The word “siege” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak in 2005. Today the opening carries none. 6 remain further down the article, where a reader arriving from a search result does not go.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Selim II Selim II ( May 28 , 1524 – December 12 , 1574 ) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death. He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his favourite Aleksandra Lisowska (also Hurrem or Roxelana).1He was the first sultan entirely devoid of military virtues and willing to abandon all power to his ministers, provided he were left free to pursue his orgies and debauches. Therefore, he became known as Selim the Drunkard or Selim the Sot. Fortunately for the empire, an able grand vizier , Mehmed Sokollu , was at the head of affairs, and two years after Selim's accession succeeded in concluding at Constantinople an honourable treaty with the emperor Maximilian II , whereby the emperor agreed to pay an annual "present" of 30,000 ducats ( February 17 , 1568 ). Against Russia he was less fortunate, and the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern rival gave presage of disaster to come. A plan had been elaborated at Constantinople for uniting the Volga and Don by a canal, and in the summer of 1569 a large force of Janissaries and cavalry were sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and begin the canal works, while an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov . But a sortie of the garrison of Astrakhan drove back the besiegers; 15,000 Russians, under Knes Serebianov , attacked and scattered the workmen and the Tatar force sent for their protection; and, finally, the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by a storm. Early in 1570 the ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible concluded at Constantinople a treaty which restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the tsar. Expeditions in the Hejaz and Yemen were more successful, but the conquest of Cyprus in 1571, which provided Selim with his favourite vintage, led to the calamitous naval defeat at Lepanto in the same year, the moral importance of which has often been underestimated, and which at least freed the Mediterranean Sea from the corsairs by whom it was infested. The empire's shattered fleets were soon restored (in just 6 months), and Sokollu was preparing for a fresh attack on Venice , when the sultan's death cut short his plans. Little can be said of this degenerate son of Suleiman, who during the eight years of his reign never girded on the sword of Osman, and preferred the clashing of wine-goblets to the shock of arms, save that with the dissolute tastes of his mother, Aleksandra Lisowska, he had not inherited her ferocity.2
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Ottoman Sultan Selim II Sarkhosh ( Ottoman Turkish : سليم ثانى Selīm-i s ānī , Turkish : II.Selim ) ( Manisa or Constantinople , 28 May 1524 – Topkapi Palace , Contantinople , 12 December/15 December 1574), also known as "Selim the Sot (Mest)" or "Selim the Drunkard", was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death.He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his fourth and favourite wife Hürrem Sultan, originally named Roxelana , a Ruthenian .The Encyclopædia Britannica , Vol.7, Edited by Hugh Chisholm, (1911), 3; Constantinople, the capital of the Turkish Empire...Britannica, Istanbul : When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.
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Sultan Selim II receiving the Safavid ambassador in the palace at Edirne in 1567 16th century copy of the 1569 Capitulations between Charles IX and Selim II Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish : سليم ثانى Selīm-i s ānī , Turkish : II.Selim ; 28 May 1524 – 12 December/15 December 1574), also known as "Selim the Sot (Mest)" in west and as "Sarı Selim" (Selim the Blond) in east, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574.He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and Haseki Hürrem Sultan .
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The opening as it stood in 2020
Sultan Selim II receiving the Safavid ambassador in the palace at Edirne in 1567. 16th century copy of the 1569 Capitulations between Charles IX and Selim II. Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish : سليم ثانى Selīm-i s ānī , Turkish : II.Selim ; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Sarı Selim ("Selim the Blond") or Sarhoş Selim ("Selim the Drunk"), 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, his brother Cihangir died of grief at the news of this latter execution, and his brother Bayezid was killed on the order of his father after a rebellion against Selim.Selim died on 15 December 1574 and was buried in Hagia Sophia ."SELİM II (1574): Osmanlı padişahı (1566-1574)" . İslam Ansiklopedisi .Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire .
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11th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 to 1574 For the Crimean khan, see Selim II Giray .Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish : سليم ثانى Selīm-i s ānī , ; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( ) or Selim the Drunk ( ), 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, his brother Cihangir succumbed to chronic health issues, and his brother Bayezid was killed on the order of his father after a rebellion against Selim. Selim died on 15 December 1574 and was buried in Hagia Sophia . Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire .
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Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 to 1574 For the Crimean khan, see Selim II Giray . 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 . Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire .
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