Suleiman the Magnificent

Say what you like about Suleiman the Magnificent but his headgear (see right) was amazing. As was his poetry, which is not something you’d normally expect from someone with such a big empire to look after. He had a way with words and looked good in a hat - things which are today widely considered to be mutually exclusive.

Below is a poem he wrote hundreds of years ago for his one true love. I think you will agree that it’s the very essence of romance and shits all over 99% of modern love songs. Especially the ones written for models by formerly-good indie bands.

Anyway:

Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight

My most sincere friend, my confidant, my very existence, my Sultan

The most beautiful among the beautiful...

My springtime, my merry faced love, my daytime, my sweetheart, laughing leaf...

My plants, my sweet, my rose, the one only who does not distress me in this world...

My Istanbul, my Caraman, the earth of my Anatolia

My Badakhshan, my Baghdad and Khorasan

My woman of the beautiful hair, my love of the slanted brow, my love of eyes full of mischief...

I'll sing your praises always

I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi of the eyes full of tears, I am happy.

Muhibbi was his pen name, FYI.

Obviously the best lines are the second and the third, closely followed by the second half of line five. The bit where he says, “I’ll sing your praises always” is quite nice too.

The line about Baghdad would have been a lot more complimentary when he wrote it; before “the coalition“ went and bombed it up. How insulting the implications of such a line would be today: “My Darling, you’re a bombsite”. They say ancient Iraq was one of the most beautiful places of all time. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were there, so it must have been pretty fucking special.

Come to think of it, so must the girl.

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