Selim II is an unusual choice for this series — his reign is more often remembered for the catastrophic Ottoman naval defeat at Lepanto in 1571 than for administrative achievement, though the actual territorial losses from that battle were minimal and Cyprus was retained. The selection reflects a broader Turkish effort to rehabilitate the full sweep of Ottoman sultans as national heritage figures rather than rank them by conventional historical prestige.
Selim II is an unusual choice for this series — his reign is more often remembered for the catastrophic Ottoman naval defeat at Lepanto in 1571 than for administrative achievement, though the actual territorial losses from that battle were minimal and Cyprus was retained. The selection reflects a broader Turkish effort to rehabilitate the full sweep of Ottoman sultans as national heritage figures rather than rank them by conventional historical prestige.