Suleiman Dies at Szigetvar

September 7, 1566

At seventy-two and too feeble to mount a horse, Suleiman the Magnificent died in his tent during the siege of the Hungarian fortress of Szigetvar. His death was concealed for forty-eight days while the army marched back toward Istanbul. An Ottoman golden age had quietly ended. The fortress's defender Zrinski died in a suicidal sortie hours before Suleiman, making Szigetvar a double tragedy in both national memories.