OK, I'm not going to make a joke about the editors' names if you do not, agreed? Good! Suleyman was the son of Yavuz Selim (Selim the Grim) and ruled from the 1520s to the 1560s, although the West has given him the epithet "Magnificent" he chose the Lawful. This book is a collection of essays on his reign in three sections. In the introduction Metin Kunt outlines the rise of the Osmanli state and the importance in its success of being ghazis. Four essays follow on key problems of the reign: Mediterranean conflict, Naval policy in the south (Yemen and out down Sumatra way), the administration of Rumelia, and the internal workings of the state. The final section dwells on the "perfection" of the sultan. Articles cover the prototypes of ideal sultans - Saladin and Baibars; the legitimisation of the Ottoman dynasty; the concept of a "golden age" (I thought this essay weak) and a summary. History of the Ottomans is an up and coming topic, and one which interests me for my Med design. The detail is reasonable and the insight from the Turkish point of view very valuable. Direct military information is small so more for strategic design than tactical. More Book Reviews The Wars of Napoleon The Military Revolution In The Sixteenth Century In Search of The Dark Ages The Viking Art of War The Wars Of Frederick the Great Suleyman The Magnificent And His Age The Hundred Years War For Morocco Battle Tactics of Napoleon and his Enemies Russia's Military Way To The West Fisher's Face Stephen And Matilda: The Civil War of 1139-53 The Anarchy of King Stephen's Reign Swiss Regiments a L'Étranger The Italian Reverse At Adowa Back to Perfidious Albion #92 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1996 by Charles and Teresa Vasey. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com