Selim I

Selim I (1512-20), Ottoman Emperor, who extended Ottoman territory by taking Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the holy cities of Mecca? and Medina? under his control. After the invasion of the latter two cities, he announced himself to be the guardian of Islam, a title which had been in abeyance since the Mongol onslaught on the Abbasid caliphate at Baghdad in 13th century.