Suleiman the Magnificent

My power is so great that I can do whatever I wish. My will is law, and my word is fate.

The greatest joy is to conquer your enemies, to drive them before you, to ride their horses and take their wealth, to see their cities reduced to ashes and to make their wives and daughters weep.

Justice is the foundation of all good government.

A single act of injustice is more dangerous than a thousand enemies.

The pen is mightier than the sword.

He who rules with justice will be remembered with honor.

The state is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it will bear no fruit.

My aim is to unite the world under the banner of Islam.

The strength of an empire lies not in its armies, but in the justice of its laws.

Let no man think that he can escape the hand of justice.

The world is but a bridge; pass over it, but build no house upon it.

I am the Sultan of Sultans, the sovereign of sovereigns, the dispenser of crowns to the monarchs of the world, the shadow of God upon earth, the Sultan and sovereign lord of the White Sea and the Black Sea, of Rumelia and Anatolia, of Karamania, of the land of Dulkadir, of Kurdistan, of Azerbaijan, of Persia, of Damascus, of Aleppo, of Cairo, of Mecca, of Medina, of Jerusalem, of all Arabia, of Yemen and of many other lands which my noble forefathers and my glorious ancestors (may God light up their tombs!) conquered with their resistless swords and set their august names. I am Sultan Suleiman, son of Sultan Selim, son of Sultan Bayezid.

The true ruler is he who serves his people.

Knowledge is the light that guides us through the darkness.

A wise ruler listens to the counsel of his advisors.

The greatest victory is to overcome oneself.

My ambition is to leave behind a legacy of justice and prosperity.

The world is a fleeting shadow, and life is but a dream.

He who fears death is not fit to live.

The greatest wealth is contentment.