Istanbul, as the capital of the Ottoman Empire since 1453 and the largest city in the Middle East, contains a great number of mosques. In 2007, there were 2,944 active mosques in Istanbul. [1]
These Byzantine structures were converted to mosques by the Ottomans.
Mehmed III was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the Long Turkish war, during which the Ottoman army was victorious at the decisive Battle of Keresztes. This victory was however undermined by some military losses such as in Gyor and Nikopol. He also ordered the successful quelling of the Jelali rebellions. The sultan also communicated with the court of Elizabeth I on the grounds of stronger commercial relations and in the hopes of England to ally with the Ottomans against the Spanish.
Üsküdar is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; with Karaköy, Kabataş, Beşiktaş, and the historic city center of Fatih facing it on the opposite shore to the west. Üsküdar has been a conservative cultural center of the Anatolian side of Istanbul since Ottoman times with its numerous historic landmark and little mosques and dergahs.
Mimar Sinan also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, was the chief Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murad III. He was responsible for the construction of more than 300 major structures, including the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, the Kanuni Sultan Suleiman Bridge in Büyükçekmece, and the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad, as well as other more modest projects such as madrasa's, külliyes, and bridges. His apprentices would later design the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and the Stari Most bridge in Mostar.
Sedefkar Mehmed Agha or Sedefqar Mehmeti of Elbasan is recorded as the Ottoman Albanian architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul.
Fatih is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities but not the courthouse. It encompasses the historical peninsula, coinciding with old Constantinople. In 2009, the district of Eminönü, which had been a separate municipality located at the tip of the peninsula, was once again remerged into Fatih because of its small population. Fatih is bordered by the Golden Horn to the north and the Sea of Marmara to the south, while the Western border is demarked by the Theodosian wall and the east by the Bosphorus Strait.
Nurbanu Sultan was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the principal consort of Sultan Selim II, his legal wife, as well as Valide Sultan as the mother of Sultan Murad III. She was one of the most prominent figures during the time of the Sultanate of Women. Conflicting theories describe her as of Venetian, Jewish or Greek origin. Her birth name may have been Cecilia Venier-Baffo, Rachel or Kalē Kartanou.
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 and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine and Iranian architecture along with other architectural traditions in the Middle East. Early Ottoman architecture experimented with multiple building types over the course of the 13th to 15th centuries, progressively evolving into the classical Ottoman style of the 16th and 17th centuries. This style was a mixture of native Turkish tradition and influences from the Hagia Sophia, resulting in monumental mosque buildings focused around a high central dome with a varying number of semi-domes. The most important architect of the classical period is Mimar Sinan, whose major works include the Şehzade Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque, and Selimiye Mosque. The second half of the 16th century also saw the apogee of certain decorative arts, most notably in the use of Iznik tiles.
The large Fatih Mosque is an Ottoman mosque off Fevzi Paşa Caddesi in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. The original mosque was constructed between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the Church of the Holy Apostles. Seriously damaged in the 1766 earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1771 to a different design. It is named after the Ottoman sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, known in Turkish as Fatih Sultan Mehmed, who conquered Constantinople in 1453.
Sinan-i Atik, also known as Azadlı Sinan, and Atik Sinan, was an Ottoman architect for Sultan Mehmed II from the empire's Greek community during the 15th century.
Handan Sultan was a consort of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed III, and mother and Valide Sultan to their son Sultan Ahmed I.
Rüstem Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha as a result of his marriage to the sultan's daughter, Mihrimah Sultan, in 1539. He is regarded as one of the most influential and successful grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire.
The Rum Mehmed Pasha Mosque is an old Ottoman mosque located in a large and densely populated district of Üsküdar, in Istanbul, Turkey.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Ottoman Empire:
Halime Sultan was a consort of Sultan Mehmed III, and the mother of Sultan Mustafa I. The first woman to be Valide Sultan twice and the only to be Valide twice of a same son. She had at least four children with Mehmed: two sons Şehzade Mahmud and Mustafa I, and two daughters, Hatice Sultan and Şah Sultan. She was de facto co-ruler as Valide Sultan from 22 November 1617 to 26 February 1618 and from 19 May 1622 to 10 September 1623, because her son was mentally instable. Halime was also one of the prominent figures during the era known as the Sultanate of Women.
Rabia Sultan was the Haseki Sultan of Sultan Ahmed II of the Ottoman Empire. She was the last woman to have the Haseki title.
Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan was an Ottoman princess, the only daughter of Mihrimah Sultan and Rüstem Pasha. She had a younger brother, Sultanzade Osman Bey. She was granddaughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566) and his favorite consort and legal wife, Hürrem Sultan, and their first grandchild.
Classical Ottoman architecture is a period in Ottoman architecture generally including the 16th and 17th centuries. The period is most strongly associated with the works of Mimar Sinan, who was Chief Court Architect under three sultans between 1538 and 1588. The start of the period also coincided with the long reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, which is recognized as the apogee of Ottoman political and cultural development, with extensive patronage in art and architecture by the sultan, his family, and his high-ranking officials.