Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"When the Mamluk sharif of Mecca handed control over to the Ottoman sultan Selim I in July 1517, the size of the Ottoman Empire was doubled at a stroke. The acquisition of all the lands of the old Islamic caliphate, with the exception of Iran and Mesopotamia, was of immense benefit to the Ottomans. . . . enable the Ottomans to develop their empire into one of the richest and most powerful states of the sixteenth century. . . . the Ottomans now controlled the old trade routes between Europe and the Far East. . . . it was Selim's successor, Suleiman I, who would reap the benefits of Selim's conquests. Suleiman came to be known as 'the Magnificent,' and during his reign, the Ottoman Empire was recognized as a major European power, entering into an alliance with France, England, and the Netherlands against the power of Habsburg Spain and Austria. However, after Suleiman's death in 1566, the Ottoman Empire came under pressure from the increasing naval superiority of Spain, culminating in defeat at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571." [1001 Days]