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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 Agha was born around 1540. According to the biographer Cafer Efendi, he was believed to have been originally from the city of Elbasan in what is now Albania. He brought to Istanbul in 1563 as a " Devshirme" to join the janissary corps or palace schools. After six years as a cadet (''acemioğlan'') he began the study of music. During a period of twenty years he specialized with inlay in mother-of-pearl, giving him the surname ''Sedefkâr'' (worker in mother-of-pearl). Later he also switched to architecture. He became a pupil of architect Mimar Sinan, Turkey's most celebrated architect,Mehmed Aga in Encyclopædia Britannica online,
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becoming his first assistant in charge of the office in the absence of Sinan. In January 1586 he was appointed to complete the Muradiye Mosque in Manisa, a construction started by his master Sinan. He gave a Koran box to sultan Murat III (possibly on the advice of Sinan) and was appointed Gate Keeper (''Kapıcı''). When Sinan died in 1588, Mehmed Agha, his first assistant was not appointed as his successor, but instead 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 ...
appointed Davut Ağa, the Master of the Waterways, as the royal architect. When in 1591 Mehmed Agha gave the sultan a richly decorated quiver, he was promoted to Chief Bailiff (''muhzirbaṣı''). In the same year he even became lieutenant-governor (''mütesellin'') of Diyarbakır and Inspector of Works. During the following years he visited Arabia, Egypt and Macedonia. In 1597 he was appointed Master of the Waterways by sultan Mehmed III. He was also given the commission for the building of a walnut throne, inlaid with nacre and tortoise shell, for
Ahmed I Ahmed I ( ota, احمد اول '; tr, I. Ahmed; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal f ...
, which can be seen in the Topkapı Palace. After Davut's execution in 1599, he was succeeded as royal architect by Dalgıç Ahmet Ağa. In 1606 Mehmed Agha was finally named chief imperial architect to the Ottoman court, succeeding Dalgıç Ahmet Ağa, builder of the large tomb of Mehmed III in the garden of Hagia Sophia. From 1609 until 1616 he worked exclusively on the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, called the Blue Mosque because of the colour of its tile work. The design of the mosque was based on the Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom), the masterpiece of
Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until th ...
built in the 6th century, and on the work of his master, Mimar Sinan. The design of the mosque is perfectly symmetrical, with a great central dome buttressed by four semi-domes and surrounded by a number of smaller exedrae. Mehmed Agha had a book on architecture theory written for him by Cafer Efendi. In this book he explained his methods of work and the architectural training of the period. Mehmed Agha died in 1617 at about the same time as his sultan.


Legacy

By way of his works he left a decided mark on Istanbul. The square on which the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is situated became known as Sultanahmet. This mosque can be considered the culmination of his career. Mehmed Agha, who was the last student of Mimar Sinan, had completed his mission by adding his brighter, colorful architectural style to that of his master teacher.


See also

* Ottoman architecture *
Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until th ...


References

*Goodwin G., "A History of Ottoman Architecture"; Thames & Hudson Ltd., London, reprinted 2003; {{DEFAULTSORT:Sedefkar Mehmed Agha 1540s births 1617 deaths Architects from the Ottoman Empire Albanians from the Ottoman Empire