Editing Selim II (section)

==Early years==
Selim was born on 28 May 1524{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=121, 302}} in Constantinople during the reign of his father, [[Suleiman the Magnificent]].<ref name="Selim">{{TDV Encyclopedia of Islam|title=Selim II|url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/selim-ii|last=Emecen|first=Feridun|volume=36|pages=414–418}}</ref> His mother was [[Roxelana|Hürrem Sultan]],{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}}{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=233}} an Orthodox priest's daughter,{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=234}} who was the current Sultan's concubine at the time. In 1533 or 1534, his mother, Hürrem, was freed and became Suleiman's legal wife an as the [[Haseki sultan]] of the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=235}}<ref name="Kinross236">Kinross, Patrick (1979). The Ottoman centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire. New York: Morrow. {{ISBN|978-0-688-08093-8}}. p, 236.</ref><ref>''The Speech of Ibrahim at the Coronation of Maximilian II'', Thomas Conley, '''Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric''', Vol. 20, No. 3 (Summer 2002), 266.</ref> He had four brothers, [[Şehzade Mehmed]], [[Şehzade Bayezid]], [[Şehzade Abdullah]] and [[Şehzade Cihangir]], and a sister [[Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Suleiman I)|Mihrimah Sultan]].{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}}{{sfn|Yermolenko|2005|p=233}} In June–July 1530, a three week celebration was organised in Constantinople that centered around the circumcision of Selim, and his elder brothers [[Şehzade Mustafa|Mustafa]], and [[Şehzade Mehmed|Mehmed]].{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=154}} The princes were circumcised on 27 June 1530.<ref>{{cite book|first=M.J|last=Akbar|title=The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity|url=https://archive.org/details/shadeswordsjihad00akba|url-access=limited|publisher=Routledge|date=May 3, 2002|pages=[https://archive.org/details/shadeswordsjihad00akba/page/n108 88]|isbn=978-1-134-45258-3}}</ref> The festivities ranged from displays of captured enemy items to simulated battles, featuring performances by jugglers and strongmen, as well as reenactments of recent conflicts. Suleiman played a crucial role, observing everything from a loggia in the Hippodrome, while [[Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha]] actively oversaw the proceedings and presented extravagant gifts to the sultan and the princes.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=154}}

In May 1537, he and his brother Mehmed joined their father on his campaign to [[Siege of Corfu (1537)|Corfu]]. This marked the inaugural military campaign of his sons. Their presence in a military campaign conveyed a message of dynastic continuity.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=195}} In 1540, the sultan took him and Mehmed with him to spend the winter in [[Edirne]].{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=234}} In June 1541, he and Mehmed once again accompanied their father on his campaign to [[Siege of Buda (1541)|Buda]].{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=200–201}} In 1542, he was appointed governor of the province of Karaman, after which he went to Konya.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=204, 229}} Following Mehmed's unexpected demise in November 1543, the role of district governorship of Saruhan was assumed by Selim in the spring of 1544.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=230}} During the summer of 1544, a gathering of family members occurred in Bursa, uniting Selim, his parents Suleiman and Hürrem, his sister Mihrimah, and Mihrimah's husband [[Rüstem Pasha]].{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=229}}In 1543, he met [[Nurbanu Sultan]] who was a concubine at that time and she became his favorite and gave him 5 children including the future sultan [[Murad III]]. Nurbanu remained his favorite and ruled his harem in Manisa. When Selim ascended to the Ottoman throne, he gave her the title and position of [[Haseki sultan]] and married her, just like how his father [[Suleiman the Magnificent|Suleiman]] married and bestowed the title and position of [[Haseki sultan]] to his mother [[Hurrem Sultan]]. Nurbanu remained a prominent figure during her husband's reign and effectively ruled the Ottoman empire along with [[Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Suleiman I)|Mihrimah Sultan]] and [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]] as Selim was often busy in drinking and was not interested in state affairs. In the 1548–49 military campaign against the Safavids, Selim was dispatched to Edirne, acting as a substitute for the sultan during the campaign.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=230}} In 1553, he accompanied his father against the Safavids and kept Suleiman's company throughout most of the campaign. During this campaign, his elder half-brother, Mustafa was executed on their father’s orders.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|pp=237–238}} With his death, Selim was often seen as the next heir to the Ottoman throne after Suleiman, although Suleiman never confirmed it, inorder to prevent any conflicts between Selim and Bayezid.