Selim II
| Selim II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques | |||||
Selim's portrait c. 1570 | |||||
| Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Padishah) | |||||
| Reign | 7 September 1566 – 15 December 1574 | ||||
| Sword girding | 29 September 1566 | ||||
| Predecessor | Suleiman I | ||||
| Successor | Murad III | ||||
| Ottoman caliph (Amir al-Mu'minin) | |||||
| Predecessor | Suleiman I | ||||
| Successor | Murad III | ||||
| Born | 28 May 1524 Old Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire | ||||
| Died | 15 December 1574 (aged 50) Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire | ||||
| Burial | Hagia Sophia, Istanbul | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Among others | Şah Sultan Gevherhan Sultan Ismihan Sultan Murad III Fatma Sultan | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Ottoman | ||||
| Father | Suleiman I | ||||
| Mother | Hürrem Sultan | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
| Tughra | |||||
Selim II (Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى, romanized: Selīm-i sānī; Turkish: II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond (Turkish: Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunkard (Sarhoş Selim), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574. He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sultan. Selim had been an unlikely candidate for the throne until his brother Mehmed died of smallpox, his half-brother Mustafa was strangled to death by the order of his father and his brother Bayezid was killed on the order of his father after a rebellion against him and Selim.
During his reign, his grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha exerted significant control over state governance. The conquest of Cyprus and Tunis were notable achievements during his reign but setbacks occurred in the Battle of Lepanto and the failed capture of Astrakhan as part of the war with Russia.