Secondary school students' favorite sultan

In this study, it was aimed to determine the favorite Ottoman sultans of secondary school students. The research was created by using the case study model, which is one of the qualitative research methods. Maximum diversity sampling, one of the sampling types for the study group of the study, was used. The study group of the research consisted of 300 students studying at the secondary school level in the central district of Niğde province. . The students who participated in the research participated on a voluntary basis without any pressure. In the study, a semi-structured interview form created by the researcher was used as a data collection tool. With the data obtained from the research, the favorite sultans of secondary school students were determined and they answered the questions in the light of their knowledge about the Ottoman Empire. The findings obtained from the research showed that the first favorite sultan of the students was Fatih Sultan Mehmet, followed by Yavuz Sultan Selim and Suleiman the Magnificent. These preferences reflect students' admiration for powerful and conquering leaders. In addition, the most admired historical period was determined as the Ascension Period, and the interest of the students in this period, when the Ottoman Empire was the strongest, attracted attention. Other findings of the study show that the students intensively followed the series "Kurum Osman" and were influenced by this series and chose Osman Bey as their favorite historical figure. However, the low number of books on Ottoman history reveals that students get their historical knowledge largely from visual media and course content. In the evaluations of the Social Studies course, although the students found the narration of Ottoman history to be sufficient in general, they demanded that the courses be more descriptive and detailed. . Finally, the students' choice of Mehmet the Conqueror as the sultan they wanted to be in his place was explained by his desire to conquer Istanbul and his desire to become a strong leader. These findings provide important data in terms of understanding students' interests in historical figures and periods, how media tools shape this interest, and their needs for history education. Suggestions were also made in the light of the findings obtained. Keywords: Secondary School Students, Social Studies, Sultans