The idea that Ottoman State entered into a stagnation period after the reign of Suleiman the Magnifi cent has become largely accepted premise in the Ottoman historiography. Weak sultans with compromised authority who can no longer campaign have been regarded as the basis for this conviction. However, when one takes into consideration the growth curve of Ottoman Political history, one comes to the conclusion that aforementioned idea cannot be approved based on a single parameter, rather, one needs to take into consideration many different parameters for that, in which case, one will assert that one cannot talk about stagnation as a fact.

Moreover, we see that in this period the dynasty itself takes the place of powerful sultan. In this regard, in order to understand the roles of Ottoman sultans who ascended to the throne after the Suleiman the Magnificent in the functioning of the state, it is vital to present personal lives of the sultans and to recognize their attitudes towards political events taking place.

Based on this, this book includes biographies of eight sultans who ascended to the throne after the Suleiman the Magnificent between the years 1566-1648 and information of their reigns. The biographies examined are that of Selim II, Murad III, Mehmed III, Ahmed I, Mustafa I, Osman IV, Murad, and of Sultan Ibrahim.

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