Suleiman (elephant)

Suleiman (or Süleyman; Portuguese: Salomão) (c. 1540 – 18 December 1553) was an Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) that was presented to the Habsburg Archduke Maximilian II (later King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, and Holy Roman Emperor) by King John III of Portugal and his wife, Catherine of Austria, Habsburg princess and youngest sister of the Emperor Charles V. This young elephant bull was born in captivity in the royal stables of the Tamil Hindu Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte (r. 1521–1551), King of Kotte (Ceylon). The elephant came as a small baby to Lisbon with the entourage of the Kotte Ambassador Sri Ramaraska Pandita, sent to Portugal on a special diplomatic mission in 1542. The mission is seen as a duplication of the Tamil embassy to Europe from Kudiramalai to the Roman emperor Claudius where Pliny describes how the inhabitants of the west coast kingdom's delighted in the elephant and the tiger c 47 CE. The baby elephant Suleiman was seen as both a diplomatic and auspicious gift for the Portuguese monarchs, John III and Catherine.

Before Suleiman was presented to Maximilian II, he was intended for John III's grandson, Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545–1568), eldest son of Philip II of Spain. The elephant traveled by foot with a Portuguese retinue from Lisbon, arriving in Aranda de Duero (Valladolid, Spain) before November 6, 1549. When the care and maintenance of this pachyderm proved too expensive and complicated, the elephant was adopted by Maximilian II, who was recently married to Philip II's sister, Maria of Austria, in 1548. Maximilian and Maria acted as Regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551, in the absence of Emperor Charles V and Philip II, who was on an extended visit of the Netherlands (1549–1551). Known in German as "Soliman", he was named after the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent.

...
Wikipedia