OTTOMAN IMPERIAL MOSQUES
These mosques were commissioned by Ottoman sultans or members of the royal family and were typically built as külliye, complexes centred around a mosque and surrounded by madrasas, kitchens and other charitable institutions.
The great imperial architect Mimar Sinan, who served for 50 years, designed many of Istanbul’s most enduring külliye, setting the standard for later architects.
Imperial mosques are not limited to Istanbul. Significant examples can also be found in Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, as well as in Edirne, Konya, Amasya, Manisa and even Damascus.
SEHZADE MOSQUE
The Sehzade Mosque stands on Istanbul’s Third Hill. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned it in memory of his beloved son, Şehzade Mehmed, who died in 1543.
It was the first major commission given to the young architect Mimar Sinan, who would later become the most celebrated master builder of the empire. Before this, Sinan had designed only a modest mosque for Hürrem Sultan, Suleiman’s powerful wife. But the Sehzade Mosque was on a completely different scale. Ambitious and elegant, it marked the beginning of Sinan’s extraordinary architectural journey.
After Mehmed’s death, Suleiman personally mourned him for forty days at a temporary tomb in Istanbul. At this site, Sinan constructed a grand mausoleum in 1544, which became the focal point of the graveyard behind the mosque.
The rest of the mosque complex, including a madrasa, caravanserai, soup kitchen (imaret), primary school (mektep) and guesthouse (tabhane), was completed in 1548.
SEHZADE MEHMED
The circumstances of the mosque’s foundation are closely tied to dynastic history. Şehzade Mehmed was born in 1521, the same year Suleiman captured Belgrade.
As the eldest son of Hürrem Sultan, Suleiman’s legal consort, he was being prepared for succession despite the existence of an older half-brother, Şehzade Mustafa, the son of Mahidevran Sultan.
Mehmed’s sudden death from smallpox in 1543, during the return from a successful Hungarian campaign, profoundly affected the sultan.
The construction of this monumental complex, the only imperial mosque ever dedicated to an Ottoman prince, is a testament to Suleiman’s profound love for his son.
Interestingly, Suleiman’s daughter Mihrimah Sultan also has two imperial mosques bearing her name, both still standing in Istanbul today.
Within Mehmed’s türbe are also buried his younger brother, Şehzade Cihangir, and his daughter, Hümaşah Sultan.
SEHZADE MAHMUD
Nearby is another tomb, that of Şehzade Mahmud, son of Sultan Mehmed III and Halime Sultan. Despite his imperial lineage, his grandparents were Sultan Murad III and the powerful Safiye Sultan, Mahmud met a tragic fate.
In 1603, his father executed him after intercepting a letter that superstitiously predicted Mahmud would become sultan within six months. Although Mahmud was innocent of any conspiracy, he was tortured and killed.
Ironically, Sultan Mehmed III died six months later and Mahmud’s half-brother ascended the throne as Sultan Ahmed I.
Mahmud and his mother Halime Sultan now rest in a tomb behind the Sehzade Mosque.
RUSTEM PASHA
The graveyard also contains the tomb of Rüstem Pasha, another figure tied to the imperial family.
Rüstem Pasha, Suleiman’s influential and wealthy Grand Vizier, was married to Mihrimah Sultan, Suleiman’s only daughter. As his own mosque had not yet been built at the time of his death in 1561, he was buried at the Sehzade Mosque.
BOSNALI IBRAHIM PASHA
Another prominent burial here is that of Bosnali Ibrahim Pasha, who married Ayşe Sultan, daughter of Mehmed III. Serving three terms as Grand Vizier, he is remembered for his conquest of Kanije in Hungary before his death in 1601.
However, do not confuse Bosnali Ibrahim Pasha with Pargali Ibrahim Pasha or Nevşehirli Ibrahim Pasha, both of whom also served as Grand Viziers. Pargali Ibrahim Pasha held the position under Suleiman the Magnificent, while Nevşehirli Ibrahim Pasha served during the Tulip Era in the early 18th century
The Sehzade Mosque itself remains a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture. Yet, when I visited, it was strikingly quiet, almost empty, except for a few worshippers.
Despite its grandeur and central location, it is often overlooked by tourists who go mainly to the iconic Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapı Palace. This is unfortunate, as the Sehzade Mosque stands as both a remarkable work of Islamic art and a deeply personal monument to love, loss and imperial ambition.
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