The Event
On 7th Ṣafar, 918 AH, the Ottoman Caliph Sultan Selim I ascended to the throne.
Date in the Gregorian Calendar
7 Ṣafar 918 AH corresponds roughly to April 25, 1512 CE (depending on lunar sighting variations).
Who Was Sultan Selim I?
- Full Name: Yavuz Sultan Selim (Selim the Grim / Selim the Resolute)
- Born: 1470 CE
- Became: 9th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1512 after succeeding his father, Sultan Bayezid II
- Reign: 1512–1520 CE
Significance of His Reign
1) Expansion of the Ottoman Empire
- Defeated the Safavids in the Battle of Chaldiran (1514), securing eastern Anatolia.
- Conquered large parts of the Mamluk Sultanate, including Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the Hijaz (1516–1517).
2) Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
- After the conquest of Makkah and Madinah in 1517, the Ottoman Sultans began using the title “Khadim al-Haramayn al-Sharifayn” (Servant of the Two Holy Mosques).
- The keys of the Kaaba and the Prophet’s Mosque were transferred to him.
3) Spiritual & Political Shift
- The Caliphate title was transferred from the Abbasid Caliph (in Cairo) to Sultan Selim I.
- This made Ottoman rulers the political and spiritual leaders of the Muslim world.
Legacy
Although his reign lasted only 8 years, Sultan Selim I’s leadership drastically transformed the Ottoman Empire into a global Islamic power and laid the foundation for its golden age under his son, Suleiman the Magnificent.
