Süleymaniye Mosque
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The Süleymaniye Mosque (, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. The mosque was commissioned by
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
() and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 and the inauguration date as 1557, although work on the complex probably continued for a few years after this. The Süleymaniye Mosque is one of the best-known sights of Istanbul and from its location on the Third Hill it commands an extensive view of the city around the Golden Horn. It is considered a masterpiece of
Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century an ...
and one of Mimar Sinan's greatest works. It is the largest Ottoman-era mosque in the city. Like other Ottoman imperial foundations, the mosque is part of a larger ''
külliye A külliye () 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 (clinic), kitchens ...
'' (religious and charitable complex) which included
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
s, a public kitchen, and a
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
, among others. Behind the ''
qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...
'' wall of the mosque is an enclosed cemetery containing the separate octagonal
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
s of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana). The Süleymaniye Mosque and its Associated Conservation Area is one of the four components of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
" Historic Areas of Istanbul", protected under cultural criteria (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv). Located within the Historic Peninsula, the site falls under multiple conservation designations: it was nationally registered in 1981 as an urban and historic conservation area and again in 1995 as an Archaeological, Urban Archaeological, Historical and Urban Site. The area contains 920 registered properties, including monumental and civil architecture.


History


Context

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent chose the architect Mimar Sinan to create a mosque in memory of his son Şehzade (Crown Prince) Mehmed. Suleiman was so impressed with the ensuing Şehzade Mosque that he asked Sinan to design a mosque for himself too. This mosque would represent the pre-eminence of the Ottoman Empire. In the era of the mosque's construction, Suleiman controlled a huge empire that, after his father Selim's conquest of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517, covered much of the
Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
, encouraging him to define his role as an Islamic ruler. During this time, he was also engaged in controntation with the Safavids, a
Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...
dynasty in Iran, and successfully forced them to make symbolic political concesssions in the Treaty of Amasya in 1555. In this context, Suleiman promoted the Ottoman state's reliance on the ''
Shari'a Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
'' (Islamic law), the ''
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
'' (Islamic legal scholars), and orthodox
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
ideology as a pillar of the sultan's authority and legitimacy. This is reflected in the function and organization of the madrasas and other educational facilities that were built as part of the new mosque's complex (''
külliye A külliye () 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 (clinic), kitchens ...
''). The latter were given a much larger staff than previous madrasas and the endowment deed ('' waqf'') for the mosque complex designated various religious officials that were to be closely associated with the Ottoman state. More generally, the monumental mosque and its extensive facilities formed a political display of the sultan's power. Among other functions, it served as an impressive setting for the sultan's public appearances at Friday prayers. Suleiman's intention was to build a mosque that would surpass all others built by his predecessors. Suleiman appears to have represented himself at times as a "second Solomon" and his construction projects in both
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
and Constantinople (Istanbul) appear to reflect this. Architecturally, Suleiman's mausoleum (built behind the mosque) references the Dome of the Rock, which was built on the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. According to popular tradition,
Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
boasted upon the completion of the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
in Constantinople: "Solomon, I have surpassed thee!" Suleiman's mosque, in turn, references the Hagia Sophia, Justinian's creation, in its design and layout. The mosque recalls the Hagia Sophia and the Bayezid II Mosque in its basic form, but as Sinan had already moved beyond this design with the Şehzade Mosque and he rarely revisited old designs during his career, it is likely that this design choice was requested by the sultan himself. The Hagia Sophia, which was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453, had remained an idealized symbol of sovereignty in Ottoman culture and this probably motivated Suleiman to emulate or surpass it with his own mosque.


Construction

The mosque was built on the site of the old Ottoman palace ('' Eski Saray'') which was still in use at the time and had to be demolished. The
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
inscription above the entrance to the prayer hall gives a foundation date of 1550 and an inauguration date of 1557. In reality, the planning of the mosque began before 1550 and parts of the complex were not completed until after 1557. The final construction expenses were recorded in 1559, relating to some of the madrasas and to the mausoleum of Suleiman's wife, Hürrem Sultan (d. 1558). The mausoleum for Suleiman himself was built after his death on the orders of his son and successor, Selim II, between 1566 and 1568. Marble spolia from various sites in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
and other parts of the empire were reportedly gathered and shipped to the construction site. Petrus Gyllius, a contemporary observer, wrote about seeing one of the four enormous porphyry columns destined for the mosque's interior being cut down to size and about marble columns being taken from the Hippodrome.


Damages and restorations

The Süleymaniye was damaged in the great fire of 1660 and was restored by Sultan Mehmed IV. Part of the dome collapsed during the earthquake of 1766. Repairs damaged what was left of Sinan's original decoration (recent cleaning has shown that he experimented with blue, before making red the dominant colour of the dome). In 1858 and 1859, extensive repairs were made in the interior of the mosque, the
minarets A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
, the outer courtyard, and the tombs. New spaces such as the ''muvakkithane'' in the courtyard of the mosque and the custodian's room in the tomb of Sultan Suleiman were built. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the courtyard was used as a weapons depot, and when some of the ammunition ignited, the mosque suffered another fire. Not until 1956 was it fully restored. Between 1961 and 1967, a restoration of the mosque's prayer hall took place. 19th-century wall decorations were removed and earlier designs beneath the plaster were revealed. These original decorations were identified, partially uncovered, and revived, restoring some of the mosque’s 16th-century character, except for the central dome. Over time, the mosque has faced various structural and material deteriorations, including erosion of stone surfaces, damage to minarets,
corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...
of metal elements, and biological decay in wooden components. Notable issues included black crusts on facades, cracks in minarets, missing or deformed architectural details, and the use of inappropriate materials like cement-based
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
during earlier restorations. The use of cement and gypsum-based mortars as plaster materials in the repairs carried out between 1955 and the 2000s damaged the original structure. In some of these repairs, the original decorations were partially or completely destroyed and sometimes they were left under new layers of plaster and painted over. New decorations imitating the old ones or made in accordance with the taste of the period caused the original atmosphere of the structure to change.The mosque was restored again between 2007 and 2010. This was the most comprehensive restoration work that has been undertaken in moderrn times. Original mortar, plaster and decorations were strengthened and preserved in-situ, regardless of how damaged they were, and only strengthening and cleaning works were carried out in the areas where original decorations were preserved. Intervention with color was avoided as much as possible. Façades and stone elements were cleaned with dry micro-sandblasting and chemical methods. Cement-based additions were removed and replaced with stone and plaster compatible with the original materials. Corroded clamps and iron elements were substituted with
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
. Wooden components were disassembled, fumigated, and repaired, with varnishes removed to restore breathability. Reconstructed parts followed original designs, informed by archival and on-site remains. Minaret roofs were replaced or restored, and missing marble and stone elements were remade. During restoration works, widespread cracks were observed across the surface of the main dome, extending from above the window level and continuing along the tension zone. In addition to regular structural monitoring, stratigraphic scraping conducted for the analysis of original painted decorations revealed further details about the cracks. Following this investigation, intervention zones were identified on site. After documenting the ornamental painting in these areas, careful plaster removal was carried out along the cracks. Based on structural calculations, consolidation was performed both on the interior and exterior surfaces of the main dome using injection-based reinforcement.


Architecture


Courtyard

Like the other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the entrance to the mosque is preceded by a forecourt with a central fountain. The main front gate, on the northwest side of the mosque, projects outward from and above the walls on either side. The entrance portal consists of a recess covered by a triangular vault sculpted with '' muqarnas'', with slender pilasters on either side. Above the ''muqarnas'' canopy is an inscription featuring the
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
version of the '' shahada'' (profession of faith). The windows on either side of the portal mark the presence of interior rooms which housed the '' muvakkithane'' (chamber of the timekeeper). The courtyard, measuring around , is of exceptional grandeur with a colonnaded peristyle supported by tall columns of
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
,
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
and porphyry. The columns are topped by classic Ottoman "stalactite" capitals (carved with ''muqarnas''). On the southeast side of the courtyard, the portico preceding the prayer hall is higher than those on the other three sides, giving this façade a greater monumentality. The three center arches of the northwest portico, corresponding to the front entrance, are also higher than the other arches around them. According to Godfrey Goodwin, reconciling these elements of different heights along the peristyle was Sinan's main aesthetic difficulty. The facade of the prayer hall is also decorated with rectangular Iznik tile window lunettes. It was the first building in which the Iznik tiles included the brightly coloured tomato-red clay under the glaze. The mosque is equipped with water taps outside the courtyard, between the side entrances of the prayer hall, which are used for performing ablutions. As a result, the drinking fountain in the center of the courtyard is purely decorative. It is a rectangular marble enclosure with a ceiling. The fountain was designed so that water sprayed from the ceiling into the basin below, an unusual feature noted by some 16th-century writers. Behind the southeast portico, the main entrance to the prayer hall is set within a recess with a complex ''muqarnas'' canopy. This is preceded by a dome with a more distinctive design than the other domes of the peristyle. The entrance portal features a foundation inscription carved onto three rectangular panels (two vertical panels on the side and an horizontal one on top). The text was composed by Ebussuud Efendi and its calligraphy, in '' thuluth'' script, was created by Hasan Çelebi, a student of Ahmed Karahisari. It states the sultan's name and titles, his genealogy, and a prayer for the continuation of the Ottoman dynasty. The wooden doors of the entrance are made of carved wood, including walnut, ebony, and olive wood, and they are inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. The side entrances of the mosque courtyard have inscriptions as well. The western gate to the courtyard has an inscription reading, "Peace be unto thee! Thou art good, so enter ye to dwell therein" (
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
39:73). The other entrances of the mosque have similar inscriptions which compare its gates with the gates of paradise. File:Süleymaniye Mosque February 2013 03.jpg, The main entrance to the courtyard (northwest side of the mosque) File:Courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey 001.jpg, Courtyard of the mosque with central fountain ('' şadırvan''), looking towards the entrance File:Cour mosquee Suleymaniye Istanbul.jpg, Courtyard of the mosque, looking towards the prayer hall File:Suleymaniye DSCF3657.jpg, One of the "stalactite" or '' muqarnas'' capitals in the courtyard File:Suleymaniye DSCF3670.jpg, Inside the central fountain of the courtyard, where water originally sprayed down from the ceiling File:Suleymaniye DSCF5994.jpg, The entrance portal to the prayer hall from the courtyard


Minarets

Four
minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
s occupy the four corners of the courtyard. The two taller ones have three balconies and rise to a high of without their lead caps and including the caps. The balconies are supported by consoles carved with ''muqarnas'' and they have balustrades carved and pierced with geometric patterns. The use of four minarets at the corners of a mosque courtyard had been done previously at the Üç Şerefeli Mosque in
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
, although Sinan introduced a strict symmetry not present in the earlier example. In the history of
Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century an ...
, this many minarets were only added to some mosques endowed by a sultan (princes and princesses could construct two minarets; others only one). The minarets have a total of ten balconies, which is said to reflect the fact that Suleiman I was the 10th Ottoman sultan. By making the outer minarets shorter than the inner ones, Sinan also increased the overall visual impression of a structure rising towards the central dome.


Prayer hall


Overall design

The interior of the mosque is almost a square, measuring , forming a single vast space dominated by its central dome. The dome is high and has a diameter of which is exactly half the height. The square space directly below this dome occupies exactly half the total area of the prayer hall. The layout emulates the dome design of the Hagia Sophia and also follows the layout of the earlier Bayezid II Mosque: the central dome is flanked by semi-domes both in front and behind, covering the main central space, while a row of smaller and lower domes covers each of the two lateral aisles on either side. Between these smaller domes and the main dome are large tympanas filled with windows. This repetition of an older building plan is uncharacteristic of Sinan and may have been the result of Suleiman's personal wishes. Sinan refined the design by repeating the innovations he had previously used in the Şehzade Mosque. The dome and semi-domes are supported by a limited number of load-bearing pillars and buttresses, allowing for more windows in the walls between them and minimizing any obstructive divisions within the prayer space. He dissimulated many of the load-bearing buttresses by incorporating them into the outer walls, where they project partly inwards and partly outwards so as to make them appear less massive from either side. He built colonnaded galleries between them both on the outside and on the inside, thus further obscuring their presence. Because the supporting buttresses are dissimulated within the walls of the building, they do not dominate and obscure its profile as they do at the Hagia Sophia. Thus, on the outside, the arrangement of arches, turrets, and semi-domes forms a more harmonious, almost pyramid-like progression to the central dome, emphasizing the latter as the visual culmination of the structure. The exception to this is the southeast wall (facing the cemetery), where the buttresses are fully situated on the outside in order to maintain a flat surface for the ''
qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...
'' wall on the inside. Sinan also introduced greater variety and detail to the mosque's design than in previous works. For example, in the domes covering the lateral aisles, he alternated between domes of different sizes, thus introducing a certain visual rhythm. The spaces in front of the side entrances of the prayer hall, between the pairs of massive buttresses at the corners of the building, are also covered by domes of alternating designs: a circular dome in the middle flanked by two smaller elliptical domes on the side. Moreover, by adding these four side entrances at the corners – instead of two side entrances at the middle of the lateral walls, as was done in the Şehzade Mosque – Sinan found a better use for these corner areas that were typically neglected or omitted in other centrally-planned buildings. On the outside, the two level-galleries have wide projecting eaves which shelter water taps used for ablutions, another innovation. File:Exterior of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey 002.jpg, View of the mosque's exterior (northeast side) File:Istanbul Suleymaniye Mosque Interior 2015 1312.jpg, Interior of the prayer hall, looking towards the '' mihrab'' File:Suleymaniye Mosque 1319.jpg, View of the semi-domes around the central dome File:Istanbul Suleymaniye Mosque Interior Aisle 2015 1302.jpg, One of the side aisles of the mosque File:Süleymaniye Mosque exterior 2017 (3).jpg, One of the arcaded galleries on the mosque's exterior and the water taps for ablutions


Decoration

The interior decoration is restrained and this seems to have been deliberate on Sinan's part. The documents of the mosque's '' waqf'' (religious endowment) explicitly claim that ostentatious ornamentation of gold or jewels was avoided in order to conform with the traditions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It's possible that Suleiman and Sinan regarded calligraphy as the primary form of decoration, in the spirit of a period when the Ottoman sultan championed a more austere Sunni orthodoxy. The calligraphy of the mosque 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 original painted decoration has been destroyed in the course of later damages and repairs. Very little is known directly about the original painted decoration. The present-day painting of the central dome dates from a 19th-century restoration by the Fossati brothers, who chose to roughly imitate Ottoman Baroque decoration. Traces of the original decoration were found during 20th-century cleaning and suggest that blue colours were used before Sinan replaced them with predominantly red colours. The Fossati-era painting has been maintained in more recent restorations as it is now considered part of the mosque's history. Elsewhere, the voussoirs of the mosque's stone arches are painted in red and white to imitate marble. Except for the inscriptions carved in stone, most of the other calligraphy found throughout the mosque is painted and was thus likely restored in later periods. The restorations appear to have been careful and probably retain some aspects of the original compositions. The stonework of the mosque is of high quality. The columns have classic Ottoman "stalactite" or ''muqarnas''-carved capitals. On both the front and back sides of the four main pillars are tall and sharply-pointed ''muqarnas'' niches. Water faucets are also set into the pillars. The '' mihrab'' consists of the traditional niche with a ''muqarnas'' hood. This is framed inside a marble surface in the same shape as the central (northwest) gate of the mosque's courtyard (aligned on the same axis as the ''mihrab''). The edges of this simple marble composition are sculpted into fluted columns that terminate at the top with crescent symbols, while an arabesque runs along the top edge in between. Next to the ''mihrab'' is the '' minbar'', which is crafted in traditional Ottoman form: a narrow staircase, with triangular sides, climbing from a portal to a canopy. The decoration is simplified in comparison with more ornate Ottoman examples, limited to the geometric patterning of the balustrades and the gilded stars on a blue ground covering the conical cap of the canopy. Located nearby are a simple platform or balcony for the sultan ('' hünkar mahfili'') and another platform for the muezzin ('' muezzin mahfili''), all made of marble with only a few discrete embellishments. Iznik tile revetments are only used around the ''mihrab''. The repeating rectangular tiles have a stencil-like floral pattern on a white ground. The flowers are mainly blue with turquoise, red, and black, but green is not used. On either side of the ''mihrab'' are large Iznik-tile calligraphic roundels with text from the Al-Fatiha
surah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...
of the Quran . The most elaborate stained-glass windows are found on the ''qibla'' wall, near the ''mihrab''. They are generally believed to have been the work of Sarhos Ibrahim, but some of the present-day windows have likely been restored at later periods. They are designed to display the names of God (
Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...
), the Islamic prophet
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, and the four Rashidun caliphs. The names of God and Muhammad are repeated in inscriptions above the lower windows, emphasizing God as the source of Islamic law (
Shari'a Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
) and Muhammad as the preacher of that law. The names of the four caliphs are also repeated on the mosque's four main pillars, recalling the four pillars of Sunni theology. The selection of these inscriptions, along with others across the mosque, emphasize the orthodox Sunni character of the mosque, reflecting in part the Ottoman rivalry with the contemporary Safavids, the main
Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...
dynasty to the east.


Complex


Mausoleums

Behind the ''qibla'' wall (southeast wall) of the mosque is an enclosed cemetery which contains the separate
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
s ('' türbe'') of Sultan Suleiman I and his wife Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana). The large octagonal mausoleum of Suleiman the Magnificent bears the date of 1566, the year of his death, but it was probably not completed until the following year. It is one of the largest Ottoman mausoleums and its design has been compared to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, on which it may have been modeled on the latter. The mausoleum is surrounded by a peristyle ( portico) with a projecting roof supported by 24 columns; the entrance faces towards the east rather than the usual north. Beneath the portico on either side of the entrance are Iznik tiled panels. These are the earliest known tiles decorated with the bright emerald green colour that would become a common feature of Iznik ceramics. The dome, 14 meters in diameter, is the first major example of a double-shelled dome in Sinan's architecture. The interior has a false dome supported on eight columns within the outer shell. There are 14 windows at ground level and an additional 24 windows with stained glass set in the tympana under the arches. The walls and pendentives are covered with polychrome Iznik tiles. Above the windows runs a band of inscriptive tiled panels. The text quotes the Throne verse and the following two verses from the Quran . In addition to the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, the mausoleum houses the tomb of his daughter Mihrimah Sultan and those of two later sultans: Suleiman II (ruled 1687–1691) and Ahmed II (ruled 1691–1695). Hurrem Sultan's octagonal mausoleum is dated 1558, the 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 now whitewashed but was probably once painted in bright colours. File:İstanbul 5619.jpg, The cemetery behind the mosque File:Sultan Süleyman Türbesi 01.jpg, Mausoleum of
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
File:Tomb of Suleiman DSCF5648.jpg, Detail of Iznik tiles under the portico of Suleiman's mausoleum File:Suleymaniye Mausoleum Suleyman mausoleum 1230.jpg, Interior of Suleiman's mausoleum File:Mausoleum of Roxelana 01.jpg, Mausoleum of Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana) File:Istanbul Roxelane Mausoleum in 2017 3631.jpg, Interior of Hürrem Sultan's mausoleum


Other buildings

As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque was designed as a ''
külliye A külliye () 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 (clinic), kitchens ...
'', or complex, with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs. The mosque incorporates the everyday needs for an Islamic community such as prayer, education, health and much more. Due to the sloping nature of the site around the mosque, many of the structures are built above massive substructures that created a more level ground. Vaulted rooms existed in these substructures and were probably put to various uses. The original complex consisted of the mosque itself, four
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
s or religious colleges (''medrese''), a small
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
(''mekteb''), a medical school (''darüttıb''), a
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
(''darüşşifa'' or ''timarhane''), a public kitchen ('' imaret'') that served food to the poor, a
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
or guesthouse (''tabhane''), public baths (''hamam''), a specialized school (''darülhadis'') for the learning of ''
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
'', a small domed building for the employees of the cemetery (attached to the latter's southeast wall), and rows of small shops integrated into the outer edges and along the street on the southwest side of the mosque. Many of these structures are still in existence. The former imaret has been converted into a restaurant. The former hospital is now a printing factory owned by the
Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...
. Just outside the complex walls, to the north is the tomb of architect Sinan. It was completely restored in 1922. Most of the buildings are classical Ottoman courtyard structures consisting of a rectangular courtyard surrounded by a domed peristyle portico giving access to domed rooms. In the madrasas, Sinan modified some details of the typical layout for functional reasons. The Salis Medrese and Rabı Medrese, located on the northeast side of the mosque where the ground slopes down towards the Golden Horn, have a "stepped" design in which the courtyard descends in three terraces connected by stairs while the domed rooms are built at progressively lower levels alongside it. The current remains of the ''hadith'' school (''darülhadis'') have been crudely restored. It consists of a long line of small vaulted rooms on the eastern edge of the complex. According to Doğan Kuban, the original school must have had a different appearance. The triangular plaza between this structure and the courtyard was once used for weekly wrestling matches. The two other madrasas, on the southwest side, are known as the Sani Medrese and Evvel Medrese and have regular floor plans on flatter ground. Of the medical school (''darüttıb'' or Tıp Medrese) next to these, not much has survived except for the rooms on the northeast side. All three of these madrasas are fronted by shops on their northeast sides (the sides facing the mosque), which contributed revenues to the complex. This created a market street known as the ''Tiryaki Çarșısı'', the "Antidote Market", due to the former presence of coffee houses and shops devoted to the smoking of hashish. A small primary school (''sibyan mekteb''), consisting of two domed rooms, is attached to the eastern corner of the Evvel Medrese, though separated from the main building by a narrow garden. File:Suleymaniye Hamam DSCF5503.jpg, Exterior of the Süleymaniye Hamam (bathhouse) File:Suleymaniye kulliyesi medrese i salis 11 05 30 810000.jpeg, The sloped courtyard of the Salis Medrese, one of the four
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
s of the complex File:Mimar Sinan tomb February 2013.jpg, Tomb of Mimar Sinan File:Istanbul Süleymaniye complex Tabhane - guesthouse 3778.jpg, Interior of the ''tabhane'' or
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
(guesthouse) File:Istanbul Süleymaniye complex Imaret in 2009 7056.jpg, Interior of the '' imaret'' (public kitchen) File:Suleymaniye complex DSCF3770.jpg, Back side of the '' darüşşifa'' (hospital), with the substructure visible below File:Süleymaniye5.jpg, The Evvel Medrese, as seen from the market street on its east side. The domed chamber on the left corner is part of the '' mekteb'' (primary school).


Burials

* Suleiman I (1494–1566) * Hürrem Sultan (1505–1558), Suleiman's wife * Mihrimah Sultan (1522–1578) Suleiman and Hürrem's daughter * Ahmed II (1642/43–1695) * Rabia Sultan (d. 1712) Ahmed's consort * Asiye Sultan (1694–1695), Ahmed II and Rabia's daughter * Suleiman II (1642–1691) * Aşub Sultan (d. 1690) Suleiman II's mother


See also

* List of Friday mosques designed by Mimar Sinan * List of mosques in Istanbul * List of tallest structures built before the 20th century


References


Sources

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Further reading

* * * * *


External links


Süleymaniye Külliyesi
Archnet
Süleymaniye Mosque
ve Mimar Sinan
Suleymaniye Mosque Virtual Walking Tour
Saudi Aramco World.
Photographs by Dick Osseman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suleymaniye Mosque Mimar Sinan buildings Ottoman mosques in Istanbul Landmarks in Turkey Fatih Suleiman the Magnificent Madrasas in Turkey 1558 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Mosques completed in the 1550s Mosque buildings with domes in Turkey Constantinople Historic preservation in Turkey Religious buildings and structures completed in 1558 16th-century madrasas Mosque buildings with minarets in Turkey