A new instalment of the extraordinary and brutal story of the greatest Ottoman sultan reads like a thrilling novel

The year is 1538 and Suleyman the Magnificent has taken to signing himself “the great lord and conqueror of the whole world”. The Holy Roman Emperor might have something to say about that. Charles V is still in charge over the other side of the Ottoman empire’s European borders, from the Danube to the Baltic. All the same, there is no denying Suleyman’s vast reach. Since coming to the throne 18 years earlier he has invaded Belgrade, Rhodes, much of Hungary, Baghdad and too many Mediterranean ports to mention. He has conquered most of North Africa. True, there have been a few hitches – he failed to capture Vienna in 1529 – but still, as he sits on his golden perch in Istanbul, he is pretty much lord of all he surveys.

In his previous book, The Lion House, Christopher de Bellaigue charted Suleyman’s rise to power in rich, sinuous detail. Here, he takes the story on to the next phase as the swan-necked sultan sets about protecting his gains, doing-over his previous failures (bits of Hungary need retaking) and, most crucially, worrying about an heir. Unlike Henry VIII in faraway and inconsequential England, Suleyman isn’t short of sons. He has five, by two different mothers, but there is a terrible kicker built into the system: once an heir has been chosen (it doesn’t need to be the oldest boy), the lucky young man is expected to murder all his brothers. Selim, Suleyman’s father, killed five nephews to ensure his own boy’s smooth progression. No wonder everyone is feeling on edge as the sultan tiptoes into battle-scarred middle age.