“We are all servants here!” Mimar Sinan – architect of the Ottoman Empire

Mimar Sinan is the best known architect of the Ottoman Empire. His origin is uncertain. Sinan started his career as a christian slave. He participated in several campaigns as a member of the yard cavalry and as a military engineer. The success of his war-related buildings helped him to become the chief architectural authorithy of the Empire. His long life, fifty years of which he spent as the chief architect, coincided with the golden age of empire. The conquered areas provided plenty of construction tasks, as well as did the clients, who were aspiring for architectural representation worthy of their rank – among them the monarch and his wider environment. In addition, the empire, not being without financial resources, was also able to realize these plans. He became a symbol of the most glorious era of the Ottoman Empire through his works.

that time-under his rule. 4 Generally, resettlements were associated with forced marriages. It can be assumed that Sinan's parents established a family in this way, so the question of his origin is just further complicated. 5 In 1512, Sinan came to Istanbul through the practice of child tax (devşirme) imposed on the non-Muslim population of the empire. 6 The majority of young people collected were placed in military service, thus augmenting the number of Janissaries (jeni çeri = new corps), or they were put to physical work or assigned to assist different masters. At the same time, young people with outstanding abilities (acemi oğlan = alien boy) could hope for a bright career by learning in the schools of the seraglio; the empire had solved its need for personal recruits for government and military leadership -positions being solely dependent on the will of the Sultan -in this way since the end of the 14th century. 7 Sinan was 21-22 years old at that time. Thanks to his age, talent and good practice gained by working with his stonemason and carpenter father, Sinan entered the school operating in the palace of Pasha Pargali Ibrahim (1493-1536) Grand Vizier (1523-1536), 8 where he studied carpentry. Presumably, he took up Islam and was given the name Sinan at that time. 9 His first works -boats and bridges -show that initially he worked in the army as an engineer. 10 He participated in several campaigns including the Siege of Belgrade (1521) and Rhodes (1522), as well as in the conquest of Southern Mesopotamia (1535), Corfu and Moldavia (1537-1538). As a member of the yard cavalry -or as a Janissary aga according to other opinions -he was there at the Battle of Mohács (1526), the Siege of Vienna (1529) and later also at the Siege of Esztergom (1543). 11 As a military engineer, he served in the Balkans for many years. These years spent in the army brought a change to his career; his war-related buildings attracted the attention of Suleiman and his milieu. The Drava Bridge in Osijek (1526); the ferry built on the water of Lake Van belonging to the operations area of the Persian campaign (1535); the success of a Danube Bridge (1537) and a bridge over River Prut (1538), as well as the support of Pasha Lüfti Grand Vizier (1539-1541), helped him to become the chief architectural authority of the Empire in 1539. 12 His architectural career, which can be considered breathtaking both in terms of the number and the quality of the completed buildings, started at this time, at nearly fifty years of his age.
The architectural career of Sinan started under extremely favourable conditions since the Ottoman Empire was at the peak of its strength and power exactly at that time. The small area located near Söğüt in the north-west area of the Anatolian peninsula, in the corner of the Rumi Seljuk Sultanate, had been occupied by 400 warriors (gazi) in the second half of the 13th century and became a world-empire in just over two centuries. In 1326, they occupied Brussa (today Bursa), the former Byzantine resort at the crossroads of historic trade routes, making it their first capital; and by the occupation of Gallipoli in 1354, they also gained European territories. After the conquest of Thrace, in 1362, Adrianople (today: Edirne) became the new capital; by the end of the century, the total area of the Balkan Peninsula (later referred to as Rumelia) was dominated by the Ottomans to the Danube and Drava rivers. In 1453, they occupied Constantinople, which had been living under Ottoman pressure for decades; they now considered themselves the formal successors of the Byzantine Empire. After some decades, they completed their Anatolian hegemony by conquering the Karaman region. Syria, the land of Egypt and the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula with the holy cities, Mecca and Medina, were annexed to the Empire during the short reign of Selim I (1512-1520). His successor, Suleiman completed the Ottoman Empire with his North African, Persian and Hungarian conquests.
The dilapidated or non-existent infrastructure of the territories conquered by the large empire, and the complete absence of buildings necessary for everyday Muslim life provided plenty of architectural works. However, Istanbul itself also "We are all servants here!" Mimar Sinan -architect of the Ottoman Empire 2013 44 1 presented considerable opportunities, as much of the historic city core -especially the surrounding of the former imperial palace -had been in ruins since the destruction of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Thanks to the large number of tasks and to Sinan's talent, position and relationships deriving from them, several works of his were implemented empire-wide -from Esztergom to Jerusalem, Baghdad or Bosnia. Among them -except for his engineering works -the mosques are the outstanding designs, in their both number and quality.
By the start of Sinan's career, the typical spatial form of Ottoman mosques had already developed. 13 Contrary to the columnar mosques of the first Islamic empires (such as the Ummayads) or to the Persian Islamic four-eyvan mosques, Ottoman architecture -under Byzantine influence -preferred the domed mosques.
The first remained Ottoman domed mosques were either covered with one single dome and had a square or rectangular layout 14 , or they were multiple domed buildings with a floor plan referred to as an inverted 'T' by art historians. 15 Among these, the most significant ones can be found in Bursa 16 ; therefore, this type is often called the Bursa mosque. Originally, the place of prayer was the same square-shaped space covered with a single dome in front of the mihrab; the other domed spaces, in front of or next to it, played a different role in public life (administration, court, etc.).
The first mosque having more than one dome is also located in Bursa (Ulu Cami, around 1396?), and was built by Bayezid I true to his oath taken in Nicopolis. The construction of the space covered with twenty domes -today only a copy of which is visible -were clearly the result of the influence of Byzantine architecture, 17 similarly to the old grand mosque of Edirne with nine domes (Eski Cami, around 1402), which was built by Suleiman, one of Bayezid I's sons. 18 The crucial change appeared in the Üç Serefeli mosque built by Murad II (Edirne, 1437-1447). This was the first example of an arcaded forecourt topped with a row of domes (avlu), four minarets, an enormous centre dome of 24 m diameter above the closed chapel, and resting on a specially designed hexagonalshaped support. 19 From that time, this dominant centre dome became the main motif of the representative mosques following the pattern of Hagia Sophia.
The Islamic world -especially the Umayyad Caliphate -respected the power and wealth of Byzantium, and Constantinople was regarded as the premier centre of arts and culture. This affection was especially true for the Ottomans. Their state was formed in the immediate vicinity and under the spell of Byzantium, and when it reached its full extent -incorporating almost the entire territory of the Justinianos Empire -they were entitled to feel themselves the heirs of Byzantium.
Byzantine architecture influenced the development of the Ottoman architecture from the beginning. It is particularly true in the case of Hagia Sophia (and its dome), which building had special reverence due to its size, architectural design and symbolic power. 20 The rapturous enthusiasm of Mehmed II, which he expressed when seeing the mosque, is a testimony of this: " In many cases, mosques stood not alone, but in the middle of a building complex. This development can be explained by an Ottoman practice originating from Islamic tradition.
The key to the survival of the empire was to ensure the monocracy of the monarch. Among others, preventing the development of individual property and power concentration was also a tool to achieve this aim. 22 According to Muslim tradition, the Sultan was already entitled to a fifth of the conquered territories and captured goods. Of the remaining areas, similarly to the Byzantine institution of military lands, the monarch meted out land donations (tímár, ziámet) in return for military service, however, these donations could be withdrawn at any time, and could not be inherited. 23 This way the private properties, which were acquired and enlarged during the crusades, could not develop to a large estate able to defy the monarch. 24 Only the 'asset-salvage' option was available: the establishment of a pious foundation (vaqf, vakf, vakuf). For Muslims, the duty of alms-giving (zakát) -as the Third Pillar of Islam -was of a high importance. 25 The management of pious foundations -helping travellers, pilgrims and the needy landless -which were established for this purpose, remained with the founder, and could be inherited. Thus, with this solution it was possible to preserve the right of provision over substantial private properties in a way that the whole community could benefit from it. 26 These kinds of building complexes (külliye) were established across the Ottoman empire, in which the mosque (mescit) was surrounded by several other buildings: the founder's tomb (türbe); Koranic school (dârülkurrâ), elementary (mekteb) and post-secondary school (medrese); bath (hamam); public soup kitchen (imaret), pilgrim accommodation (tabhane) and lodging house (kervansaray); possibly a Dervish monastery (tekke) or hospital (dârüşşifa); not to mention those lodging houses, bazaars, covered markets (bedesten), rows of stores (arasta) and baths located somewhere else, which provided the revenue for the operation of the foundation according to the founder's provisions. 27 A pious foundation could also be launched by individuals, but the largest and most magnificent ones were the foundations established by the Sultan. 28 The prolific fifty years Sinan spent as an architect are known to us thanks to his friend and colleague Mustafa Sâi Çelebi, who left behind the memoirs of old Sinan in three manuscripts. 29 This memoir credits Sinan with 343 buildings. 30 His main clients came from the top level of government and the milieu of the Sultan reigning at the time. Sinan served three sultans, Suleiman II, Selim and Murad III. Suleiman himself and his family are represented on this list with 47 buildings, among them five külliyes, but this number increases to 71 if we also count the building activity of the Sultan's son-inlaw Rüstem Pasha Grand Vizier and his brother Sinan Pasha. Undoubtedly, the most active builder was Grand Vizier Pasha Sokullu Mehmed, the son-in-law of Selim II, who commissioned Sinan with the design of 30 buildings on his own. 31 During the planning of the mosques, Sinan tested and applied almost every possible space form. He designed mosques topped with a plain slab as well as single domes or a series of domes, spaces with hexagonal or octagonal centred domes as well as mosques with the spatial arrangement of Hagia Sophia. 32 Among his works, the most important were the sultan-külliyes -in particular their central objects, the mosques. He also tied his career to these buildings, considering the completion of Prince's Mosque (Şehzade Camii, Istanbul, 1543-1548) as the end of his apprenticeship; then came the mastery years, with the Suleiman Mosque (Süleyman Camii, Istanbul, 1550-1557) as the zenith; followed by the period of an experienced but aging master, the masterpiece of which time was the Selimiye II Mosque (Selimiye Camii, Edirne, 1568-1574).
Even Sinan's sultan mosques in Istanbul could not hide themselves from the magnificent and inspirational impact of the dome of Hagia Sophia. However, this does not mean that they were slavish copies. 33 Though Sinan himself designed a mosque that copied the spatial arrangement of Hagia Sophia, 34 22 Monocracy was ensured by the child-tax based military and administrative structure operated by subjects solely dependent on the sultan, by the 'filtering' of the emperor's environment with the introduction of the practice of fratricides associated with taking the power, as well as by choosing the Sultan's concubines (mother of the potential future monarch) from Christian slaves.
These tools were completed with the system mentioned above in order to prevent the development of increasing wealth.
23 it could not be widely adapted, mainly due to the difference in the use of the two buildings types (church vs. Mosque). While Hagia Sophia is a longitudinal space-complex of central roofing structures arranged along the axis and defined by the entrance gate and the apse, in the case of mosques, where the transverse qibla wall dominates opposite the entrance, even a square floor plan can be considered a compromise solution. 35 Italian Renaissance architecture, especially the development of central church spaces, had much more influence on the spatial arrangement of sultan-mosques. Ottoman emperors -most of all Mehmed II, Bayezid II and Suleiman -paid curious attention to Europe, particularly to Italy. The trade relationships with Genoese and Venetian merchants, established at the time of the Byzantine Empire, were completed with cultural aspects during this period. In addition to delegations and merchants, a series of poets and artists appeared in the court of the sultan, giving proof to the vibrant intellectual life lived there. Mehmed hired a Venetian painter in his court, 36 and Bayezid was waiting for a bridge construction engineer also from this country. 37 So it was not surprising at all that the Sublime Porte was well-informed about the application of central spaces gaining ground, especially about the design works of St Peter's Cathedral in Rome. Its influence can be traced on several buildings of Sinan.
The Prince's Mosque (Şehzade Camii, Istanbul, 1543-1548) was built by Suleiman in memory of Mehmed, his son born by Hürrem, the second wife with notorious agility, who was raised to be a crown prince and who died in 1543. Ibrahim Peçevi, born in Pécs, reported on the prince's funeral and the foundation of the külliye: "The funeral service was held in the Bayezid mosque in the presence of Suleiman. Previously, the Sultan's favourite son had planted saplings on top of the ancient ruins. The Sultan ordered him buried at this place, and to build a türbe over his tomb and a large mosque next to it." 38 The building complex stands on the land between the referred to külliye of Bayezid II and Mehmed II, in the corner of the Old Palace, by the road leading to Edirne. The mosque and its forecourt is surrounded by a garden of irregular shape, encircled with walls. Here stands the tomb of the prince (türbe), and the other buildings of the külliye attached to the outer side of the fence: Madrasah (medrese), public soup kitchen (imaret) and pilgrim accommodation (tabhane), pilgrim lodging (kervansaray), Koranic school (dârülkurra).
The overall shapes of the layout of the mosque and the forecourt are two squares with the same dimensions. A central space creates the interior of the mosque; its nine-parted square floor plan is divided by the four pillars and the vaults leaning onto them, supporting the centre dome. The pendetive centre dome of 19 m in diameter is supported by quarter spheres along the legs of a Greek cross shape, which can be drawn into the square layout; the quarter spheres are completed with two small additional quarter-sphere domes. The position of the domes gives the feeling that the row of domes of Hagia Sophia could have been built here, both in a longitudinal and a cross direction, although on a smaller scale. Although in reality, it did not serve as a model for Sinan, one has to look for inspiration in Renaissance Italy. Namely, this scheme -a space of square layout, covered with pendetive dome, expanded with apses that are roofed with quarter domes -was built as an independent building first in Todi, by the design of Donato Bramante. 39 Due to its size and the builder's stature, the Suleiman Mosque can be considered Sinan's most prestigious building complex. This extensive building complex was erected on the site of the former Old Palace (Eski Saray), on top of the third hill of the town. It presented the completeness of the components of külliyes beside the mosque and the tombs: elementary school (mekteb); Koranic school (dârülhadi); tradition narrating school (hadith) and dormitory; five post-secondary schools (medrese); medical university (dârüttıb); hospital (dârüssifa); bath (hamam); public soup kitchen (imaret) and guesthouse (tabhane). It clearly describes the dimensions of the building complex that was estimated by Hans Dernschwarm to be the same size as the city of Bratislava at that time. 40 The construction lasted for seven years. 41 According to the description of Evlia Çelebi, after three years of earthworks, the implementation of the wall foundations took the same time. This was followed by a one-year break, in which the rumours thought to see the decline of the empire's power. However, the work was stopped for technical reasons: the builders had to wait for the consolidation of the foundations and the production of the necessary building materials. 42 The demanded quantity of stone was taken from the ruins of Emperor Diocletian's palace in Nicomedia (today: Izmit), and was transported to Istanbul on the "stone-ships" (on special galleys without sails). 43 The mosque itself is of considerable dimensions: four Prince's Mosques could fit in it. Its spatial arrangement follows much more that of Hagia Sophia than does the layout of the Prince's Mosque. Although the interior has a square layout (58 m), due to the huge size, Sinan did not apply the row of domes with a Greek cross layout, which can be seen at the Prince's Mosque, but created a directed central space similar to that of Hagia Sophia. At the same time, lacking the gallery floor above the aisles, the inner space became clearer and more consistent than its role model. This effect is reinforced by the light streaming through the windows and the light interior paint on the walls.   Sinan handed over the building to Suleiman: "Oh, my Sultan, I have built this mosque for you, which will stand upon the earth till the day of the last judgment. 44 " From the time of its completion, Suleiman Külliye, especially the mosque, has meant a lot more than a building itself, it represented the strength and power of the empire. Proof of this can be seen on signed feast-days when the model of the building was carried around. This happened, for example, in 1582, on occasion of the circumcision ceremony of Prince Mehmed, son of Sultan Murad III as reported by not only the eyewitnesses but also through the miniature of Nakkas Oman. 45 The third milestone in Sinan's life was the Külliye of Sultan Selim II. Suleiman' son of modest calibre -posterity refers to him just with the name 'the Sot' (Mest) -spent his time in the quieter Edirne instead of the vibrant capital, and he also designated the location of his külliye here. The construction took place between 1569 and 1576 (at that time Sinan was at the beginning of his eighties). The building complex, surrounded by walls, can be entered through a covered market (arasta) from the direction of the town's old centre (old Grand Mosque, covered bazaar). In addition to this and the mosque, the külliye contains an elementary school (mekteb) and two post-secondary schools (medrese). No tomb was placed here since the türbe of the sultan (also Sinan's work) was built in Istanbul, on the south side of Hagia Sophia.
The dimensions of the mosque are slightly smaller than that of the Suleiman Mosque (45 x 36 m), and contrary to that mosque, this one was built with a traverse rectangular layout. However, the size of the dome surpassed all previous dimensions: its diameter is 31.5 m. Not only its size but also its position is remarkable. While in Hagia Sophia, the centre dome forms an integral unity with the attached quarter-spheres and vaults, in the case of the Selim Mosque, this structure dominantly towers over the space. Sinan subordinated everything to this dome as if the only sense of the building would manifest in this structure and in the space enclosed by the eight pillars supporting (lifting) the dome.
He emphasized this aim by placing the gallery of the muezzins (mahfil) and the well under it (şadirvan) to the middle, on the axis of the dome, which is an unusual solution in Ottoman architecture. 46 Due to this central spatial arrangement and the dominance of the dome, researchers find the influence of Italian Renaissance central spaces, especially that of St Peter's cathedral in Suleiman Mosque. 47 Sinan was also active in Hungary, but as relevant resources are missing, the number of his works in the country cannot even be estimated. 48 The design of the Drava Bridge in Osijek can be associated with his name, as well as the reconstruction of the castle in Szeged. 49 Sinan also completed the conversion of St Adalbert Basilica in Esztergom to a mosque in 1543. According to Evlia Çelebi -evoking memories of his father who was also involved in the construction works as a goldsmith -Suleiman watched the buildings on Castle Hill with admiration, especially a pink-domed church (this was probably Bakócz Chapel), and while the sultan led a battle around Fehérvár, Sinan was already carrying out the conversion work. 50 He also designed the Pasha Mustafa Mosque that once stood in Víziváros. Knowing his close relationship with the builder Sokullu's family -Sinan prepared the plans of 30 buildings just for Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed, the cousin of Mustafa -it is presumable that he designed some elements (a bath and a medrese) of the külliye in Víziváros too. But it is only suspected that Mustafa, having also the position of the Pasha of Buda, within his extensive constructing activity employed Sinan at other places too. 51 Mimar Sinan died in 1588, at the age of nearly a hundred years, leaving an unprecedented body of work behind. In addition to his undoubted talent and adaptability, his success could be owed to the lucky interference of a variety of factors. His long life, fifty years of which he spent as the chief architect, coincided with the golden age of empire. The conquered areas provided plenty of construction tasks, as well as did the clients, who were aspiring for architectural representation worthy of their rank -among them the monarch and his wider environment. In addition, the empire, not being without financial resources, was also able to realize these plans. The destruction of later centuries spared much of Sinan's oeuvre, in fact, most of the buildings are still used for their original purpose. Sinan's own personality also escaped the oblivion. First of all, not because his grave and his dictated biography survived -though in Central Europe it would also constitute a special value -but because he became a symbol of the most glorious era of the Ottoman Empire through his works.