”, has also been a preeminent patron of the arts.

Known also as “the Lawgiver”, Suleiman has reformed the Ottoman legal system through his emphasis on fair systems of justice and taxation, a balanced budget, and a rational legislative system.

Under him, the empire has attained unprecedented wealth, power, and grandeur.

His dominion over the Arab world complete, he has created a powerful eastern fleet with which to protect ancient trade routes and revive the economic prosperity of the Arab provinces.

By the time of Suleiman’s death on September 5/6, 1566, the Ottoman Turks have gained control of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden, expelled the Venetians from the Greek mainland and annexed the rest of North Africa, barring a few Spanish ports.

Called “the Magnificent,” Suleiman the conqueror of Hungary and Mesopotamia, has also been a preeminent patron of the arts.

Known also as “the Lawgiver,” Suleiman has reformed the Ottoman legal system through his emphasis on fair systems of justice and taxation, a balanced budget, and a rational legislative system.

Under Suleiman, the empire has attained unprecedented wealth, power, and grandeur.

His dominion over the Arab world complete, he has created a powerful eastern fleet with which to protect ancient trade routes and revive the economic prosperity of the Arab provinces.

Suleiman had in his later years withdrawn from government participation.

His three sons contest bitterly for the succession.

The weakest of these, forty-two-year-old Selim II, known as Sari (“The Blond”) comes to the throne in the wake of palace intrigues and bitter civil strife with his brothers.

He is more inclined to a life of pleasure than to the difficult task of governing, and he entrusts the affairs of state to his able grand vizier (chief minister) and son-in-law, Mehmed Sokollu, who has held this position from June 1565.

Recruited into Ottoman service through the child-tribute (devsirme) levied in the Balkans, Sokollu had risen to the rank of high admiral of the fleet (1546) and later was governor-general (beylerbeyi) of Rumelia.

He had commanded the forces of Selim during the conflict (1559–61) between Selim and Bayezid over the succession to the throne, and he had married (1562) a daughter of the victorious Selim.

...Wallachia.

Mehmed Pasa Sokollu, arguably the real ruler of the Ottoman empire, seeks to check Russian expansion by constructing a canal between the Don and Volga rivers to facilitate the passage of ships between the Black and Caspian seas, thereby opening Turkish access to Persia and Central Asia.

Sokollu Mehmed Pasa, the Ottoman Grand Vizier, had dispatched troops to Azov in 1568 with the intention of seizing Astrakhan from Russia.

Simultaneously, troops had moved up the Don River to initiate canal construction.

Technical problems force a halt to the project after the canal is about one-third complete, and Turkish vessels must be portaged to the Volga River, from which the Turks invest Astrakhan in early 1569.

The Turkish troops, failing to reduce the Russian city, withdraw and are lost on the return journey in a storm on the Black Sea.

Sultan Selim orders Mehmed Pasa to cancel the Volga-Don canal project for which the war was begun.

The Ottoman Empire, during Sokollu’s tenure as grand vizier, fights a war with Venice from 1570.

Negotiations between Cyprus’s Jewish community and Joseph Nasi, who has from 1553 held leading diplomatic and financial positions in the service of Suleiman and his son and successor, Selim II, have been uncovered by the Venetians and, as a result, the Jewish population of Famagusta (with the exception of Jews who are natives of the city) is expelled.

It is believed that Nasi had intended parts of Cyprus to be a Jewish colony, and has encouraged the Ottoman annexation of Cyprus in the war to this end; he has been granted a coat of arms by Selim that indicates he would be given viceregal rank in that colony.

Nasi's relative Abraham Beneviste is arrested in 1570, on charges of having set fire to the Venetian Arsenal on Nasi's instigation.

The Ottoman forces on Cyprus, having reduced Nicosia, had then laid siege to Famagusta, the last stronghold in Venetian Cyprus to hold out against the Turks under Mustafa Pasha.

It has resisted a siege of thirteen months and a terrible bombardment, halving the defending Venetian force to about twenty-five hundred men, until early August 1571, when Famagusta’s Venetian governor finally accepts the peace terms offered by the Turks, who then massacre the defenders without mercy.

The commander, Marco Antonio Bragadin, is flayed alive; his lieutenant Tiepolo is hanged.

The Ottoman empire in 1573 ultimately secures its war aim—the acquisition of Cyprus from the Venetians.