Sinan mosque complex of sultan suleiman biography

Mosque and religious complex in Stamboul, Turkey

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

The Süleymaniye Mosque (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii, pronounced[sylejˈmaːnije]) is an Pouffe imperial mosque located on the 3rd Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The masjid was commissioned by Suleiman the Excellent (r. 1520–1566) and designed by the princelike architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 ride the inauguration date as 1557, notwithstanding work on the complex probably protracted for a few years after this.

The Süleymaniye Mosque is one of distinction best-known sights of Istanbul and be different its location on the Third Structure it commands an extensive view hold the city around the Golden Panic. It is considered a masterpiece have a high regard for Ottoman architecture and one of Mimar Sinan's greatest works.^[2][5] It is primacy largest Ottoman-era mosque in the city.^[6]

Like other Ottoman imperial foundations, the preserve is part of a larger külliye (religious and charitable complex) which make-believe madrasas, a public kitchen, and wonderful hospital, among others. Behind the qibla wall of the mosque is distinction enclosed cemetery containing the separate octangular mausoleums of Suleiman the Magnificent professor his wife Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana).

History

Construction

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent chose the father Mimar Sinan to create a refuge in memory of his son Şehzade (Crown Prince) Mehmed. Suleiman was to such a degree accord impressed with the ensuing Şehzade Shelter (Şehzade Cami) that he asked Sinan to design a mosque for personally too. This mosque would represent influence pre-eminence of the Ottoman Empire.^[7]

The masjid was built on the site type the old Ottoman palace (Eski Saray) which was still in use fob watch the time and had to amend demolished.^[8] The Arabic inscription above nobleness entrance to prayer hall gives unadulterated foundation date of 1550 and public housing inauguration date of 1557. In aristotelianism entelechy, the planning of the mosque began before 1550 and parts of justness complex were not completed until afterwards 1557. The final construction expenses were recorded in 1559, relating to time-consuming of the madrasas and to nobility mausoleum of Suleiman's wife, Hürrem All-powerful (d. 1558). The mausoleum for Suleiman himself was built after his realize on the orders of his competing and successor, Selim II, between 1566 and 1568.

Marble spolia from various sites in Constantinople and other parts detect the empire were reportedly gathered paramount shipped to the construction site. Petrus Gyllius, a contemporary observer, wrote matter seeing one of the four great porphyry columns destined for the mosque's interior being cut down to prove correct and about marble columns being charmed from the Hippodrome.

In designing the Süleymaniye Mosque, Sinan took inspiration from leadership Hagia Sophia and the Bayezid II Mosque.^[11] Suleiman's intention was to build orderly mosque that would surpass all austerity built by his predecessors. Suleiman appears to have represented himself at bygone as a "second Solomon" and her highness construction projects in both Jerusalem build up Constantinople (Istanbul) appear to reflect that. Architecturally, Suleiman's mausoleum (built behind authority mosque) references the Dome of class Rock, which was built on position site of the Temple of Judicious in Jerusalem. According to popular contributions, Justinian I boasted upon the termination 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 tolerable fire of 1660 and was immature by Sultan Mehmed IV. Part advance the dome collapsed during the temblor of 1766. Repairs damaged what was left of Sinan's original decoration (recent cleaning has shown that he experimented with blue, before making red representation dominant colour of the dome).

During Globe War I the courtyard was unreceptive as a weapons depot, and what because some of the ammunition ignited, decency mosque suffered another fire. Not in abeyance 1956 was it fully restored. Dignity mosque was restored again between 2007 and 2010.^[17] Parts of the neighbouring complex continued to be restored assimilate the decade following.

Architecture

Courtyard

Like the pander to imperial mosques in Istanbul, the access to the mosque is preceded coarse a forecourt with a central pit. The main front gate, on primacy northwest side of the mosque, projects outward from and above the walls on either side. The entrance site consists of a recess covered tough a triangular vault sculpted with muqarnas, with slender pilasters on either conscientious. Above the muqarnas canopy is hoaxer inscription featuring the Sunni version put a stop to the shahada (profession of faith).^[19] Honourableness windows on either side of loftiness portal mark the presence of inside rooms which housed the muvakkithane (chamber of the timekeeper).

The courtyard, measuring move around 47 by 57 metres (154 saturate 187 feet), is of exceptional splendour with a colonnaded peristyle supported shy tall columns of marble, granite title porphyry. The columns are topped descendant classic Ottoman "stalactite" capitals (carved become infected with muqarnas). On the southeast side sun-up the courtyard, the portico preceding leadership prayer hall is higher than those on the other three sides, bounteous this façade a greater monumentality. Picture three center arches of the north portico, corresponding to the front introduction, are also higher than the bottle up arches around them. According to Godfrey Goodwin, reconciling these elements of divergent heights along the peristyle was Sinan's main aesthetic difficulty. The facade remark the prayer hall is also bedecked with rectangular Iznik tile window lunettes. It was the first building bring into being which the Iznik tiles included position brightly coloured tomato-red clay under glory glaze.

The mosque is equipped with spa water taps outside the courtyard, between authority side entrances of the prayer corridor, which are used for performing gents. As a result, the drinking pit in the center of the enclosure is purely decorative. It is uncut rectangular marble enclosure with a mausoleum. The fountain was designed so stroll water sprayed from the ceiling lift up the basin below, an unusual naked truth noted by some 16th-century writers.

Behind dignity southeast portico, the main entrance criticism the prayer hall is set advantaged a recess with a complex muqarnas canopy. This is preceded by grand dome with a more distinctive model than the other domes of justness peristyle. The entrance portal features simple foundation inscription carved onto three correct panels (two vertical panels on significance side and an horizontal one unease top). The text was composed soak Ebussuud Efendi and its calligraphy, include thuluth script, was created by Hasan Çelebi, a student of Ahmed Karahisari. It states the sultan's name stomach titles, his genealogy, and a supplication for the continuation of the Pouffe dynasty.^[19] The wooden doors of nobility entrance are made of carved wood,^[24] including walnut, ebony, and olive in the clear, and they are inlaid with immaculate and mother-of-pearl.^[25]

The side entrances of picture mosque courtyard have inscriptions as all right. The western gate to the quadrangle has an inscription reading, "Peace endure unto thee! Thou art good, in this fashion enter ye to dwell therein" (Quran 39:73). The other entrances of character mosque have similar inscriptions which connect its gates with the gates be more or less paradise.^[19]

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

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

• Courtyard of rank mosque, looking towards the prayer hall

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

• Inside the central fount of the courtyard, where water key sprayed down from the ceiling

• The delivery portal to the prayer hall punishment the courtyard

Minarets

Four minarets occupy the unite corners of the courtyard. The a handful of taller ones have three balconies advocate rise to a high of 63.8 m (209 ft) without their lead caps become peaceful 76 m (249 ft) including the caps. Decency balconies are supported by consoles engraved with muqarnas and they have balustrades carved and pierced with geometric patterns.

The use of four minarets at nobility corners of a mosque courtyard esoteric been done previously at the Üç Şerefeli Mosque in Edirne, although Sinan introduced a strict symmetry not instruct in the earlier example. In illustriousness history of Ottoman architecture, this numberless minarets were only added to thickskinned mosques endowed by a sultan (princes and princesses could construct two minarets; others only one). The minarets own acquire a total of ten balconies, which is said to reflect the actuality that Suleiman I was the Tenth Ottoman sultan. By making the on the outside minarets shorter than the inner slant, Sinan also increased the overall visible impression of a structure rising pamper the central dome.

Prayer hall

Overall design

The inside of the mosque is almost precise square, measuring 58.5 by 57.5 metres (192 by 189 feet), forming top-hole single vast space dominated by disloyalty 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 blue blood the gentry height. The square space directly lower down this dome occupies exactly half magnanimity total area of the prayer entryway. The layout emulates the dome devise of the Hagia Sophia and likewise follows the layout of the in advance Bayezid II Mosque: the central curve is flanked by semi-domes both wonderful front and behind, covering the primary central space, while a row admire smaller and lower domes covers contravention of the two lateral aisles motive either side. Between these smaller domes and the main dome are most important tympanas filled with windows. This duplication of an older building plan not bad uncharacteristic of Sinan and may have to one`s name been the result of Suleiman's unauthorized wishes.

Sinan refined the design by continuance the innovations he had previously euphemistic preowned in the Şehzade Mosque. The bowl and semi-domes are supported by well-organized limited number of load-bearing pillars skull buttresses, allowing for more windows contain the walls between them and minimizing any obstructive divisions within the solicitation space. He dissimulated many of say publicly load-bearing buttresses by incorporating them fund the outer walls, where they proposal partly inwards and partly outwards thus as to make them appear loving massive from either side. He look colonnaded galleries between them both chunky the outside and on the spirit, thus further obscuring their presence. As the supporting buttresses are dissimulated backwards the walls of the building, they do not dominate and obscure wellfitting profile as they do at primacy Hagia Sophia. Thus, on the away, the arrangement of arches, turrets, tell off semi-domes forms a more harmonious, nominal pyramid-like progression to the central arena, emphasizing the latter as the optical discernible culmination of the structure. The opposition to this is the southeast separator (facing the cemetery), where the buttresses are fully situated on the difficult to get to in order to maintain a blanched surface for the qibla wall treatise the inside.

Sinan also introduced greater mode and detail to the mosque's contemplate than in previous works. For process, in the domes covering the side aisles, he alternated between domes accustomed different sizes, thus introducing a make up your mind visual rhythm. The spaces in obverse of the side entrances of rectitude prayer hall, between the pairs announcement massive buttresses at the corners confiscate the building, are also covered contempt domes of alternating designs: a booklet dome in the middle flanked building block two smaller elliptical domes on influence side. Moreover, by adding these combine side entrances at the corners – instead of two side entrances sort the middle of the lateral walls, as was done in the Şehzade Mosque – Sinan found a convalesce use for these corner areas make certain were typically neglected or omitted domestic other centrally-planned buildings. On the small, the two level-galleries have wide jutting eaves which shelter water taps old for ablutions, another innovation.

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

• Interior of ethics prayer hall, looking towards the mihrab

• View of the semi-domes around the middle dome

• One of the side aisles appeal to the mosque

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

Decoration

The interior festoon is restrained and this seems count up have been deliberate on Sinan's quintessence. The documents of the mosque's waqf (religious endowment) explicitly claim that self-confident ornamentation of gold or jewels was avoided in order to conform mess about with the traditions of the Islamic seer Muhammad. It's possible that Suleiman put up with Sinan regarded calligraphy as the preeminent form of decoration, in the vitality of a period when the Footrest sultan championed a more austere Sect orthodoxy. The calligraphy of the conservation area 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 modern painted decoration has been destroyed employ the course of later damages squeeze repairs. Very little is known now about the original painted decoration. Rectitude present-day painting of the central bowl dates from a 19th-century restoration unhelpful the Fossati brothers, who chose compute roughly imitate Ottoman Baroque decoration. Crumbs of the original decoration were institute during 20th-century cleaning and suggest ramble blue colours were used before Sinan replaced them with predominantly red identity. The Fossati-era painting has been maintain in more recent restorations as icon is now considered part of leadership mosque's history. Elsewhere, the voussoirs cue the mosque's stone arches are stained in red and white to agenda marble. Except for the inscriptions engraved in stone, most of the attention calligraphy found throughout the mosque remains painted and was thus likely mod in later periods. The restorations come out to have been careful and maybe retain some aspects of the recent compositions.

The stonework of the mosque task of high quality. The columns be blessed with classic Ottoman "stalactite" or muqarnas-carved more recent capital letters. On both the front and drop sides of the four main pillars are tall and sharply-pointed muqarnas niches. Water faucets are also set happen to the pillars.

The mihrab consists of illustriousness traditional niche with a muqarnas moving. This is framed inside a statuette surface in the same shape on account of the central (northwest) gate of significance mosque's courtyard (aligned on the harmonized axis as the mihrab). The weaken of this simple marble composition second-hand goods sculpted into fluted columns that conclude at the top with crescent characters, while an arabesque runs along grandeur top edge in between.

Next to grandeur mihrab is the minbar, which silt crafted in traditional Ottoman form: well-ordered narrow staircase, with triangular sides, rising from a portal to a mantle. The decoration is simplified in contrast with more ornate Ottoman examples, subterranean to the geometric patterning of depiction balustrades and the gilded stars report a blue ground covering the conelike cap of the canopy. Located neighbourhood are a simple platform or upper circle for the sultan (hünkar mahfili) streak another platform for the muezzin (muezzin mahfili), all made of marble hang together only a few discrete embellishments.

Iznik understandable revetments are only used around probity mihrab. The repeating rectangular tiles hold a stencil-like floral pattern on marvellous white ground. The flowers are particularly blue with turquoise, red, and smoke-darkened, but green is not used. Aspirant either side of the mihrab complete large Iznik-tile calligraphic roundels with contents from the Al-Fatihasurah of the Quran 1:1-7.

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

The names appreciate God and Muhammad are repeated incline inscriptions above the lower windows, accenting God as the source of Islamic law (Shari'a) and Muhammad as nobility preacher of that law. The person's name of the four caliphs are further repeated on the mosque's four primary pillars, recalling the four pillars out-and-out Sunni theology. The selection of these inscriptions, along with others across loftiness mosque, emphasize the orthodox Sunni insigne of the mosque, reflecting in pin down the Ottoman rivalry with the recent Safavids, the main Shi'a dynasty chance the east.

Complex

Mausoleums

Behind the qibla wall (southeast wall) of the mosque is barney enclosed cemetery which contains the come up to scratch mausoleums (türbe) of Sultan Suleiman Hysterical and his wife Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana).

The large octagonal mausoleum of Suleiman the Magnificent bears the date recall 1566, the year of his inattentive, but it was probably not realized until the following year. It crack one of the largest Ottoman mausoleums and its design has been compared to the Dome of the Vibrate in Jerusalem, on which it can have been modeled on the plaster. The mausoleum is surrounded by efficient peristyle (portico) with a projecting mausoleum supported by 24 columns; the onset faces towards the east rather go one better than the usual north. Beneath the veranda on either side of the entry are Iznik tiled panels. These detain the earliest known tiles decorated hostile to the bright emerald green colour renounce would become a common feature presumption Iznik ceramics. The dome, 14 meters in diameter, is the first higher ranking example of a double-shelled dome knoll Sinan's architecture. The interior has systematic false dome supported on eight columns within the outer shell. There clutter 14 windows at ground level accept an additional 24 windows with bombastic glass set in the tympana drop the arches. The walls and pendentives are covered with polychrome Iznik tiles. Above the windows runs a stripe of inscriptive tiled panels. The passage quotes the Throne verse and nobility following two verses from the Quran 2:255-258. In addition to the catacomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, the tomb houses the tomb of his chick Mihrimah Sultan and those of glimmer later sultans: Suleiman II (ruled 1687–1691) and Ahmed II (ruled 1691–1695).

Hurrem Sultan's octagonal mausoleum is dated 1558, picture 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 telling whitewashed but was probably once whitewashed in bright colours.

• The cemetery behind high-mindedness mosque

• Mausoleum of Suleiman the Magnificent

• Detail break into Iznik tiles under the portico lay out Suleiman's mausoleum

• Interior of Suleiman's mausoleum

• Mausoleum magnetize 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 set of connections, with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs. The synagogue incorporates the everyday needs for put down Islamic community such as prayer, tending, health and much more.^[8] Due propose the sloping nature of the central theme around the mosque, many of dignity structures are built above massive substructures that created a more level attempt. Vaulted rooms existed in these substructures and were probably put to many uses.

The original complex consisted of justness mosque itself, four madrasas or inexperienced colleges (medrese), a small primary kindergarten (mekteb), a medical school (darüttıb), unadulterated hospital (darüşşifa or timarhane), a disclose kitchen (imaret) that served food censure the poor, a caravanserai or guesthouse (tabhane), public baths (hamam), a differentiated school (darülhadis) for the learning marketplace hadith, a small domed building tend the employees of the cemetery (attached to the latter's southeast wall), ground rows of small shops integrated go-slow the outer edges and along integrity street on the southwest side rigidity the mosque. Many of these structures are still in existence. The nark imaret has been converted into deft restaurant. The former hospital is important a printing factory owned by loftiness Turkish Army.^{[citation needed]} Just outside goodness complex walls, to the north problem the tomb of architect Sinan. Standard was completely restored in 1922.

Most remind you of the buildings are classical Ottoman quadrangle structures consisting of a rectangular enclosure surrounded by a domed peristyle colonnade giving access to domed rooms. Slice the madrasas, Sinan modified some petty details of the typical layout for utilitarian reasons. The Salis Medrese and Rabı Medrese, located on the northeast not wasteful of the mosque where the turf slopes down towards the Golden Panic, have a "stepped" design in which the courtyard descends in three terraces connected by stairs while the vaulted rooms are built at progressively mute levels alongside it. The current cadaver of the hadith school (darülhadis) take been crudely restored. It consists order a long line of small vault rooms on the eastern edge forestall the complex. According to Doğan Kuban, the original school must have confidential a different appearance. The triangular quadrangle between this structure and the enclosure was once used for weekly sport matches.

The two other madrasas, on class southwest side, are known as dignity Sani Medrese and Evvel Medrese predominant have regular floor plans on cajole ground. Of the medical school (darüttıb or Tıp Medrese) next to these, not much has survived except purport the rooms on the northeast hold back. All three of these madrasas come upon fronted by shops on their north sides (the sides facing the mosque), which contributed revenues to the meet people. This created a market street accustomed as the Tiryaki Çarșısı, the "Antidote Market", due to the former elegant of coffee houses and shops eager to the smoking of hashish. Precise small primary school (sibyan mekteb), consisting of two domed rooms, is immovable to the eastern corner of character Evvel Medrese, though separated from class main building by a narrow garden.

• Exterior of the Süleymaniye Hamam (bathhouse)

• The slanted courtyard of the Salis Medrese, combine of the four madrasas of loftiness complex

• Tomb of Mimar Sinan

• Interior of illustriousness tabhane or caravanserai (guesthouse)

• Interior of ethics imaret (public kitchen)

• Back side of birth darüşşifa (hospital), with the substructure perceptible below

• The Evvel Medrese, as seen outsider the market street on its chow down side. The domed chamber on description left corner is part of influence mekteb (primary school).

Burials

See also

References

Sources

Further reading