Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about significant rulers from the past.

And we're going to explore the question, what can those rulers, what can their stories tell us? So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain why Suleiman's rule has been described as a Golden Age.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are Golden Age, literature.

I'm gonna say those words again and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Golden Age, literature.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Let's take a look at the definitions for each of our keywords.

Golden Age means a time in the past when everything seemed to be good.

Literature is writing that is thought of as a work of art.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords.

And when you are ready to continue, press Play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, the Golden Age, art and literature.

In the first learning cycle, we'll explore the Golden Age.

Suleiman was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire around 500 years ago.

He is remembered for expanding the Ottoman Empire to make it bigger than any other sultan, and for making sure that everyone followed the same laws across the empire.

This is why some people remember him with the name Suleiman the Lawgiver.

Lots of others have described him as Suleiman the Magnificent.

Why might he be known as Suleiman the Magnificent? Hm, pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and then press Play when you are ready to continue.

Well, some called him Suleiman the Magnificent because it means that people thought he did things that were better and more impressive than other rulers.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Suleiman has been known as Suleiman the Fierce, Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman the Clever.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said Suleiman has been known as Suleiman the Magnificent, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

Suleiman had very impressive buildings built in cities across the empire and inspired others to do the same.

These included lots of mosques, which are religious buildings and places of prayer for Muslims. In Istanbul today, you can still see the Suleiman Mosque, one of the biggest in the city.

At that time, the city of Istanbul was called Constantinople.

You can see a photo of the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul today.

It's very beautiful and very impressive indeed.

Suleiman also spent lots of time and money on art, poetry, and writing.

He encouraged other people in the Empire to also make beautiful art and writing at this time.

With all these beautiful paintings, buildings, and wonderful pieces of writing, this time has been called a Golden Age.

Golden Age means a time in the past when everything seemed to be good.

Have a look there, that photo of a medal with Sultan Suleiman on it.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Golden Age means a time in the future when everything will be made of gold.

Is that true or false? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's false, you are absolutely right.

Now, looking at these two statements, which of these would help to justify your answer? Golden Age means a time in the past when everything seemed to be bad.

Golden Age means a time in the past when everything seemed to be good.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that Golden Age means a time in the past when everything seemed to be good, that's correct.

Well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to tell a learning partner why the time when Suleiman was sultan of the Ottoman Empire was known as a Golden Age.

You may want to include these words, good, art, poetry, buildings.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to tell your learning partner why it was known as the Golden Age, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So your answer may have included, "This time was known as a Golden Age because it was a time in the past when everything seemed to be good.

Suleiman encouraged people in the empire to make beautiful buildings, art, writing, and poetry." Well done if you were able to tell a learning partner why the time when Suleiman was sultan was known as a Golden Age.

And well done for completing that learning task.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're gonna explore art and literature.

Suleiman loved all types of art and literature.

Ooh, literature, that's one of our keywords.

Can you remember what literature means? Literature is writing that is thought of as a work of art, for example, poetry.

Take a look there, that decorated page of poems by Sultan Suleiman.

It's beautiful with all that gold and those beautiful illustrations.

Suleiman wrote many of his own poems and they were written down in beautifully decorated books, like the one we see here.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Suleiman wrote many of his own songs, poems, stories.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your learning partner, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that Suleiman wrote many of his own poems, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, Suleiman also decided to have the story of his time as sultan written in a book.

It's known as the "Book of Suleiman" and it still exists today.

Have a look there at that page out of the "Book of Suleiman." So it's showing his story as sultan.

The book describes over 30 years when he was the ruler.

It is full of beautiful paintings and illustrations done by artists, and it was written in the Persian language.

The book shows how important art and literature was at this time.

Let's take a moment here to pause and check our understanding.

Who has correctly explained the "Book of Suleiman"? Izzy says, "The story included paintings Suleiman made and the story of when Suleiman's father was the sultan." Alex says, "The story included paintings that artists made and the story of Suleiman's time as the sultan." Pause a video here and have a discussion with your learning partner.

Who has correctly explained the "Book of Suleiman"? Izzy or Alex? And press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that Alex is correct, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

The "Book of Suleiman" included paintings that artists made and the story of Suleiman's time as sultan.

Now, Suleiman was not only an artist and a poet himself, he also paid other talented artists to come to his palace in Constantinople and make beautiful art for him.

Have a look at that model there of Suleiman's palace.

Quite an impressive structure.

And Suleiman also paid for lots of carefully decorated mosques and buildings to be built in cities across the Ottoman Empire during this time too.

So the palace and the Ottoman Empire became full of beautiful art and literature.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Only Suleiman's palace became full of art and literature when he was the sultan.

Is that true or false? Hm, what do you think? If you said that's false, you are absolutely right.

Now, looking at these two statements, which of these would help to justify your answer? The palace and the Ottoman Empire became full of beautiful art and literature.

The palace and the Ancient Roman Empire became full of beautiful art and literature.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your learning partner about which of these two statements helps to justify your answer, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that the palace and the Ottoman Empire became full of beautiful art and literature, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, even the official symbol of Sultan Suleiman was beautifully decorated with colours and flowers.

This was used like a signature and appeared on important documents, letters, and coins.

So it was a way for Sultan Suleiman to sign his name, and it looks very beautifully done.

People would travel to Istanbul and other cities in the empire to learn special types of art.

Some of the most popular forms of art included painting, calligraphy, which is a special decorated type of writing, poetry, carpet weaving, pottery, and music.

Suleiman was known to like tulips, and so lots of tulips were included in art at this time.

You can see a photo of tulip decoration in a mosque.

So a tulip is a type of flower.

The people of the Ottoman Empire at this time became known for their achievements in art and literature, and this is why it is known as a Golden Age for art and literature.

Have a look at that photo of art and decoration in the Suleiman Mosque.

Very beautiful colours and patterns.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Select the types of art that helped Suleiman's time as sultan become known as a Golden Age.

Buildings, paintings, poems. Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said buildings, paintings, and poems, they all helped Suleiman's time as sultan become known as a Golden Age.

Well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to add at least one example from the time of Suleiman for all types of art given in the table below.

So we've got buildings, poetry, other literature, art.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at this learning task, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So you might have included that in buildings, Suleiman had beautiful mosques built, like the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul today.

In poetry, Suleiman wrote many of his own poems, and they were written down in beautifully decorated books.

In other literature, Suleiman decided to have the story of his time as sultan written in a book full of paintings and illustrations done by artists.

And art, decorations of buildings, paintings, and books began to include tulips, as Suleiman liked these flowers so much, and his signature was also decorated with colours and flowers.

Well done if you were able to add those examples into the table there, and well done for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about Suleiman and the Ottoman Golden Age.

Suleiman is known as Suleiman the Magnificent, and his time as sultan of the Ottoman Empire is often called a Golden Age.

He loved art and literature and wrote lots of poems. He invited artists, poets, and writers from all over the Ottoman Empire to paint and write for him.

Suleiman had the story of his time as sultan written in a book illustrated with artists' paintings.

All of the beautiful art, paintings, decorated buildings, and wonderful literature have led to this time to be known as a Golden Age.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed learning about significant rulers from the past and exploring what their stories could tell us.

I certainly did.

I hope to see you for another unit of learning soon.

See you then.