Suleiman the Magnificent was alive during the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman Empire . During the 16th and 17th centuries , at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent , the Ottoman Empire was a multinational , multilingual empire controlling much of Southeast Europe , parts of Central Europe , Western Asia , the Caucasus , North Africa , and the Horn of Africa . Suleiman I ( سلطان سليمان اول Modern I. Süleyman , Kanunî Sultan Süleyman or Muhteşem Süleyman 6 November 1494 -- 6 September 1566 ) , commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and `` Kanuni '' ( the Lawgiver ) in his realm , was the tenth and longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to his death in 1566 . Suleiman became a prominent monarch of 16th-century Europe , presiding over the apex of the Ottoman Empire 's economic , military and political power . Suleiman personally led Ottoman armies in conquering the Christian strongholds of Belgrade and Rhodes as well as most of Hungary before his conquests were checked at the Siege of Vienna in 1529 . Under his rule , the Ottoman fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and through the Persian Gulf .