Mimar Sinan
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Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman architect ( tr, links=no, mimar) and civil engineer for sultans
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
,
Selim II Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى ''Selīm-i sānī'', tr, II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( tr, Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunk ( tr, Sarhoş Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire ...
and
Murad III Murad III ( ota, مراد ثالث, Murād-i sālis; tr, III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Saf ...
. He was responsible for the construction of more than 300 major structures and other more modest projects, such as schools. His apprentices would later design the
Sultan Ahmed Mosque The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, also known by its official name, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque ( tr, Sultan Ahmet Camii), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque, it also attracts large numbers of ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
and
Stari Most Stari Most ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stari most, Стари мост, Old Bridge), also known as Mostar Bridge, is a rebuilt 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects the two p ...
in
Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...
. The son of a stonemason, he received a technical education and became a military engineer. He rose rapidly through the ranks to become first an officer and finally a
Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
commander, with the honorific title of Sinan.Goodwin (2001), p. 87 He refined his architectural and engineering skills while on campaign with the Janissaries, becoming expert at constructing fortifications of all kinds, as well as military infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges and
aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...
.Kinross (1977), pp 214–215 At about the age of fifty, he was appointed as chief royal architect, applying the technical skills he had acquired in the army to the "creation of fine religious buildings" and civic structures of all kinds. He remained in this post for almost fifty years. His masterpiece is the Selimiye Mosque in
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
, although his most famous work is the
Suleiman Mosque Suleiman (Arabic: سُلِيمَان ''sulaymān''; or dictionary.reference.comsuleiman/ref>) is the Arabic name of the Quranic king and Islamic prophet Solomon meaning "man of peace", derived from the Hebrew name Shlomo. The name is also spe ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. He headed an extensive governmental department and trained many assistants who, in turn, distinguished themselves, including
Sedefkar Mehmed Agha Sedefkar Mehmed Agha Biçakçiu or Sedefqar Mehmeti of Elbasan (Modern Turkish: ''Sedefkâr Mehmet Ağa'', about 1540–1617) is recorded as the Ottoman architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque") in Istanbul. Biography Mehmed Agh ...
, architect of the
Sultan Ahmed Mosque The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, also known by its official name, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque ( tr, Sultan Ahmet Camii), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque, it also attracts large numbers of ...
and
Mimar Hayruddin Mimar Hayruddin (''Hayruddin the architect'') was an Ottoman chief architect (Turkish: ''mimar'') and civil engineer under the rule of Sultan Bayezid II (reigned 1481-1512/886-918 AH) and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-1566/? AH). ...
, architect of the
Stari Most Stari Most ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stari most, Стари мост, Old Bridge), also known as Mostar Bridge, is a rebuilt 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects the two p ...
. He is considered the greatest architect of the classical period of Ottoman architecture and has been compared to
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, his contemporary in the West. Michelangelo and his plans for
St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
in Rome were well known in Istanbul, since
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
and he had been invited, in 1502 and 1505 respectively, by the
Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...
to submit plans for a bridge spanning the Golden Horn. Mimar Sinan's works are among the most influential buildings in history.


Early years and background

His birth is variously placed in 1489, 1490, 1491, or beetween 1494 and 1499. He was born with the name Joseph. He was born either an
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
,Zaryan, ''Sinan'', Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia, p. 385.
Cappadocian Greek Cappadocian Greek ( cpg, Καππαδοκικά, Καππαδοκική Διάλεκτος), also known as Cappadocian or Asia Minor Greek, is a dialect of modern Greek heavily influenced by Turkish, originally spoken in Cappadocia (modern-day ...
,
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
, or a Christian Turk in a small town called
Ağırnas Ağırnas is a township with its own municipality in Central Anatolia, Asian Turkey. It is also within the boundaries of the Kayseri metropolitan area, and administratively in Kayseri's metropolitan municipality of Melikgazi, although it retains ...
near the city of
Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...
in
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
(as stated in an order by Sultan
Selim II Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى ''Selīm-i sānī'', tr, II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( tr, Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunk ( tr, Sarhoş Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire ...
). According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Sinan had either Armenian or Greek origin. One argument that lends credence to his Armenian or Greek background is a decree by
Selim II Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى ''Selīm-i sānī'', tr, II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( tr, Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunk ( tr, Sarhoş Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire ...
dated
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
7 981 (ca. Dec. 30, 1573), which grants Sinan's request to forgive and spare his relatives from the general exile of Kayseri's Armenian communities to the island of
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
;Alboyajian (1937), vol. 2, pp. 1533-34.This decree was published in the Turkish journal ''Türk Tarihi Encümeni Mecmuası'' while Godfrey Goodwin stated that "after the
Ottoman conquest of Cyprus Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
in 1571, when Selim II decided to repopulate the island by transferring Rum (Orthodox Christian) families from the
Karaman Eyalet Karaman Eyalet ( ota, ایالت قره‌مان, Eyālet-i Ḳaraman) was one of the subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . In 1468, the formerly independent principality of Karaman was annexed by the ...
, Sinan intervened on behalf of his family and obtained two orders from the Sultan in council exempting them from deportation." According to some scholars, this means that his family was
Cappadocian Greek Cappadocian Greek ( cpg, Καππαδοκικά, Καππαδοκική Διάλεκτος), also known as Cappadocian or Asia Minor Greek, is a dialect of modern Greek heavily influenced by Turkish, originally spoken in Cappadocia (modern-day ...
because the only Orthodox Christians (
Rûm Rūm ( ar, روم , collective; singulative: Rūmī ; plural: Arwām ; fa, روم Rum or Rumiyān, singular Rumi; tr, Rûm or , singular ), also romanized as ''Roum'', is a derivative of the Aramaic (''rhπmÈ'') and Parthian (''frwm'') te ...
s) of the region were Greek-speaking. According to
Herbert J. Muller Herbert J. Muller (1905–1980) was an American historian, academic, government official and writer. He received his education at Cornell University. He taught at Cornell, Purdue and Indiana University (1959-1980), served in the Department of Sta ...
though, he "seems to have been an Armenian." Lucy Der Manuelian of
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
suggests that "he can be identified as an Armenian through a document in the imperial archives and other evidence." Several scholars have cited Sinan's possible Albanian origin. According to the British scholar Percy Brown and the Indian scholar
Vidya Dhar Mahajan Vidya Dhar Mahajan (1913 — 10 July 1990) was an Indian historian, political scientist, and advocate. Biography Mahajan was born in 1913 in Punjab, British India. He did M.A. twice – in History at the D.A.V. College, Lahore and in Political ...
, the
Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
was very dissatisfied with the local Indian architecture and planning, thus he invited "certain pupils of the leading Ottoman architect Sinan, the Albanian genius, to carry out his architectural schemes.". Sinan grew up helping his father in his work, and by the time that he was conscripted would have had a good grounding in the practicalities of building work.Encyclopædia Britannica: Sinan (Ottoman architect)
/ref> There are three brief records (Anonymous Text; Architectural Masterpieces; Book of Architecture) in the library of
Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...
, dictated by Sinan to his friend and biographer Mustafa Sâi Çelebi. In these manuscripts, Sinan divulges some details of his youth and military career. His father is referred to as "Abdülmennan" (literally "
Servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
of the Generous and Merciful One"), a title which was commonly used in the Ottoman period to define the non-Muslim father of a Muslim convert.


Military career

In 1512, Sinan was conscripted into Ottoman service under the
devshirme Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...
system.Kinross, pp 214–215. He was sent to Constantinople to be trained as an officer of the
Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
Corps and converted to Islam. He was too old to be admitted to the imperial
Enderun School The Enderun School ( ota, اندرون مکتب, Enderûn Mektebi) was a palace school and boarding school within Topkapi Palace. It was mostly for Princes of the court and the Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire. Students here were primarily recru ...
in the
Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...
but was sent instead to an auxiliary school. Some records claim that he might have served the
Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
Pargalı İbrahim Pasha as a novice of the Ibrahim Pasha School. Possibly, he was given the Islamic name ''Sinan'' there. He initially learned carpentry and mathematics but through his intellectual qualities and ambitions, he soon assisted the leading architects and got his training as an architect. During the next six years, he also trained to be a Janissary officer (''acemioğlan''). He possibly joined
Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...
in his last military campaign,
Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
according to some sources, but when the Sultan died, this project ended. Two years later he witnessed the conquest of
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. Under the new sultan,
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
, he was present, as a member of the Household Cavalry, at the
Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...
. He was promoted to captain of the Royal Guard and then given command of the Infantry Cadet Corps. He was later stationed in Austria, where he commanded the 62nd Orta of the Rifle Corps. He became a master of archery, while at the same time, as an architect, learning the weak points of structures when gunning them down. In 1535 he participated in the Baghdad campaign as a commanding officer of the Royal Guard. In 1537 he went on expeditions to
Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
and
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
and
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
. During these campaigns he proved himself an able architect and engineer. When the Ottoman army captured
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, Sinan was promoted to chief architect and was given the privilege of tearing down any buildings in the captured city that were not according to the city plan. During the campaign in the East, he assisted in the building of defences and bridges, such as a bridge across the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
. He converted churches into mosques. During the
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n campaign in 1535 he built ships for the army and the artillery to cross
Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
. For this he was given the title ''Haseki'i'',
Sergeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...
in the body guard of the Sultan, a rank equivalent to that of the
Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
Ağa. When Chelebi Lütfi Pasha became
Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
in 1539, he appointed Sinan, who had previously served under his command, to the office of Architect of the Abode of Felicity. This was the start of a remarkable career. The job entailed the supervision infrastructure construction and the flow of supplies within the Ottoman Empire. He was also responsible for the design and construction of public works, such as roads, waterworks and bridges. Through the years he transformed his office into that of Architect of the Empire, an elaborate government department, with greater powers than his supervising minister. He became the head of a whole Corps of architects, training a team of assistants, deputies and pupils.


Work

His training as an army engineer gave Sinan an empirical approach to architecture rather than a theoretical one. But the same can be said of the great Western Renaissance architects, such as
Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...
and
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
. Various sources state that Sinan was the architect of at least 374 structures which included 92
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s; 52 small mosques ('' mescit''); 55 schools of theology (''
medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
''); 7 schools for
Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
reciters (''darülkurra''); 20 mausoleums (''
türbe ''Türbe'' is the Turkish word for "tomb". In Istanbul it is often used to refer to the mausolea of the Ottoman sultans and other nobles and notables. The word is derived from the Arabic ''turbah'' (meaning ''"soil/ground/earth"''), which ...
''); 17 public kitchens (''
imaret Imaret, sometimes also known as a ''darüzziyafe'', is one of a few names used to identify the public soup kitchens built throughout the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These public kitchens were often part of a larger complex ...
''); 3 hospitals ('' darüşşifa''); 6
aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...
; 10
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s; 20
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
s; 36
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
s and
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
s; 8 vaults; and 48 baths. Sinan held the position of chief architect of the palace, which meant being the overseer of all construction work of the Ottoman Empire, for nearly 50 years, working with a large team of assistants consisting of architects and master builders. The development and maturing stages of Sinan's career can be illustrated by three major works. The first two of these are in Istanbul: the
Şehzade Mosque The Şehzade Mosque ( tr, Şehzade Camii, from the original Persian شاهزاده ''Šāhzādeh'', meaning "prince") is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was comm ...
, which he calls a work of his apprenticeship period and the
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque ( tr, Süleymaniye Camii, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An insc ...
, which is the work of his qualification stage. The Selimiye Mosque in Edirne is the product of his master stage. File:Shezade_mosque_9195.jpg,
Şehzade Mosque The Şehzade Mosque ( tr, Şehzade Camii, from the original Persian شاهزاده ''Šāhzādeh'', meaning "prince") is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was comm ...
in Istanbul File:SehzadeMosqueInterior.jpg, Şehzade Mosque (interior) File:Cour_mosquee_Suleymaniye_Istanbul.jpg,
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque ( tr, Süleymaniye Camii, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An insc ...
in Istanbul File:20101213 Suleymaniye Mosque Istanbul inside vertical Panorama.jpg, Süleymaniye Mosque (interior) File:Selimiye_Mosque_3.JPG, Selimiye Mosque in Edirne
Şehzade Mosque is the first of the grand mosques created by Sinan. The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, which is also known as the Üsküdar Quay Mosque, was completed in the same year and has an original design with its main dome supported by three half domes. When Sinan reached the age of 70, he had completed the Süleymaniye Mosque complex. This building, situated on one of the hills of Istanbul facing the Golden Horn, and built in the name of Süleyman the Magnificent, is one of the symbolic monuments of the period. The diameter of the dome, which exceeds the of the Selimiye Mosque which Sinan completed when he was 80, is the most outstanding example of the level of achievement reached by Sinan. Mimar Sinan reached his artistic peak with the design, architecture, tile decorations and land stone workmanship displayed at Selimiye. Another area of architecture where Sinan produced unique designs are his mausoleums. The Mausoleum of Şehzade Mehmed is notable for with its exterior decorations and sliced dome. The Rüstem Paşa mausoleum is a very attractive structure in classical style. The mausoleum of Süleyman the Magnificent is an interesting experiment, with an octagonal body and flat dome. The Selim II Mausoleum with has a square plan and is one of the best examples of Turkish mausoleum architecture. Sinan's own mausoleum, which is located in the north-east part of the Süleymaniye complex on the other hand, is a very plain structure. Sinan masterfully combined art with functionalism in the bridges he built. The largest of these is the nearly long Büyükçekmece Bridge. Other important examples are the Ailivri Bridge, the Old Bridge in
Svilengrad Svilengrad ( bg, Свиленград; el, Σβίλενγκραντ; ota, Cisr-i Mustafapaşa) is a town in Haskovo Province, south-central Bulgaria, situated at the border of Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the h ...
on the Maritsa, the Lüleburgaz (Sokullu Mehmet Pasha) Bridge on the Lüleburgaz River, the Sinanlı Bridge over the river Ergene and the
Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge ( sr, Мост Мехмед-паше Соколовића, Most Mehmed-paše Sokolovića) is a historic bridge in Višegrad, over the Drina River in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was completed in 1577 by ...
over
Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whic ...
river in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. While Sinan was maintaining and improving the water supply system of Istanbul, he built arched aqueducts at several locations within the city. The Mağlova Arch over the Alibey River, which is long and high, has two tiers of arches, and is one of the best examples of its kind. At the start of Sinan's career, Ottoman architecture was highly pragmatic. Buildings were repetitions of former types and were based on rudimentary plans. They were more an assembly of parts than a conception of a whole. An architect could sketch a plan for a new building and an assistant or foreman knew what to do, because novel ideas were avoided. Moreover, architects used an extravagant margin of safety in their designs, resulting in a wasteful use of material and labour. Sinan would gradually change all this. He was to transform established architectural practices, amplifying and transforming the traditions by adding innovations, trying to approach perfection.


The early years (till the mid-1550s): apprenticeship period

During these years he continued the traditional pattern of Ottoman architecture, but he gradually began exploring other possibilities, because during his military career he had had the opportunity to study the architectural monuments in the conquered cities of Europe and the Middle East. His first opportunity to design a major building was the Hüsrev Pasha Mosque and its double medresse in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
, Syria. It was built in the winter of 1536-1537 for his commander-in-chief and the governor of Aleppo between two army campaigns. It was built hastily and this is evident in the coarseness of execution and the crude decoration. His first major commission as the royal architect was the construction of the Haseki Sultan Complex for
Hurrem Sultan Hurrem Sultan (, ota, خُرّم سلطان, translit=Ḫurrem Sulṭān, tr, Hürrem Sultan, label= Modern Turkish; 1500 – 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana ( uk, Роксолана}; ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottom ...
, the wife of the sultan,
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
. He had to follow the plans drawn by his predecessors. Sinan retained the traditional arrangement of the available space without any innovations. Nevertheless, it was already better built than the Aleppo mosque and it shows a certain elegance. However, it has suffered from many restorations. Sinan is credited to have built a defensive tower in
Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...
, south
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, in 1537, very similar to the
White Tower of Thessaloniki The White Tower of Thessaloniki ( el, Λευκός Πύργος ''Lefkós Pýrgos''; tr, Beyaz Kule; lad, Kuli Blanka) is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki, capital of the region of Macedonia in northern Greece ...
, as well as
Muradie Mosque The Muradie Mosque () or Lead Mosque () is a Cultural Monument of Albania, located in Vlorë. The mosque was built in 1537 by the famous Ottoman Turkish architect Mimar Sinan during the rulership of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The constructi ...
, during Suleiman the Magnificent's stay in the town for the preparation of his expedition towards
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In 1541, he started the construction of the mausoleum (''türbe'') of the Grand Admiral
Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an Ot ...
. It stands on the shore of
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...
on the European part of Istanbul, at the site where his fleet used to assemble. Oddly enough, the admiral is not buried there, but in his türbe next to the Iskele mosque. This mausoleum has been severely neglected since then. Mihrimah Sultan, the only daughter of Suleiman and Hurrem and wife of the Grand Vizier
Rüstem Pasha Rüstem Pasha (; ota, رستم پاشا; 1505 – 10 July 1561) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha (the epithet ''damat'' meaning 'son- ...
gave Sinan the commission to build a mosque with ''
medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
'' (college), an ''
imaret Imaret, sometimes also known as a ''darüzziyafe'', is one of a few names used to identify the public soup kitchens built throughout the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These public kitchens were often part of a larger complex ...
'' (soup kitchen) and a (Qur'an school) in
Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...
. The ''imaret'' no longer exists. This Iskele Mosque (or Jetty mosque) already shows several hallmarks of Sinan's mature style: a spacious, high-vaulted basement, slender minarets, single-domed
baldacchino A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...
, flanked by three
semi-dome In architecture, a semi-dome (or half-dome) is a half dome that covers a semi-circular area in a building. Architecture Semi-domes are a common feature of apses in Ancient Roman and traditional church architecture, and in mosques and iwans in Isla ...
s ending in three
exedra An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
e and a broad double
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
. The construction was finished in 1548. The construction of a double portico was not a first in Ottoman architecture, but it set a trend for country mosques and mosques of viziers in particular. Rüstem Pasha and Mihrimah required them later in their three mosques in Constantinople and in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque in
Tekirdağ Tekirdağ (; see also its other names) is a city in Turkey. It is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of East Thrace. In 2019 the city's population was 204,001. Tekirdağ town is a commercial centre with a harbour ...
. The inner portico traditionally have
stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...
capitals while the outer portico has capitals with
chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...
patterns (''baklava''). When sultan Suleiman the Magnificent returned from another Balkan campaign, he received news that his son
Şehzade Mehmed Şehzade Mehmed ( ota, شہزادہ محمد; 31 October 1522 – 7 November 1543) was an Ottoman prince (''şehzade''), the son of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sultan. He served as governor of Manisa. Life Şehzade Mehmed ...
had died at the age of twenty-two. In November 1543, not long after Sinan had started the construction of the Iskele Mosque, the sultan ordered Sinan to build a new major mosque with an adjoining complex in memory of his favourite son. This
Şehzade Mosque The Şehzade Mosque ( tr, Şehzade Camii, from the original Persian شاهزاده ''Šāhzādeh'', meaning "prince") is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was comm ...
would become larger and more ambitious than his previous ones. Architectural historians consider this mosque as Sinan's first masterpiece. Obsessed by the concept of a large central dome, Sinan turned to the plans of mosques such as the Fatih Pasha Mosque in
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...
or the Piri Pasha Mosque in
Hasköy Hasköy may refer to the following places in Turkey: * Hasköy, Istanbul, a quarter or neighborhood of the district of Beyoğlu in Istanbul * Hasköy, Ardahan, a village in the district of Ardahan, Ardahan Province * Hasköy, Çınar * Hasköy, ...
. He must have visited both mosques during his Persian campaign. Sinan built a mosque with a central dome, this time with four equal half-domes. This superstructure is supported by four massive, but still elegant, free-standing octagonal fluted piers and four piers incorporated in each lateral wall. In the corners, above roof level, four turrets serve as stabilizing anchors. This coherent concept already is markedly different from the additive plans of traditional Ottoman architecture.
Sedefkar Mehmed Agha Sedefkar Mehmed Agha Biçakçiu or Sedefqar Mehmeti of Elbasan (Modern Turkish: ''Sedefkâr Mehmet Ağa'', about 1540–1617) is recorded as the Ottoman architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque") in Istanbul. Biography Mehmed Agh ...
would later copy the concept of fluted piers in his
Sultan Ahmed Mosque The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, also known by its official name, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque ( tr, Sultan Ahmet Camii), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque, it also attracts large numbers of ...
in an attempt to lighten their appearance. Sinan, however, rejected this solution in his next mosques.


Mid-1550s to 1570: qualification stage

By 1550, Suleiman the Magnificent was at the height of his powers. Having built a mosque for his son, he felt it was time to construct his own imperial mosque, an enduring monument larger than all the others, to be built on a gently sloping hillside dominating the
Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...
. Money was no problem, since he had accumulated a treasure from the loot of his campaigns in Europe and the Middle East. He gave the order to Sinan to build a mosque, the Süleymaniye, surrounded by a
külliye A külliye ( ota, كلية) is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa ("cl ...
consisting of four colleges, a soup kitchen, a hospital, an asylum, a
hamam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...
, a
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
and a hospice for travellers (''tabhane''). Sinan, now heading a formidable department with a great number of assistants, finished this formidable task in seven years. Before Süleymaniye, no mosques had been built with half cubic roofs. He got the idea of half cubic roof design from the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
. Through this monumental achievement, Sinan emerged from the anonymity of his predecessors. Sinan must have known the ideas of the Renaissance architect
Leone Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths. He ...
(who in turn had studied ''De architectura'' by the Roman architect and engineer
Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
), since he too was concerned in building the ideal church, reflecting harmony through the perfection of geometry in architecture. But, contrary to his Western counterparts, Sinan was more interested in simplification than in enrichment. He tried to achieve the largest volume under a single central dome. The dome is based on the circle, the perfect geometrical figure representing, in an abstract way, a perfect God. Sinan used subtle geometric relationships, using multiples of two when calculating the ratios and the proportions of his buildings. However, in a later stage, he also used divisions of three or ratios of two to three when working out the width and the proportions of domes, such as the Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque at Kadırga. While he was fully occupied with the construction of the Süleymaniye, Sinan or his subordinates drew up the plans and gave instructions for many other constructions. Sinan built a mosque for the Grand Vizier Pargalı İbrahim Pasha and a mausoleum (''türbe'') at Silivrikapı (Constantinople) in 1551. The next Grand Vizier,
Rüstem Pasha Rüstem Pasha (; ota, رستم پاشا; 1505 – 10 July 1561) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha (the epithet ''damat'' meaning 'son- ...
gave Sinan several more commissions. In 1550 he built a large inn (''han'') in the Galata district of Istanbul. About ten years later he built another ''han'' in
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
, and between 1544 and 1561 the Taṣ Han at
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
. He designed a
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
in Eregli and an octagonal
madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
in Constantinople. Between 1553 and 1555, Sinan built the Sinan Pasha Mosque at
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...
, a smaller version of the
Üç Şerefeli Mosque The Üç Şerefeli Mosque ( tr, Üç Şerefeli Camii) is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque in Edirne, Turkey. History The Üç Şerefeli Mosque was commissioned by Ottoman sultan Murad II (1421–1444,1446– 1451), and built between 1438 and 1447. ...
at
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
, for the Grand Admiral
Sinan Pasha Koca Sinan Pasha ( tr, Koca Sinan Paşa, "Sinan the Great"; c. 1506 - 3 April 1596) was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier. In a Ragusan documen ...
. This proves again that Sinan had thoroughly studied the work of other architects, especially since he was responsible for the upkeep of these buildings. He copied the old form, pondered over the weaknesses in the construction and tried to solve this with his own solution. In 1554, Sinan used the form of the Sinan Pasha mosque again for the construction of the mosque for the next Grand Vizier Kara Ahmet Pasha in Constantinople, his first hexagonal mosque. By using a hexagonal plan, Sinan could reduce the side domes to half-domes and set them in the corners at an angle of 45 degrees. Clearly, Sinan must have appreciated this form, since he repeated it later in mosques such as the
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Sokollu Mehmed Pasha ( ota, صوقوللى محمد پاشا, Ṣoḳollu Meḥmed Pașa, tr, Sokollu Mehmet Paşa; ; ; 1506 – 11 October 1579) was an Ottoman statesman most notable for being the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Born in ...
Mosque at Kadırga and the
Atik Valide Mosque The Atik Valide Mosque ( tr, Atik Valide Camii, Eski Valide Camii) is a 16th century Ottoman imperial mosque located on a hill above the large and densely populated district of Üsküdar, in Istanbul, Turkey. It was built for Nurbanu Sultan, the w ...
at
Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...
. In 1556, Sinan built the Haseki Hürrem Sultan Hamamı, replacing the antique
Baths of Zeuxippus The Baths of Zeuxippus were popular public baths in the city of Constantinople. They took their name because they were built on a site previously occupied by a temple of Zeus,Gilles, P. p. 70 on the earlier Greek Acropolis in Byzantion. Constructe ...
, which are still standing close to the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
. This would become one of the most beautiful hamams he ever constructed. In 1559, he built the Cafer Ağa madrasah below the forecourt of the Hagia Sophia. In the same year he began the construction of a small mosque for Iskender Pasha at Kanlıka, beside the Bosphorus. This was one of the many minor and routine commissions the office of Sinan received over the years. In 1561, when Rüstem Pasha died, Sinan began the construction of the
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque ( tr, Rüstem Paşa Camii) is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named aft ...
, as a memorial supervised by his widow Mihrimah Sultan. It is situated just below the Süleymaniye. This time the central form is octagonal, modelled on the monastery church of
Saints Sergius and Bacchus Sergius (or Serge) and Bacchus were fourth-century Roman Christian soldiers revered as martyrs and military saints by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Their feast day is 7 October. According to their hagiography, Se ...
, with four small semi-domes set in the corners. In the same year, Sinan built a türbe for Rüstem Pasha in the garden of the
Şehzade Mosque The Şehzade Mosque ( tr, Şehzade Camii, from the original Persian شاهزاده ''Šāhzādeh'', meaning "prince") is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was comm ...
, decorated with the finest tiles Iznik could produce. Mihrimah Sultan, having doubled her wealth after the death of her husband, now wanted a mosque of her own. Sinan built the
Mihrimah Mosque Sultan may refer to: * Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Suleiman I) (1522–1578), Ottoman princess * Mihrümah Sultan (daughter of Şehzade Bayezid) (1547–1602), Ottoman princess * Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Murad III) (1579–), Ottoman princess ...
at Edirnekapı (Edirne Gate) for her on the highest of the seven hills of Constantinople. He raised the mosque on a vaulted platform, accentuating its hilltop site. There is some speculation concerning the dates; until recently this was supposed to be between 1540 and 1540, but now it is generally accepted to be between 1562 and 1565. Sinan, concerned with grandeur, built a mosque in one of his most imaginative designs, using new support systems and lateral spaces to increase the area available for windows. He built a central dome high and wide, supported by
pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points ...
s, on a square base with two lateral galleries, each with three cupolas. At each corner of this square stands a gigantic pier, connected with immense arches each with 15 large windows and four circular ones, flooding the interior with light. The style of this revolutionary building was as close to the
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style as Ottoman structure permits. In 1566 Sinan completed the
Banya Bashi Mosque Banya Bashi Mosque ( bg, Баня баши джамия, ; tr, Banya Başı Camii) is a mosque in Sofia, Bulgaria. History The mosque was designed by the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan and completed in 1566, during the years the Otto ...
in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, currently the only functioning mosque in the city. His first mosque in Sofia was built in 1528; popularly known as ''Imaret Mosque'' or ''Black Mosque'' due to the dark colour of its building stone, it was damaged by an earthquake and abandoned in the 19th century. In the 1560s he built the Kirkcesme water supply system for Istanbul. It is seen as a masterpiece of his work. It spans 55 km and includes 35 aqueduct bridges, 4 of which are notable for their height (up to 35m) as well as their length (up to 700m). Between 1560 and 1566 Sinan built a mosque in Constantinople for Zal Mahmud Pasha on a hillside beyond Ayvansaray. Sinan certainly conceived the plans and partly supervised the construction, but left the building of lesser areas to less than competent hands, since Sinan and his most able assistants were about to begin his masterpiece, the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. On the outside, the mosque rises high, with its east wall pierced by four tiers of windows. This gives the mosque an aspect of a palace or even a block of apartments. Inside, there are three broad galleries making the interior look compact. The heaviness of this structure makes the dome look unexpectedly lofty. These galleries look like a preliminary try-out for the galleries of the Selimiye Mosque.


The period from 1570 to his death: master stage

In this late stage of his life, Sinan tried to create unified and sublimely elegant interiors. To achieve this, he eliminated all the unnecessary subsidiary spaces beyond the supporting piers of the central dome. This can be seen in the Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque in Kadırga, Istanbul (1571–1572) and in the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. In other buildings of his final period, Sinan experimented with spatial and mural treatments that were new in the classical Ottoman architecture. According to him from his autobiography ''Tezkiretü'l-Bünyan'', his masterpiece is the Selimiye Mosque in
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
. Breaking free of the handicaps of traditional Ottoman architecture, this mosque marks the climax of Sinan's work and of all classical Ottoman architecture. While it was being built, the architect's saying of "''You can never build a dome larger than the dome of
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
and specially as Muslims''" was his main motivation. When it was completed, Sinan claimed that it had the largest dome in the world, leaving Hagia Sophia behind. In fact, the dome height from the ground level was lower and the diameter barely larger (0.5 meters, approximately 2 feet) than the millennium-older Hagia Sophia. However, measured from its base the dome of Selimiye is higher. Sinan was more than 80 years old when the building was finished. In this mosque he finally realized his aim of creating the optimum, completely unified, domed interior: a triumph of space that dominates the interior. He used this time an octagonal central dome (31.28 m wide and 42 m high), supported by eight elephantine piers of marble and granite. These supports lack any
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
but have squinches or consoles at their summit, leading to the optical effect that the arches seem to grow integrally out of the piers. By placing the lateral galleries far away, he increased the three-dimensional effect. The many windows in the screen walls flood the interior with light. The buttressing semi-domes are set in the four corners of the square under the dome. The weight and the internal tensions are hidden, producing an airy and elegant effect rarely seen under a central dome. The four minarets (83 m high) at the corners of the prayer hall are the tallest in the Muslim world, accentuating the vertical posture of this mosque that already dominates the city. He also designed the
Sulaymaniyya Takiyya The Sulaymaniyya Takiyya ( ar, التَّكِيَّة السُّلَيْمَانِيَّة, at-Takiyya as-Sulaymāniyya), known in Turkish as , is a '' takiyya'' ( Ottoman-era Arabic name for a mosque complex which served as a Sufi convent) in D ...
in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, Syria, considered to have marked the introduction of the Ottoman architectural style to the city. He has also built
Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge ( sr, Мост Мехмед-паше Соколовића, Most Mehmed-paše Sokolovića) is a historic bridge in Višegrad, over the Drina River in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was completed in 1577 by ...
across the
Drina River The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whic ...
in
Višegrad Višegrad ( sr-cyrl, Вишеград, ) is a town and municipality located in eastern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rests at the confluence of the Drina and the Rzav river. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,668 ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.


Conclusion

At the start of his career as an architect, Sinan had to deal with an established, traditional domed architecture. His training as an army engineer led him to approach architecture from an empirical point of view, rather than from a theoretical one. He started to experiment with the design and engineering of single-domed and multiple-domed structures. He tried to obtain a new geometrical purity, a rationality and a spatial integrity in his structures and designs of mosques. Through all this, he demonstrated his creativity and his wish to create a clear, unified space. He started to develop a series of variations on the domes, surrounding them in different ways with semi-domes, piers, screen walls and different sets of galleries. His domes and arches are curved, but he avoided curvilinear elements in the rest of his design, transforming the circle of the dome into a rectangular, hexagonal or octagonal system. He tried to obtain a rational harmony between the exterior pyramidal composition of semi-domes, culminating in a single drumless dome, and the interior space where this central dome vertically integrates the space into a unified whole. His genius lies in the organization of this space and in the resolution of the tensions created by the design. He was an innovator in the use of decoration and motifs, merging them into the architectural forms as a whole. He accentuated the centre underneath the central dome by flooding it with light from the many windows. He incorporated his mosques in an efficient way into a complex (''külliye''), serving the needs of the community as an intellectual centre, a community centre and serving the social needs and the health problems of the faithful. When Sinan died, classical Ottoman architecture had reached its climax. No successor was gifted enough to better the design of the Selimiye Mosque and to develop it further. His students retreated to earlier models, such as the Şehzade mosque. Invention faded away, and a decline set in.


Constructions

During his tenure during 50 years of the post of imperial architect, Sinan is said to have constructed or supervised 476 buildings (196 of which still survive), according to the official list of his works, the ''Tezkiretü'l-Ebniye''. He could not possibly have designed them all, but he relied on the skills of his office. He took credit and the responsibility for their work. For, as a
janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
, and thus a slave of the sultan, his primary responsibility was to the sultan. In his spare time, he also designed buildings for the chief officials. He delegated to his assistants the construction of less important buildings in the provinces. *94 large mosques (''camii''), *57 colleges, *52 smaller mosques (''mescit''), *48 bath-houses (''
hamam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...
''). *35 palaces (''saray''), *22 mausoleums (''türbe''), *20
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
(''kervansaray''; ''han''), *17 public kitchens (''imaret''), *8 bridges, *8 store houses or granaries *7 Koranic schools (''
medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
''), *6 aqueducts, *3 hospitals (''darüşşifa'') Some of his works: * Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque (Azapkapı) *
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque (Kadırga) Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque is the name of some 16th-century Ottoman mosques built for grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, and may refer to: * Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, Azapkapı, (built 1578) in Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey * Sokollu M ...
* Caferağa Medresseh * Selimiye Mosque in
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
*
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque ( tr, Süleymaniye Camii, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An insc ...
*
Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex The Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque ( tr, Kılıç Ali Paşa Cami) is a mosque at the heart of a complex designed and built between 1580 and 1587 by Mimar Sinan, who at the time was in his 90s. The mosque itself was constructed in 1578-1580. The comple ...
* Molla Çelebi Mosque * Haseki Baths * Haseki Sultan Complex * Çemberlitaş Baths *
Piyale Pasha Mosque The Piyale Pasha Mosque ( ota, پیاله پاشا جامع ), also known as the Tersane Mosque (literally: Shipyard Mosque), is a 16th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman mosque located in the Kasımpaşa, Beyoğlu, Kasımpaşa neighborhood of the Be ...
*
Şehzade Mosque The Şehzade Mosque ( tr, Şehzade Camii, from the original Persian شاهزاده ''Šāhzādeh'', meaning "prince") is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was comm ...
* Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Edirnekapı * Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in
Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...
*
Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge ( sr, Мост Мехмед-паше Соколовића, Most Mehmed-paše Sokolovića) is a historic bridge in Višegrad, over the Drina River in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was completed in 1577 by ...
in
Višegrad Višegrad ( sr-cyrl, Вишеград, ) is a town and municipality located in eastern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rests at the confluence of the Drina and the Rzav river. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,668 ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina *
Banya Bashi Mosque Banya Bashi Mosque ( bg, Баня баши джамия, ; tr, Banya Başı Camii) is a mosque in Sofia, Bulgaria. History The mosque was designed by the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan and completed in 1566, during the years the Otto ...
in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, Bulgaria * Nisanci Mehmed Pasha Mosque *
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque ( tr, Rüstem Paşa Camii) is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named aft ...
*
Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque The Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque ( tr, Zal Mahmut Paşa Camii) is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque located in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan and completed in 1590. History The building of th ...
* Kadirga Sokullu Mosque * Koursoum Mosque or Osman Shah Mosque in
Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...
, Greece * Yavuz Sultan Selim Madras * Mimar Sinan Bridge in
Büyükçekmece Büyükçekmece is a district and municipality in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey on the Sea of Marmara coast of the European side, west of the city. It is largely an industrial area with a population of 380,000. The mayor is Hasan Akgün ( CHP). ...
* Church of the Assumption in
Uzundzhovo Uzundzhovo ( bg, Узунджово) is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of Haskovo municipality, Haskovo Province. As of 2008, it has a population of 1,727 and the mayor is Vancho Vanchev. The village lies in the agricultural Upper Thracia ...
, Bulgaria *
Sulaymaniyya Takiyya The Sulaymaniyya Takiyya ( ar, التَّكِيَّة السُّلَيْمَانِيَّة, at-Takiyya as-Sulaymāniyya), known in Turkish as , is a '' takiyya'' ( Ottoman-era Arabic name for a mosque complex which served as a Sufi convent) in D ...
in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, Syria *
Khusruwiyah Mosque The Khusraw mosque Arabized as Khusruwiyah Mosque ( ar, جَامِع الْخُسْرُوِيَّة, Jāmiʿ al-Ḵusruwīyah; tr, Hüsreviye Camii) was a mosque complex in Aleppo, Syria. It was located southeast of the Citadel. The mosque was co ...
in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
, Syria * Oratory at the
Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ...


Death and legacy

Sinan died in AH 996 (1587–88 CE) and is buried in a tomb in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, a ''türbe'' of his own design, just to the north of the
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque ( tr, Süleymaniye Camii, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An insc ...
, across a street named Mimar Sinan Caddesi in his honour. He was buried near the tombs of his greatest patrons:
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Süleyman I Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
and Sultana Haseki Hürrem, Suleiman's wife. Above the iron-grilled prayer window of his tomb is an epitaph written in
Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
by the poet Mustafa Sai. It gives the year of his death and records that Sinan built 400 masjids (small mosques), 80 Friday mosques and the Kanuni Sultan Suleiman bridge at
Büyükçekmece Büyükçekmece is a district and municipality in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey on the Sea of Marmara coast of the European side, west of the city. It is largely an industrial area with a population of 380,000. The mayor is Hasan Akgün ( CHP). ...
. In 1935, his remains were exhumed by a group of Turkish scholars. Proponents of the racial science popular at the time, they claimed that measurements of Sinan's skull proved that he was actually Turkish. As of 2016, the skull is missing. His name is also given to: * a
crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...
on the planet
Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
. * A Turkish state university, the
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University The Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University ( tr, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, or MSGSÜ) is a Turkish public university dedicated to higher education in the fine arts. It is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, Istanbu ...
and the Mimar Sinan Mosque, both in Istanbul. Sinan's portrait was depicted on the
reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...
of the Turkish 10,000
lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...
banknotes of 1982–1995 and a 7 500 000 lira coin of 2001 (in the "millennium" series), also on 6 postage stamps: 100 lira 1957 (400th anniversary of the opening of the Suleymaniye Mosque), 50 lira 1988 (400th anniversary of Sinan's death) and a set of 4 issued on 14 November 2007 (60, 70, 70 & 80 Kurus - Sinan and his works). Sinan is portrayed in
Elif Shafak Elif Shafak ( tr, Elif Şafak, ; born 25 October 1971) is a Turkish-British novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist and activist. Shafak writes in Turkish and English, and has published 19 works. She is best known for her n ...
's 2013 novel ''
The Architect's Apprentice ''The Architect's Apprentice'' (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Ustam ve Ben'', ''My Master and Me'') is a 2013 historical fiction novel by Elif Shafak, set in the 16th century Ottoman Empire. Shafak originally wrote the novel in English and assiste ...
'', with the fictional main character becoming his apprentice.


See also

* Isa Muhammad Effendi *
Sedefkar Mehmed Agha Sedefkar Mehmed Agha Biçakçiu or Sedefqar Mehmeti of Elbasan (Modern Turkish: ''Sedefkâr Mehmet Ağa'', about 1540–1617) is recorded as the Ottoman architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque") in Istanbul. Biography Mehmed Agh ...
*
Atik Sinan Sinan-i Atik, also known as Azadlı Sinan, and Atik Sinan (meaning Sinan the Freedman; ''azadlı'' shows that ''atik'' does not mean "old", and is not used to distinguish him from Koca Mimar Sinan Agha), was an Ottoman architect for Sultan Mehmed ...
*
Mimar Hayruddin Mimar Hayruddin (''Hayruddin the architect'') was an Ottoman chief architect (Turkish: ''mimar'') and civil engineer under the rule of Sultan Bayezid II (reigned 1481-1512/886-918 AH) and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-1566/? AH). ...


Notes

;Notes ;Citations


Sources

* * *


Further reading

* Alboyachian, Arshag A. ''Patmutiwn Hay Kesarioy: teghagrakan, patmakan, ew azgagrakan usumnasirutiwn'' istory of Armenian Kayseri: A topographical, historical, and ethnographic study 2 vols. Cairo: H. Papazian, 1937. * Çelebi, Sai Mustafa (2004). Book of Buildings: Tezkiretü'l-Bünyan ve Tezkiretü'l-Ebniye (Memoirs of Sinan the Architect). Koç Kültür Sanat Tanıtım * * De Osa, Veronica (1982). ''Sinan the Turkish Michelangelo''. New York: Vantage Press * Egli, Ernst (1954). ''Sinan, der Baumeister osmanischer Glanzzeit'', Erlenbach-Zürich, Verlag für Architektur; * * Goodwin, Godfrey (2001). ''The Janissaries''. London: Saqi Books. * Güler, Ara; Burelli, Augusto Romano; Freely, John (1992). ''Sinan: Architect of Suleyman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Golden Age''. WW Norton & Co. Inc. * Kinross, Patrick (1977). ''The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire'' London: Perennial. * Kuran, Aptullah. (1987). ''Sinan: The Grand Old Master of Ottoman architecture'', Ada Press Publishers. * Kuran, Aptullah; Ara Güler (Illustrator); Mustafa Niksarli (Illustrator). (1986) ''Mimar Sinan''. Istanbul: Hürriyet Vakfi. * Rogers, J M. (2005). ''Sinan''.
I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non- ...
* Saoud, Rabat (2007).
Sinan: The Great Ottoman Architect and Urban Designer
'' Manchester: Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation. * Sewell, Brian. (1992
''Sinan: A Forgotten Renaissance''
Cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
, Issue 3, Volume 1. * Sezgin, A. 'Dramatizing an Architect Hero: Sinan in Fiction' in ''The Meeting Place of British Middle Eastern Studies: Emerging Scholars, Emergent Research & Approaches'' (2009), p. 119-143. * * Turner, J. (1996). ''
Grove Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
'',
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, USA; New Ed edition; * Van Vynckt, Randall J. (editor). (1993) ''International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture'' Volume 1. Detroit: St James Press. * Vasari, G. (1963). '' The Lives of Painters, Sculptors and Architects''. (Four volumes) Trans: A.B. Hinds, Editor: William Gaunt. London and New York: Everyman. * Wilkins, David G. ''Synan'' in Van Vynckt (1993), p. 826. * A Guide to Ottoman Bulgaria" by Dimana Trankova, Anthony Georgieff and Professor Hristo Matanov; published by Vagabond Media, Sofia, 201

;Tertiary Sources * Zaryan, Armen. ''«Սինան»'' (Sinan).
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( hy, Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան, ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) publishing house was established in 1967 as a department of the Institute of History of the Armeni ...
. vol. x. Yerevan:
Armenian Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...
, 1984, pp. 385–386. *
Roux, Jean-Paul Jean-Paul Roux, PhD (5 January 1925 – 29 June 2009) was a French Turkologist and a specialist in Islamic culture. He was a graduate of the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, the École du Louvre, and the École Pra ...
(1988). "Les Mosquées de Sinan", ''Les Dossiers d'archéologie'', May 1988, number 127. * Stierlin, Henri (1988). "Sinan et Soliman le Magnifique", ''Les Dossiers d'archéologie'', May 1988, number 127. * Topçu, Ali (1988a) "Sinan et l'architecture civile", ''Les Dossiers d'archéologie'', May 1988, number 127. * Topçu, Ali (1988b)."Sinan et la modernité", ''Les Dossiers d'archéologie'', May 1988, number 127.


External links


Mimar Sinan founder of this Foundation - with a picture of his last will and proof of his original name

Pictures of the city of Edirne, with many pictures of the Selimiye Mosque

Pictures of some 30 mosques by Sinan in Istanbul

A map and a short guide for Sinan's works in Istanbul

Photos of some Sinan mosques in Istanbul

Map of some Sinan mosques in Istanbul



Mimar Sinan Bridge in Büyükçekmece

The Ottoman architect who linked East and West

Peerless Turkish architect claimed to be headless in tomb

Mimar Sinan's life and works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinan, Mimar Architects from the Ottoman Empire 1489 births 1588 deaths Converts to Islam 15th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent Armenians from the Ottoman Empire