Turkic rulers — from the first dynasty to today.

Founder of Turkic military organisation; established the decimal steppe system. Subjugated China to tribute.

First leader to bring the Huns to the Danube, settling them in Europe.

The "Scourge of God" who terrified Rome. His empire stretched from the Chinese frontier to Gaul.

Attila's son; perishes at the Battle of Nedao, the empire fractures.

Invaded India and weakened the Gupta Empire.

Last great Hephthalite ruler, builder of a wide kingdom in India.

The wise ruler of the Orkhon Inscriptions; "the wisdom of the Türk nation" — golden age of the state.

Bilge's brother and supreme commander; part of the Orkhon Inscriptions is his memorial.

Declared Manichaeism the state religion; beginning of Uyghur literary culture.

Founder of the Karakhanid Khanate.

First Turkic ruler to convert to Islam; took the name Abdülkerim.

The ruler who truly built the state; father of Sultan Mahmud.

The great sultan styled "the Warrior"; led seventeen campaigns into India, carrying Islam there. Made Ghazna a world capital.

Mahmud's son; lost the western wing of the state to the Seljuks at Dandanakan.

Founder of the Great Seljuk Empire; entered Baghdad and freed the Abbasid caliph from the Shi'ite Buyids.

At Manzikert in 1071 captured the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes; Anatolia was opened to the Turks.

Zenith of the Seljuks; perfected state organisation with vizier Nizamülmülk. The Nizamiyya madrasas are this era's legacy.

Last great sultan of the Great Seljuks; the state collapses after defeat by the Kara-Khitai.

Transformed Khwarezm into an empire.

At the empire's peak when he faced Genghis Khan; was destroyed by the Mongols.

The hero who carried his fallen father's throne; fought the Mongols to the end.

A great conqueror of the Chagatai line; defeated Bayezid I at Ankara. Made Samarkand a world capital.

Timur's son; patron of art and learning, founding patron of the Samarkand school.

Both ruler and astronomer; the Samarkand observatory is his work.

Last great Timurid sultan, who oversaw a golden age of art and literature in Herat.

Founder of the Mughal Empire; descendant of Timur. Famous also for his memoir, the Baburnama.

Babur's son; lost his throne, went into exile in Iran, then reclaimed it.

The greatest Mughal ruler; pursued a policy of tolerance toward all religions.

The padishah who built the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Brought the Mughal Empire to its greatest extent; thereafter the state weakened.

Founder of the dynasty; took the first step from beylik to state at Söğüt.

Made Bursa the capital; first to cross into Rumelia.

Transformed the state into an empire; martyred at the Battle of Kosovo.

Earned the epithet "Thunderbolt" for his swift conquests; captured by Timur at the Battle of Ankara.

Reunified the state after the Interregnum.

Secured the Balkans with victories at Varna and the Second Kosovo; prepared his son Mehmed.

Conquered Constantinople in 1453, closing one age and opening another. Took the title "Kayser-i Rum."

A pious and learned padishah who welcomed the Sephardic Jews of Andalusia.

Brought the caliphate to the Ottomans with his Egyptian campaign; trebled the state in eight years.

Golden age of the Ottomans; supreme in law, architecture, literature and conquest. Reigned forty-six years.

Commissioned the Selimiye Mosque by Sinan; the defeat at Lepanto fell in his reign.

The period of the empire's greatest geographic extent.

The padishah who personally led the campaign at Haçova.

Built the Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque; altered the rules of succession.

Twice enthroned; deposed for mental illness.

First padishah to attempt to abolish the Janissaries; martyred in a revolt.

Restored the state with iron will; recaptured Baghdad.

Said to have suffered mental disturbance; deposed and put to death.

Reigned at the start of the Köprülü era; the defeat at the Second Siege of Vienna fell in his reign.

Restored the state by appointing Köprülü Fâzıl Mustafa as grand vizier.

During his brief reign came the defeat at Slankamen.

With the Treaty of Karlowitz, the Ottomans suffered their first great territorial loss.

The padishah of the Tulip Era; the printing press was first established in his reign.

Enthroned after the Patrona Halil revolt; began military reforms.

Brief reign; the Nuruosmaniye Mosque was completed in his time.

Initiated modernisation efforts; the Russian wars escalated in his reign.

The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca fell in his reign; he continued military reform.

Sought to build a Western-style army with the Nizâm-ı Cedid; was deposed for it.

A brief one-year reign; deposed by Alemdar Mustafa Pasha.

Abolished the Janissaries in 1826 ("Auspicious Incident"); founder of modern Ottoman reform.

Proclaimed the Tanzimat reforms; built Dolmabahçe Palace.

First Ottoman padishah to visit Europe; modernised the navy.

Reigned only ninety-three days; deposed for mental health.

The "Great Khan" who reigned thirty-three years; pursued Pan-Islamic policy and built the Hejaz Railway.

The padishah who reigned during the Ottoman entry into World War I.

The last Ottoman padishah; left the country aboard a British ship after the abolition of the sultanate.

Held the caliphate for two years after the abolition of the sultanate; the caliphate was abolished in 1924.