Sinan mosque complex of sultan suleiman biography

Mosque and religious complex in Stambul, Turkey

"Süleymaniye" redirects here. For other uses, see Süleymaniye (disambiguation).

The Süleymaniye Mosque (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii, pronounced[sylejˈmaːnije]) is an Footrest imperial mosque located on the Bag Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The house of god was commissioned by Suleiman the Splendid (r. 1520–1566) and designed by the regal architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 remarkable the inauguration date as 1557, even though work on the complex probably enlarged for a few years after this.

The Süleymaniye Mosque is one of class best-known sights of Istanbul and expend its location on the Third Embankment it commands an extensive view bring into play the city around the Golden Fear. It is considered a masterpiece attention to detail Ottoman architecture and one of Mimar Sinan's greatest works.^[2][5] It is decency largest Ottoman-era mosque in the city.^[6]

Like other Ottoman imperial foundations, the conservation area is part of a larger külliye (religious and charitable complex) which star madrasas, a public kitchen, and spruce hospital, among others. Behind the qibla wall of the mosque is peter out enclosed cemetery containing the separate polygon mausoleums of Suleiman the Magnificent concentrate on his wife Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana).

History

Construction

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent chose the designer Mimar Sinan to create a sanctum in memory of his son Şehzade (Crown Prince) Mehmed. Suleiman was and impressed with the ensuing Şehzade Conservation area (Şehzade Cami) that he asked Sinan to design a mosque for herself too. This mosque would represent high-mindedness pre-eminence of the Ottoman Empire.^[7]

The house of worship was built on the site admonishment the old Ottoman palace (Eski Saray) which was still in use explore the time and had to take off demolished.^[8] The Arabic inscription above significance entrance to prayer hall gives smashing foundation date of 1550 and undecorated inauguration date of 1557. In detail, the planning of the mosque began before 1550 and parts of class complex were not completed until care 1557. The final construction expenses were recorded in 1559, relating to several of the madrasas and to high-mindedness mausoleum of Suleiman's wife, Hürrem All-powerful (d. 1558). The mausoleum for Suleiman himself was built after his cessation on the orders of his dirt and successor, Selim II, between 1566 and 1568.

Marble spolia from various sites in Constantinople and other parts touch on the empire were reportedly gathered celebrated shipped to the construction site. Petrus Gyllius, a contemporary observer, wrote stare at seeing one of the four gigantic porphyry columns destined for the mosque's interior being cut down to away from and about marble columns being busy from the Hippodrome.

In designing the Süleymaniye Mosque, Sinan took inspiration from high-mindedness Hagia Sophia and the Bayezid II Mosque.^[11] Suleiman's intention was to build splendid mosque that would surpass all excess built by his predecessors. Suleiman appears to have represented himself at epoch as a "second Solomon" and realm construction projects in both Jerusalem essential Constantinople (Istanbul) appear to reflect that. Architecturally, Suleiman's mausoleum (built behind say publicly mosque) references the Dome of decency Rock, which was built on representation site of the Temple of Guru in Jerusalem. According to popular habit, Justinian I boasted upon the culmination of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople: "Solomon, I have surpassed thee!" Suleiman's mosque, in turn, references the Hagia Sophia in its layout.

Damages and restorations

The Süleymaniye was damaged in the positive fire of 1660 and was renovated by Sultan Mehmed IV. Part fortify the dome collapsed during the capacity of 1766. Repairs damaged what was left of Sinan's original decoration (recent cleaning has shown that he experimented with blue, before making red rank dominant colour of the dome).

During Universe War I the courtyard was moved as a weapons depot, and like that which some of the ammunition ignited, integrity mosque suffered another fire. Not unconfirmed 1956 was it fully restored. Prestige mosque was restored again between 2007 and 2010.^[17] Parts of the neighbouring complex continued to be restored meticulous the decade following.

Architecture

Courtyard

Like the repeated erior imperial mosques in Istanbul, the admission to the mosque is preceded dampen a forecourt with a central waterhole bore. The main front gate, on magnanimity northwest side of the mosque, projects outward from and above the walls on either side. The entrance vena consists of a recess covered newborn a triangular vault sculpted with muqarnas, with slender pilasters on either interpretation. Above the muqarnas canopy is insinuation inscription featuring the Sunni version get a hold the shahada (profession of faith).^[19] Grandeur windows on either side of righteousness portal mark the presence of affections rooms which housed the muvakkithane (chamber of the timekeeper).

The courtyard, measuring spend time 47 by 57 metres (154 near 187 feet), is of exceptional gravity with a colonnaded peristyle supported prep between tall columns of marble, granite very last porphyry. The columns are topped preschooler classic Ottoman "stalactite" capitals (carved know muqarnas). On the southeast side refreshing the courtyard, the portico preceding representation prayer hall is higher than those on the other three sides, abrasive this façade a greater monumentality. Greatness three center arches of the northwest portico, corresponding to the front appearance, are also higher than the irritate arches around them. According to Godfrey Goodwin, reconciling these elements of ridiculous heights along the peristyle was Sinan's main aesthetic difficulty. The facade nigh on the prayer hall is also busy with rectangular Iznik tile window lunettes. It was the first building clear up which the Iznik tiles included loftiness brightly coloured tomato-red clay under birth glaze.

The mosque is equipped with drinking-water taps outside the courtyard, between character side entrances of the prayer pass, which are used for performing convenience. As a result, the drinking font in the center of the court is purely decorative. It is far-out rectangular marble enclosure with a mausoleum. The fountain was designed so renounce water sprayed from the ceiling longdrawnout the basin below, an unusual circumstance noted by some 16th-century writers.

Behind dignity southeast portico, the main entrance designate the prayer hall is set innards everted a recess with a complex muqarnas canopy. This is preceded by undiluted dome with a more distinctive pattern than the other domes of rank peristyle. The entrance portal features undiluted foundation inscription carved onto three boxy panels (two vertical panels on character side and an horizontal one be a consequence top). The text was composed via Ebussuud Efendi and its calligraphy, call in thuluth script, was created by Hasan Çelebi, a student of Ahmed Karahisari. It states the sultan's name keep from titles, his genealogy, and a solicitation for the continuation of the Hassock dynasty.^[19] The wooden doors of character entrance are made of carved wood,^[24] including walnut, ebony, and olive vegetation, and they are inlaid with deathly white and mother-of-pearl.^[25]

The side entrances of leadership mosque courtyard have inscriptions as pitch. The western gate to the playground has an inscription reading, "Peace quip unto thee! Thou art good, good enter ye to dwell therein" (Quran 39:73). The other entrances of significance mosque have similar inscriptions which evaluate its gates with the gates manager paradise.^[19]

• The main entrance to the curtilage (northwest side of the mosque)

• Courtyard lay out the mosque with central fountain (şadırvan), looking towards the entrance

• Courtyard of justness mosque, looking towards the prayer hall

• One of the "stalactite" or muqarnas in the courtyard

• Inside the central hole of the courtyard, where water first sprayed down from the ceiling

• The entr‚e portal to the prayer hall put on the back burner the courtyard

Minarets

Four minarets occupy the couple corners of the courtyard. The shine unsteadily taller ones have three balconies turf rise to a high of 63.8 m (209 ft) without their lead caps predominant 76 m (249 ft) including the caps. Say publicly balconies are supported by consoles engraved with muqarnas and they have balustrades carved and pierced with geometric patterns.

The use of four minarets at say publicly corners of a mosque courtyard esoteric been done previously at the Üç Şerefeli Mosque in Edirne, although Sinan introduced a strict symmetry not bring out in the earlier example. In high-mindedness history of Ottoman architecture, this haunt minarets were only added to wearisome mosques endowed by a sultan (princes and princesses could construct two minarets; others only one). The minarets fake a total of ten balconies, which is said to reflect the circumstance that Suleiman I was the Tenth Ottoman sultan. By making the obvious minarets shorter than the inner bend over, Sinan also increased the overall seeable impression of a structure rising eminence the central dome.

Prayer hall

Overall design

The inside of the mosque is almost clean up square, measuring 58.5 by 57.5 metres (192 by 189 feet), forming trim single vast space dominated by secure central dome. The dome is 53 metres (174 feet) high and has a diameter of 26.5 metres (86.9 feet) which is exactly half leadership height. The square space directly nether this dome occupies exactly half honesty total area of the prayer pass. The layout emulates the dome pattern of the Hagia Sophia and further follows the layout of the hitherto Bayezid II Mosque: the central arch 1 is flanked by semi-domes both rafter front and behind, covering the persist in central space, while a row give an account of smaller and lower domes covers stretch of the two lateral aisles ferment either side. Between these smaller domes and the main dome are onslaught tympanas filled with windows. This iteration of an older building plan run through uncharacteristic of Sinan and may be blessed with been the result of Suleiman's actual wishes.

Sinan refined the design by duplications the innovations he had previously pathetic in the Şehzade Mosque. The bean and semi-domes are supported by trig limited number of load-bearing pillars direct buttresses, allowing for more windows dynasty the walls between them and minimizing any obstructive divisions within the entreaty space. He dissimulated many of significance load-bearing buttresses by incorporating them demeanour the outer walls, where they attempt partly inwards and partly outwards consequently as to make them appear absent massive from either side. He nature colonnaded galleries between them both source the outside and on the spirit, thus further obscuring their presence. Thanks to the supporting buttresses are dissimulated guts the walls of the building, they do not dominate and obscure sheltered profile as they do at illustriousness Hagia Sophia. Thus, on the hard to find, the arrangement of arches, turrets, elitist semi-domes forms a more harmonious, supposedly apparent pyramid-like progression to the central span, emphasizing the latter as the visible culmination of the structure. The protest to this is the southeast revolve (facing the cemetery), where the buttresses are fully situated on the improbable in order to maintain a colourless surface for the qibla wall sincerity the inside.

Sinan also introduced greater school group and detail to the mosque's example than in previous works. For model, in the domes covering the cross aisles, he alternated between domes have a high regard for different sizes, thus introducing a firm visual rhythm. The spaces in head start of the side entrances of justness prayer hall, between the pairs stare massive buttresses at the corners as a result of the building, are also covered because of domes of alternating designs: a notice dome in the middle flanked near two smaller elliptical domes on leadership side. Moreover, by adding these twosome side entrances at the corners – instead of two side entrances withdraw the middle of the lateral walls, as was done in the Şehzade Mosque – Sinan found a greater use for these corner areas dump were typically neglected or omitted captive other centrally-planned buildings. On the shell, the two level-galleries have wide conspicuous eaves which shelter water taps softhearted for ablutions, another innovation.

• View of grandeur mosque's exterior (northeast side)

• Interior of significance prayer hall, looking towards the mihrab

• View of the semi-domes around the middle dome

• One of the side aisles have a high opinion of the mosque

• One of the arcaded galleries on the mosque's exterior and interpretation water taps for ablutions

Decoration

The interior trim is restrained and this seems converge have been deliberate on Sinan's eminence. The documents of the mosque's waqf (religious endowment) explicitly claim that flaunting ornamentation of gold or jewels was avoided in order to conform hear the traditions of the Islamic prognosticator Muhammad. It's possible that Suleiman swallow Sinan regarded calligraphy as the leading form of decoration, in the description of a period when the Pouffe sultan championed a more austere Sect orthodoxy. The calligraphy of the sanctum is almost entirely in monumental thuluth form and is attributed to Hasan Çelebi, whom Sinan may have favoured.

Most or all of the mosque's up-to-the-minute painted decoration has been destroyed concentrated the course of later damages station repairs. Very little is known as the crow flies about the original painted decoration. Rendering present-day painting of the central bonce dates from a 19th-century restoration by virtue of the Fossati brothers, who chose penny roughly imitate Ottoman Baroque decoration. Tarry of the original decoration were arduous during 20th-century cleaning and suggest meander blue colours were used before Sinan replaced them with predominantly red banner. The Fossati-era painting has been rotten in more recent restorations as spot is now considered part of excellence mosque's history. Elsewhere, the voussoirs believe the mosque's stone arches are finished in red and white to prefigure marble. Except for the inscriptions carven in stone, most of the blot calligraphy found throughout the mosque progression painted and was thus likely experimental in later periods. The restorations come out to have been careful and undoubtedly retain some aspects of the basic compositions.

The stonework of the mosque deference of high quality. The columns take classic Ottoman "stalactite" or muqarnas-carved higher. On both the front and cry out sides of the four main pillars are tall and sharply-pointed muqarnas niches. Water faucets are also set jolt the pillars.

The mihrab consists of honourableness traditional niche with a muqarnas spot. This is framed inside a ball surface in the same shape monkey the central (northwest) gate of nobleness mosque's courtyard (aligned on the selfsame axis as the mihrab). The insolence of this simple marble composition clear out sculpted into fluted columns that conclude at the top with crescent notating, while an arabesque runs along excellence top edge in between.

Next to class mihrab is the minbar, which appreciation crafted in traditional Ottoman form: practised narrow staircase, with triangular sides, rising from a portal to a covering. The decoration is simplified in contrast with more ornate Ottoman examples, conclusive to the geometric patterning of representation balustrades and the gilded stars muddle a blue ground covering the coneshaped cap of the canopy. Located neighbourhood are a simple platform or terrace for the sultan (hünkar mahfili) station another platform for the muezzin (muezzin mahfili), all made of marble accommodate only a few discrete embellishments.

Iznik proof revetments are only used around justness mihrab. The repeating rectangular tiles fake a stencil-like floral pattern on straighten up white ground. The flowers are particularly blue with turquoise, red, and coalblack, but green is not used. Telltale either side of the mihrab beyond large Iznik-tile calligraphic roundels with contents from the Al-Fatihasurah of the Quran 1:1-7.

The most elaborate stained-glass windows attack found on the qibla wall, not far off the mihrab. They are generally estimated to have been the work fence Sarhos Ibrahim, but some of magnanimity present-day windows have likely been immature at later periods. They are fashioned to display the names of Genius (Allah), the Islamic prophet Muhammad, splendid the four Rashidun caliphs.

The names oppress God and Muhammad are repeated esteem inscriptions above the lower windows, accentuation God as the source of Islamic law (Shari'a) and Muhammad as rectitude preacher of that law. The shout of the four caliphs are besides repeated on the mosque's four paramount pillars, recalling the four pillars notice Sunni theology. The selection of these inscriptions, along with others across rendering mosque, emphasize the orthodox Sunni quantity of the mosque, reflecting in effects the Ottoman rivalry with the contemporaneous Safavids, the main Shi'a dynasty guard the east.

Complex

Mausoleums

Behind the qibla wall (southeast wall) of the mosque is ending enclosed cemetery which contains the be capable mausoleums (türbe) of Sultan Suleiman Raving and his wife Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana).

The large octagonal mausoleum of Suleiman the Magnificent bears the date castigate 1566, the year of his humanity, but it was probably not fulfilled until the following year. It evolution one of the largest Ottoman mausoleums and its design has been compared to the Dome of the Tremble in Jerusalem, on which it haw have been modeled on the clank. The mausoleum is surrounded by out peristyle (portico) with a projecting tomb supported by 24 columns; the admission faces towards the east rather go one better than the usual north. Beneath the anteroom on either side of the admission are Iznik tiled panels. These pour the earliest known tiles decorated snatch the bright emerald green colour go off at a tangent would become a common feature introduce Iznik ceramics. The dome, 14 meters in diameter, is the first larger example of a double-shelled dome expect Sinan's architecture. The interior has spiffy tidy up false dome supported on eight columns within the outer shell. There pour out 14 windows at ground level ground an additional 24 windows with discoloured glass set in the tympana go under the surface the arches. The walls and pendentives are covered with polychrome Iznik tiles. Above the windows runs a knot of inscriptive tiled panels. The words quotes the Throne verse and significance following two verses from the Quran 2:255-258. In addition to the arch of Suleiman the Magnificent, the cellar houses the tomb of his girl Mihrimah Sultan and those of mirror image later sultans: Suleiman II (ruled 1687–1691) and Ahmed II (ruled 1691–1695).

Hurrem Sultan's octagonal mausoleum is dated 1558, rendering year of her death. The 16-sided interior is decorated with Iznik tiles. The seven rectangular windows are surmounted by tiled lunettes and epigraphic panels. Between the windows are eight mihrab-like hooded niches. The ceiling is having an important effect whitewashed but was probably once rouged in bright colours.

• The cemetery behind character mosque

• Mausoleum of Suleiman the Magnificent

• Detail tinge Iznik tiles under the portico weekend away Suleiman's mausoleum

• Interior of Suleiman's mausoleum

• Mausoleum summarize Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana)

• Interior of Hürrem Sultan's mausoleum

Other buildings

As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque was designed as a külliye, or mix up, with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs. The chapel incorporates the everyday needs for iron out Islamic community such as prayer, upbringing, health and much more.^[8] Due uphold the sloping nature of the plot around the mosque, many of glory structures are built above massive substructures that created a more level labor. Vaulted rooms existed in these substructures and were probably put to a variety of uses.

The original complex consisted of magnanimity mosque itself, four madrasas or transcendental green colleges (medrese), a small primary educational institution (mekteb), a medical school (darüttıb), shipshape and bristol fashion hospital (darüşşifa or timarhane), a warning sign kitchen (imaret) that served food inhibit the poor, a caravanserai or guesthouse (tabhane), public baths (hamam), a differentiated school (darülhadis) for the learning racket hadith, a small domed building manner the employees of the cemetery (attached to the latter's southeast wall), innermost rows of small shops integrated happen upon the outer edges and along say publicly street on the southwest side counterfeit the mosque. Many of these structures are still in existence. The prior imaret has been converted into regular restaurant. The former hospital is minute a printing factory owned by birth Turkish Army.^{[citation needed]} Just outside leadership complex walls, to the north assignment the tomb of architect Sinan. Volatility was completely restored in 1922.

Most insinuate the buildings are classical Ottoman playground structures consisting of a rectangular yard surrounded by a domed peristyle porch giving access to domed rooms. Fluky the madrasas, Sinan modified some trivialities of the typical layout for all-round reasons. The Salis Medrese and Rabı Medrese, located on the northeast back up of the mosque where the begin slopes down towards the Golden Discomfort, have a "stepped" design in which the courtyard descends in three terraces connected by stairs while the curved rooms are built at progressively slack levels alongside it. The current relic of the hadith school (darülhadis) maintain been crudely restored. It consists near a long line of small rounded rooms on the eastern edge do away with the complex. According to Doğan Kuban, the original school must have abstruse a different appearance. The triangular courtyard between this structure and the grounds was once used for weekly struggle matches.

The two other madrasas, on righteousness southwest side, are known as primacy Sani Medrese and Evvel Medrese cranium have regular floor plans on play up to ground. Of the medical school (darüttıb or Tıp Medrese) next to these, not much has survived except transfer the rooms on the northeast embankment. All three of these madrasas aim fronted by shops on their northeastward sides (the sides facing the mosque), which contributed revenues to the enigmatic. This created a market street make public as the Tiryaki Çarșısı, the "Antidote Market", due to the former attendance of coffee houses and shops burning to the smoking of hashish. A- small primary school (sibyan mekteb), consisting of two domed rooms, is devoted to the eastern corner of excellence Evvel Medrese, though separated from grandeur main building by a narrow garden.

• Exterior of the Süleymaniye Hamam (bathhouse)

• The aslant courtyard of the Salis Medrese, tighten up of the four madrasas of character complex

• Tomb of Mimar Sinan

• Interior of ethics tabhane or caravanserai (guesthouse)

• Interior of representation imaret (public kitchen)

• Back side of picture darüşşifa (hospital), with the substructure detectable below

• The Evvel Medrese, as seen non-native the market street on its acclimatize side. The domed chamber on say publicly left corner is part of ethics mekteb (primary school).

Burials

See also

References

Sources

Further reading