Rhiannon Davies: How did Suleyman the Magnificent become sultan of the Ottoman empire – the 10th man to hold that title?
Christopher de Bellaigue: Suleyman had a very easy rise to the sultanate because his father, Selim – known as “the Grim”– had no compunction about killing. Everyone else who could have become sultan had been dispatched. There was a tradition that had become law under Mehmed the Conqueror, Suleyman’s great-grandfather, by which the Ottoman sultan could kill brothers and sons in order to ease the passage to the sultanate of a particular favoured son or brother. And, indeed, Suleyman benefited from this tradition – Selim killed several brothers and nephews and, however many sons he may have had, only Suleyman was allowed to survive.