Turkey: Selim I (1465-1520), 9th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1512-1520). Miniature painted by NakkaÅŸ Osman ('Osman the Miniaturist'), 16th century

Selim I (Ottoman Turkish: سليم اوّل, Modern Turkish: I.Selim), nicknamed Yavuz, 'the Stern' or 'the Steadfast' (October 10, 1465/1466/1470 – September 22, 1520), was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520.

His reign is notable for the enormous expansion of the Empire, particularly his conquest between 1516-1517 of the entire Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which included all of Sham, Hejaz, Tihamah, and Egypt itself. With the heart of the Arab World now under their control, the Ottomans became the dominant power in the region, and in the Islamic world. Upon conquering Egypt, Selim took the title of Caliph of Islam, being the first Ottoman sultan to do so. He was also granted the title of 'Khâdim ül Haramain ish Sharifain' (Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina), by the Sharif of Mecca in 1517.

Selim's reign represented a sudden change in the expansion policy of the empire, which was working mostly against the West and the Beyliks before his reign. On the eve of his death in 1520, the Ottoman Empire spanned almost 1 billion acres (about 4 million square kilometers or 4 square megameters), having tripled in size during Selim's reign.

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