Mimar Sinan: Chief Architect of the Ottoman Golden Age

Mimar Sinan (c. 1490–1588) was the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire for almost 50 years, from 1539 until his death. Working for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his successors, he designed or supervised hundreds of buildings, from great imperial mosques to bridges, baths and aqueducts. His three masterpieces, the Şehzade and Süleymaniye mosques in Istanbul and the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, defined the classical Ottoman style.

Early life and military career

Sinan was born around 1490 in Ağırnas, a village near Kayseri in central Anatolia, to a Christian family; whether it was of Greek or Armenian origin is debated. Around 1512, in the reign of Selim I, he was taken into Ottoman service through the devshirme, the levy of Christian boys who were converted to Islam and trained for the army and the administration.

Sinan became a Janissary and served in many campaigns. According to his own memoirs, he took part in the capture of Belgrade in 1521, the siege of Rhodes in 1522 and the Battle of Mohács in 1526. He trained as a carpenter and military engineer, building bridges, siege works and boats.

His engineering skill attracted attention. During the campaign against Safavid Iran in 1534–35 he built boats to cross Lake Van. In 1538, during a campaign in Moldavia, he built a bridge across the Prut River in a matter of days.

Chief architect

In 1539 Sinan was appointed chief architect (mimarbaşı) of the imperial court, probably with the support of the grand vizier Lütfi Pasha. The post placed him at the head of the corps of royal architects, responsible not only for designing buildings but also for supervising construction, materials and workers across the empire.

He held the office under three sultans, Suleiman I, Selim II and Murad III. Lists of his works, compiled near the end of his life, credit him with well over 300 buildings, including about 80 large mosques, more than 50 small mosques, dozens of madrasas (religious colleges), tombs, soup kitchens, caravanserais, palaces, baths, bridges and aqueducts.

The chief architect’s office was a busy institution. Sinan trained assistants who were sent to supervise projects in distant provinces, and plans and instructions were often drawn up in Istanbul and carried out locally. This is why historians distinguish between buildings Sinan designed and supervised in person, mostly in Istanbul and Edirne, and the many provincial works attributed to his office.

The three great mosques

Sinan described his career in three stages, each marked by a great mosque.

The Şehzade Mosque (1543–1548) in Istanbul was built by Suleiman in memory of his son Prince Mehmed, who died in 1543. Its central dome is supported by four half-domes, a perfectly symmetrical plan. Sinan called it his apprentice work.

The Süleymaniye Mosque (1550–1557), built on one of Istanbul’s hills for Suleiman himself, was his journeyman work. Its plan responds to the Hagia Sophia, with a great dome flanked by two half-domes. The mosque stands at the centre of a vast complex of madrasas, a hospital, a soup kitchen, baths and tombs. A separate article covers the Süleymaniye Mosque.

The Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (c. 1568–1575), built for Selim II, was his masterpiece, completed when he was over 80. Its single dome, about 31 metres in diameter, rests on eight piers and covers an open, unified prayer space. Sinan stated with pride that he had built a dome larger than that of Hagia Sophia, though modern measurements suggest the two are very close in size.

Other works

Sinan’s office designed buildings for members of the dynasty and leading officials. Notable examples include the mosques of Mihrimah Sultan, Suleiman’s daughter, at Üsküdar and Edirnekapı; the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, famous for its walls of Iznik tiles; and the Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque at Kadırga.

He also worked on public works. He improved Istanbul’s water supply with the Kırkçeşme network of aqueducts and built bridges such as the long bridge at Büyükçekmece near Istanbul. The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge at Višegrad in Bosnia, finished in 1577, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sinan also restored and strengthened older buildings, including Hagia Sophia itself, to which he added buttresses and minarets.

Patrons and collaborators

Sinan’s career depended on powerful patrons. Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned the Süleymaniye and the Şehzade Mosque, while his wife Hürrem Sultan sponsored a mosque complex and a large double bath near Hagia Sophia. Their daughter Mihrimah Sultan and her husband, the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha, were among his most important clients.

Later, Selim II commissioned the Selimiye, and the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha ordered mosques, bridges and other buildings across the empire. Sinan worked with large teams of builders, stonemasons, carpenters and tile makers, and with craftsmen from Iznik who produced the brilliant tiles of his later buildings.

Style and methods

Sinan’s central achievement was the domed, centralised mosque. He experimented with different ways of supporting a dome, using four, six or eight supports and various combinations of half-domes, to create ever larger, more open and better-lit interiors.

He paid great attention to the setting of his buildings. His mosques were usually the centre of larger complexes (külliye) whose schools, kitchens and baths served the surrounding district. Their domes and slender minarets were placed to shape the skyline of Istanbul as seen from the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

How Sinan built a dome

Sinan’s domes were built of cut stone and brick, carried on massive piers and arches. To spread the outward thrust of the dome, he used half-domes, buttresses and weight towers at the corners, often hiding these supports in the walls or galleries so that the interior seemed light and open.

Many windows pierced the base of the dome and the walls below it, flooding the space with light. Iron tie-rods linked the arches, and careful attention to foundations helped many of his buildings survive the earthquakes that frequently strike Istanbul, more than four centuries after they were built.

Death and legacy

Sinan died in Istanbul in 1588, probably in his late nineties. He was buried in a modest tomb he designed himself, beside the Süleymaniye complex.

His autobiographical texts, dictated to his friend the poet Sai Mustafa Çelebi, are among the few personal accounts by a Renaissance-era architect anywhere. His pupils continued his style; one of them, Sedefkâr Mehmed Agha, designed the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in the early 17th century. Popular stories that Sinan’s students designed the Taj Mahal in India are not supported by evidence.

Two popular beliefs about Sinan need caution. His exact age at death is unknown, because his birth date is uncertain; claims that he lived to well over 100 are not supported by the sources. And while his name is attached to hundreds of structures, not every building traditionally credited to him can be securely linked to his personal design.

Timeline

• c. 1490: Sinan is born at Ağırnas near Kayseri.
• c. 1512: He is recruited through the devshirme.
• 1521–1526: He serves at Belgrade, Rhodes and Mohács.
• 1539: He is appointed chief architect of the empire.
• 1543–1548: The Şehzade Mosque is built in Istanbul.
• 1550–1557: The Süleymaniye Mosque is built.
• c. 1568–1575: The Selimiye Mosque is built in Edirne.
• 1577: The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge at Višegrad is completed.
• 1588: Sinan dies in Istanbul.

Why it matters

Mimar Sinan gave the Ottoman Empire an architectural language as powerful as its armies. His mosques still dominate the skylines of Istanbul and Edirne, and his buildings, from Bosnia to Syria, made him one of the most influential architects in history.