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THE ART
AND
ARCHITECTURE
OF
O TTOMAN I STANBUL
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THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF O TTOMAN I STANBUL
RICHARD YEOMANS
arnet P U B L I S H I N G
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THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF OTTOMAN ISTANBUL
Published by Garnet Publishing Limited 8 Southern Court South Street Reading Berkshire RG1 4QS UK www.garnetpublishing.co.uk www.twitter.com/Garnetpub www.facebook.com/Garnetpub blog.garnetpublishing.co.uk Copyright © Richard Yeomans, 2012 Image copyright © Richard Yeomans, 2012 (unless otherwise stated) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. First Edition ISBN: 978-1-85964-224-5 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design Samantha Barden Jacket design David Rose Cover photo Used courtesy of iStockphoto.com/Gordon Dixon Printed and bound in Lebanon by International Press:
[email protected]
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TO
THE MEMORY OF
GALOR HOLNESS
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Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
ix xv
1
CHAPTER SIX
The Turks, the Ottomans and the Conquest
Consolidation and Decline – Architecture
of Constantinople
in the Seventeenth Century
CHAPTER ONE
9
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mehmet the Conqueror and the Rise
Between East and West – Ottoman Baroque and
of Istanbul
Rococo Architecture in the Eighteenth Century
CHAPTER TWO
35
Forming a Classical Style – The Architecture
CHAPTER EIGHT
123
149
175
Calligraphy, Illumination and Miniatures
of Beyazit II and Selim I
CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER THREE
207
49 The Triumph of Europe – Westernization
The Architecture of Sinan
CHAPTER FOUR
in Nineteenth-Century Architecture
79
Ottoman Ceramics
CHAPTER FIVE Ottoman Textiles
97
LIST OF OTTOMAN SULTANS GLOSSARY SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
243 245 251 257
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List of Illustrations
INTRODUCTION: THE TURKS, THE OTTOMANS AND THE CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE
The Sahn © Richard Yeomans
29
Akdeniz Medrese © Richard Yeomans
29
Court of Karadeniz medrese © Richard Yeomans
29
Anadolu Hisarı © Richard Yeomans
5
The tabhane © Richard Yeomans
31
The Theodosian Walls © Richard Yeomans
7
The türbe of Mehmet II © Richard Yeomans
32
Gülbahar’s tomb © Richard Yeomans
32
CHAPTER ONE: MEHMET THE CONQUEROR AND THE RISE OF ISTANBUL
CHAPTER TWO: FORMING A CLASSICAL STYLE – THE ARCHITECTURE OF BEYAZIT II AND SELIM I
The Haghia Sophia © Richard Yeomans
10
Rumeli Hisarı © Richard Yeomans
11
Yediküle © Richard Yeomans
12
Mehmet II by Gentile Bellini © National Gallery, London
15
The Çinili Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
16
The entrance to Çinili Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
17
A tile mosaic at the Çinili Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
18
The türbe of Mahmut Paşa © Richard Yeomans
18
A tile mosaic on the türbe of Mahmut Paşa © Richard Yeomans
18
Bab-ül-Hümayün © Richard Yeomans
19
Orta Kapı, or the Middle Gate © Richard Yeomans
20
Plan of the Middle Court (Court of the Divan)
21
The Divan © Richard Yeomans
22
The old treasury © Richard Yeomans
22
Plan of the Third Court
23
The Pavilion of the Holy Mantle © Richard Yeomans
24
Rear wall of the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle showing Mamluk marble panelling © Richard Yeomans
24
The new treasury © Richard Yeomans
25
Plan of Mehmet’s külliye
27
Plan of Haseki Hürrem Külliye
51
Entrance to Prayer Hall © Richard Yeomans
28
Haseki Hürrem hospital © Richard Yeomans
52
Plan of Beyazit’s mosque
36
A view of Beyazit’s mosque © Richard Yeomans
37
The prayer hall © Richard Yeomans
38
A tabhane room © Richard Yeomans
38
The tabhane wing of Beyazit’s mosque © Richard Yeomans
39
The front portal facade to the sahn © Richard Yeomans
39
The sahn © Richard Yeomans
40
The medrese of Beyazit’s mosque © Richard Yeomans
40
The türbe of Beyazit © Richard Yeomans
41
The interior of Beyazit’s türbe © Richard Yeomans
41
The mosque of Selim I © Richard Yeomans
46
The türbe of Selim I © Richard Yeomans
47
Tilework flanking the entrance to Selim’s türbe © Richard Yeomans
47
CHAPTER THREE: THE ARCHITECTURE OF SINAN
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x
T HE A RT
AND
A RCHITECTURE
OF
O TTOMAN I STANBUL
Haseki Hürrem imaret © Richard Yeomans
52
The Mihrimah Sultan Külliye © Richard Yeomans
53
Views of the prayer hall of the Şehzade mosque © Richard Yeomans
54
The Şehzade mosque © Richard Yeomans
55
The sahn of the Şehzade mosque © Richard Yeomans
55
The türbe of Şehzade Mehmet © Richard Yeomans
56
Şehzade medrese © Richard Yeomans
57
Plan of the Süleymaniye
59
Plan of the prayer hall
60
The Süleymaniye mosque © Richard Yeomans
61
The side elevation, Süleymaniye mosque © Richard Yeomans
62
The türbe of Süleyman © Richard Yeomans
63
The interior of Süleyman’s türbe © Richard Yeomans
63
The türbe of Roxelana © Richard Yeomans
63
The interior of Roxelana’s türbe © Richard Yeomans
63
The Tiryaki Meydan © Richard Yeomans
64
The hospital © Richard Yeomans
65
The imaret © Richard Yeomans
65
The tabhane © Richard Yeomans
65
Sinan’s sebil and türbe © Richard Yeomans
66
Murat’s bedroom in the Topkapı Palace © Richard Yeomans
77
Murat’s bedroom in the Topkapı Palace showing the wall foundation © Richard Yeomans
77
CHAPTER FOUR: OTTOMAN CERAMICS
Window lunette from Haseki Hürrem Hospital, c.1540, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
80
Cuerda seca tilework in the Yeşil türbe, Bursa © Richard Yeomans
81
Cuerda seca tilework in the Yeşil türbe, Bursa © Richard Yeomans
81
Cuerda seca tiles on the throne room of the Topkapı Palace © Richard Yeomans
81
Blue and white Miletus bowl, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
82
Dish, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
82
Blue and white plate, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
82
The Rabı medrese © Richard Yeomans
66
The baths of Roxelana, or Haseki Sultan Hamam © Richard Yeomans
67
Blue and white mosque lamp, c.1512 © The Trustees of the British Museum
83
The entrance to Rustem Paşa mosque © Richard Yeomans
69
Cut-down flask from Kütahya, 1529 © The Trustees of the British Museum
84
The tile panel flanking the mosque entrance © Richard Yeomans
69
Ewer from Iznik, 1530 © The Trustees of the British Museum
84
Interior views of the Rustem Paşa mosque © Richard Yeomans
70
Tilework on the Circumcision Kiosk, Topkapı Palace © Richard Yeomans
85
The mihrab tiles © Richard Yeomans
70
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem © Richard Yeomans
86
The mosque of Sokollu Mehmet Paşa © Richard Yeomans
71
Mosque lamp, 1549 © The Trustees of the British Museum
87
The sahn, fountain and medrese of Sokollu Mehmet Paşa mosque © Richard Yeomans
72
Damascus-ware dish, 1550–60 © The Trustees of the British Museum
87
The interior of the Sokollu Mehmet Paşa mosque
72
Damascus-ware dish, 1550 © The Trustees of the British Museum
87
The Mihrimah mosque © Richard Yeomans
73
Mosque lamps, c.1570, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
89
Plan of the Mihrimah mosque © Richard Yeomans
73
Tankard © The Trustees of the British Museum
89
The interior of the Mihrimah mosque © Richard Yeomans
74
89
The Atık Valide Külliye © Richard Yeomans
75
The fountain of Atık Valide Külliye © Richard Yeomans
75
Decorative hanging object, 1555–60, photograph © Richard Yeomans, image reproduction for non-commercial purposes, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum
Sinan’s kitchens at the Topkapı Palace © Richard Yeomans
75
Polychrome pitcher, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
89
© Richard Yeomans
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I LLUSTRATIONS
xi
Polychrome plate, c.1575, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
90
Bohça © The Textile Museum, Washington. Gift of Yavuz Sümer
105
Polychrome plate showing rock and wave pattern around the rim, c.1575 © The Trustees of the British Museum
90
Detail of Sultan Fatma’s kaftan © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
108
90
Prayer cloth © The Textile Museum, Washington. Gift of Jale Colakoglu
109
Polychrome plate, c.1585, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
90
Bindalli dress © The Textile Museum, Washington. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers
109
Polychrome plate, late sixteenth/early seventeenth century, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
Hereke upholstered furniture in the Kȕçȕksu Palace
110
‘Holbein’ I rug © National State Museum, Berlin
112
Tile representing the Ka’ba at Mecca, Rustem Paşa mosque © Richard Yeomans
91
Lotto carpet © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
112
Tilework in one of the two rooms in the kafes © Richard Yeomans
91
Tile panel in the Golden Road of the Topkapı harem © Richard Yeomans
91
Yumurta, photograph © Richard Yeomans, image reproduction for non-commercial purposes, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum
93
Kütahya Ewer, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
93
Kütahya plate, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
93
Çanakkale dishes, photographs © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
94
Late nineteenth-century Çanakkale jug, photograph © Richard Yeomans, courtesy of Çinili Kiosk
95
CHAPTER FIVE: OTTOMAN TEXTILES
Kaftan with tiger stripes © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
99
Saz pattern © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
100
Shehzade Korkut’s ceremonial kaftan © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
100
Ogival tulip pattern © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
101
Ogival medallion pattern © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
101
Crown motifs
101
Talismanic shirt © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
102
Talismanic shirt detail © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
102
Bridal coverlet © Nour Foundation.Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust
103
Çatma cushion cover © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust
104
‘Holbein’ III rug © The Museum of Islamic Arts, Berlin
113
‘Holbein’ IV rug
113
Star Uşak carpet © 2011. Image copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence
114
Persian medallion carpet
114
Sixteenth-century medallion Uşak © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
115
Court prayer rug © 2011. Image copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence
116
Columned prayer rug © 2011. Image copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/ Scala, Florence
116
‘Bird’ carpet © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
117
Transylvania rugs © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
118
Village rug © 2011. Image copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence
119
Salting carpet © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
119
Typical Hereke carpet and upholstered furniture in the Kȕçȕksu Palace
120
CHAPTER SIX: CONSOLIDATION AND DECLINE – ARCHITECTURE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The Sultan Ahmet mosque © Richard Yeomans
124
Plan of sahn and prayer hall, Blue Mosque
125
Views of the sahn of Sultan Ahmet mosque © Richard Yeomans
126
Arcades for ablutions © Richard Yeomans
127
Dome structure, Sultan Ahmet mosque © Richard Yeomans
128
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T HE A RT
AND
A RCHITECTURE
OF
O TTOMAN I STANBUL
Prayer hall of Sultan Ahmet mosque © Richard Yeomans
128
Çeşme outside Sultan Ahmet III library © Richard Yeomans
154
External access to the Sultan’s loggia © Richard Yeomans
130
Sultan Ahmet III fountain © Richard Yeomans
155
132
Decoration on the base of the fountain © Richard Yeomans
155
Tile work and stained glass in the two rooms in the Kafes © Richard Yeomans
Decoration on the eaves © Richard Yeomans
155
Sultan Ahmet’s library © Richard Yeomans
132
Yeni Valide mosque, Üsküdar © Richard Yeomans
156
Revan Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
134 134
Sahn fountain, Yeni Valide mosque © Richard Yeomans
157
Antique marbling © Richard Yeomans Baghdad Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
135
Open türbe, Yeni Valide mosque © Richard Yeomans
157
Interior of Circumcision Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
137
Çeşme of Yeni Valide mosque © Richard Yeomans
157
Iftariye Kameriyesi © Richard Yeomans
137
158
Interior of Çinili Külliye © Richard Yeomans
138
Mahmut’s fountain outside the Hagia Sophia © Richard Yeomans
Entrance to Valide Hanı © Richard Yeomans
139
Interior of Mahmut’s fountain © Richard Yeomans
158
View of large court with modern Shi’ite mosque on left © Richard Yeomans
139
Hekimoğlu fountain © Richard Yeomans
158 159
Views of Yeni Valide mosque, Eminönü © Richard Yeomans
139
The Haci Mehmet Emin Ağa cemetery © Richard Yeomans Plan of Nuruosmaniye
160
The sahn of Yeni Valide mosque, Eminönü © Richard Yeomans
140
Interior of Yeni Valide mosque © Richard Yeomans
Stepped entrance to the mosque © Richard Yeomans
160
Nuruosmaniye Külliye © Richard Yeomans
161
141
Side elevation of qibla wall © Richard Yeomans
161
Domed ceiling inside the Yeni Valide mosque © Richard Yeomans
141
Entrance and passage to Sultan’s log © Richard Yeomans
161
The türbe in the Koprülü Külliye © Richard Yeomans
143 143
Interior of Nuruosmaniye mosque © Richard Yeomans
162
Vizier Han Çemberlitaş © Richard Yeomans Çemberlitaş Hamami © Richard Yeomans
143
Hall of the Throne © Richard Yeomans
163
The Köprülü Yalısı © Richard Yeomans
145
Dance floor and music gallery in the Hall of the Throne © Richard Yeomans
163
CHAPTER SEVEN: BETWEEN EAST AND WEST – OTTOMAN BAROQUE AND ROCOCO ARCHITECTURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
The Sofa Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
151
Interior of the Sofa Kiosk © Richard Yeomans
151
The Fruit Room © Richard Yeomans
152
Rococo refurbishments to the Divan © Richard Yeomans
152
Gilded rococo decoration in the Divan © Richard Yeomans
153
Sultan Ahmet III library © Richard Yeomans
Door showing rococo decoration © Richard Yeomans
163
Osman’s pavillion, Topkapı Palace © Richard Yeomans
164
Hekimbaşilarin at Kandili © Richard Yeomans
165
Fetih Ahmet Paşa Yalı © Richard Yeomans
165
Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Külliye © Richard Yeomans
166
Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa sebil © Richard Yeomans
167
Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa çeşme © Richard Yeomans
167
Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa library © Richard Yeomans
167
Laleli mosque over covered market © Richard Yeomans
168
Laleli türbe © Richard Yeomans
169
153
Laleli sebil © Richard Yeomans
169
Interior of Sultan Ahmet III library © Richard Yeomans
153
Mosque at Beylerbey © Richard Yeomans
171 171
Rococo decoration in Sultan Ahmet III library © Richard Yeomans
154
Beylerbey mosque: arcaded portico and royal apartments © Richard Yeomans Interior of Beylerbey mosque © Richard Yeomans
171
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xiii
Domed ceiling in the reception room of Sultan Valide apartments © Richard Yeomans
172
Levha by Mahmut II © Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul
189
Reception room of Sultan Valide apartments © Richard Yeomans
172
Mensur of Abdülhamid II © Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul
190
Selimiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
173
192
Valide Sultan’s bedroom © Richard Yeomans
173
Hunters, Fatih album © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
Interior of the Selimiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
173
193
Mihrişah Sultan’s fountain © Richard Yeomans
174
Portrait of a Painter in Turkish Dress © Freer Gallery, Washington, DC Gentile Bellini, A Portrait of a Seated Turkish Scribe or Artist © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
193
Mehmet the Conqueror by Sinan Bey © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
194
CHAPTER EIGHT: CALLIGRAPHY, ILLUMINATION AND MINIATURES
Selim II hunting © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
195
177
The Battle of Mohacs by Osman© Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
196
Şeyh Hamdullah’s inscription in the entrance portal to Beyazit’s mosque in Istanbul © Richard Yeomans
197
Murakkaa by Şeyh Hamdullah © Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul
178
World map by Piri Reis © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
179
Imperial Procession, Lokman’s The Book of the Festival © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
198
Qur’an by Şeyh Hamdullah © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
179
The Prophet Muhammad commending Ali, Huseyn and Hasan © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
200
Ahmed Karahisari, tiled roundel in Süleymaniye © Richard Yeomans
202
Illuminated Qur’an by Ahmed Karahisari © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
180
Levni, Procession of Nahils © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
181
Ibrahim Paşa watching dancers and clowns (detail) © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
204
Vakfiye of Roxelana © Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul Divan-i-Muhibbi © Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul
182
The tuğra.
182
Tuğra of Süleyman the Magnificent © The Trustees of the British Museum, London
183
Qur’an by Hafız Osman © Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul
184
Hilye by Yediküle Seyyid Abdullah Effendi © Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul
185
CHAPTER NINE: THE TRIUMPH OF EUROPE – WESTERNIZATION IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
Nusretiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
210
Sebils outside the Nusretiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
211
Interior of Nusretiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
211
Sultan’s loggia © Richard Yeomans
212
Calligraphic lion by Ahmed Hílmi © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust
186
Entwined lam-alif
186
Nakşedil Valide Sultan türbe © Richard Yeomans
212
Ruzname © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust
186
Türbe of Mahmut II © Richard Yeomans
213
Sebil of Mahmut II © Richard Yeomans
213
Mahmut I’s tuğra © Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul
187
Dolmabahçe Palace © Richard Yeomans
214
188
Dolmabahçe Palace, Mabeyn Apartments © Richard Yeomans
215
İzzet Efendi’s roundels in the Haghia Sophia © Richard Yeomans
Selamlık entry/exit hall © Richard Yeomans
216
Qur’an by Mustafa İzzet Efendi © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust
188
Dolmabahçe Palace, crystal staircase © Richard Yeomans
216
Mustafa Rakım’s inscriptions in the Nusretiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
189
Dolmabahçe Palace, crystal staircase detail © Richard Yeomans
216
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T HE A RT
AND
A RCHITECTURE
OF
O TTOMAN I STANBUL
Ambassadors’ Waiting and Reception Rooms © Richard Yeomans
217
The Blue Room, Beylerbey Palace © Richard Yeomans
226 226
Upper landing behind the balustrade © Richard Yeomans
217
The Blue Room, showing Moorish capitals to the columns © Richard Yeomans The selamlık staircase © Richard Yeomans
226
Zulveçeyn Room © Richard Yeomans
217 218
Reception room above the selamlık staircase © Richard Yeomans
226
Imperial baths © Richard Yeomans Blue Room © Richard Yeomans
218
Pavilion at Beylerbey Palace © Richard Yeomans
227
Harem entry/exit room © Richard Yeomans
219
The Küçüksu Palace © Richard Yeomans
228
Exterior of the Audience Hall © Richard Yeomans
219
The Küçüksu Palace, stair detail © Richard Yeomans
228
Interior of the Audience Hall © Richard Yeomans
219
The Çirağan Palace © Richard Yeomans
229
Dolmabahçe Bezmialem Valide Sultan mosque © Richard Yeomans
220
The Çirağan Palace © Richard Yeomans
230
Afif Paşa yalı © Richard Yeomans
232
Interior of Dolmabahçe Bezmialem Valide Sultan mosque © Richard Yeomans
221
Sait Ali Paşa’s yalı © Richard Yeomans
232
House at Yenikȍy © Richard Yeomans
233
Büyük Mecidiye mosque, Ortaköy © Richard Yeomans
221 221
Late nineteenth-century yalıs at Yenikȍy © Richard Yeomans
233
Interior of Büyük Mecidiye mosque, Ortaköy © Richard Yeomans
222
The Mabeyn apartments, Yıldız Palace © Richard Yeomans
234
Hırkai-Serif mosque © Richard Yeomans Interior of the Hırkai-Serif mosque © Richard Yeomans
222
Şale Pavilion: Yıldız Palace © Richard Yeomans
235
Window grills © Richard Yeomans
223 223
Mother-of-Pearl Room in the Şale Pavilion © Richard Yeomans
236
The entrance to the mosque of Valide Sultan Pertevniyal © Richard Yeomans
Malta Pavillion © Richard Yeomans
237
Mosque of Valide Sultan Pertevniyal © Richard Yeomans
223
Beylerbey Palace © Richard Yeomans
225
Selamlık entrance to Beylerbey Palace © Richard Yeomans
225
Inside the Hamidiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
238
The Hamidiye mosque © Richard Yeomans
238
Kocatepe mosque, Ankara © Richard Yeomans
241
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Preface
M
y first visit to Istanbul, in 1965, marked the
I encountered, which was Islamic in culture with
last stage of a long journey that had taken
a sensational skyline dominated not by Byzantine
me across Italy and Greece. I was an art student at
monuments but by Ottoman domes and minarets.
the time and this grand tour marked the climax of
Very soon the Byzantine splendours of the Haghia
a year studying painting and attending courses on
Sophia, the Theodosian walls and church of St
Greek and Roman sculpture and Italian Renaissance
Saviour in Chora were eclipsed by the Blue Mosque,
art. Fortified with that knowledge, I visited most of the
Süleymaniye and treasures of the Topkapı Palace
major galleries, museums, buildings and archaeological
and the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Art. These
sites of Italy and Greece, arriving in Istanbul with
buildings and artefacts excited my imagination and I
a mind saturated with images of Renaissance and
found myself, for the first time in many weeks, looking
classical art. When I reflected on that experience, I
at art with a feeling of deep visual engagement.
recognised that what I had learned over the year
My unfettered eye responded initially to
had probably impaired my vision. Instead of looking
Ottoman art on a purely formal and sensual level,
at works of art and appreciating them for what
responding to its beauty of colour, geometric
they were, I had spent most of my time in Italy and
clarity and spatial organization. I admired the floral
Greece checking my knowledge against them, trying
intricacies of the arabesque, the elegance of its
to remember what I had read and what I had been
immaculate calligraphy and the sumptuousness of
told. It was obvious that I had not been engaged in
its textiles. I also delighted in the informality of the
serious looking and thinking, and I realized that I
Topkapı with its leisurely arrangement of pavilions
should have spent my time drawing works of art with
in parks. It was a welcome antidote to the symmetry,
probity rather than testing my knowledge of them. In
pomposity and monumentality of some of the
appreciating the visual arts, it is sometimes necessary
European palaces I had recently encountered. In
to look first and hold academic knowledge in reserve.
general, Ottoman art presented an exhilarating
The opposite situation applied in Istanbul,
alternative to what I had seen in Greece and Italy.
where I faced an Islamic culture in a state of complete
It contained none of the rhetoric, symbolism,
ignorance. My innocence and unfamiliarity, however,
didactics, myth and religious narrative that permeates
enabled me to absorb Istanbul with a fresh eye and
so much Italian and, to a lesser extent, Graeco-Roman
open mind. I knew a little about the fall of Con-
art. The meaning of Islamic art seemed to reside in its
stantinople, but nothing about the rise of Istanbul.
form rather than in any symbol system or narrative.
My Eurocentric education had prepared me for the
It did not appear to preach, teach or indoctrinate,
glories of Byzantine art, and impressed in my mind
and it was not a vehicle for propaganda, like the
were images of Constantinople’s ancient churches and
paintings in the Doge’s Palace. Islamic art did not
walls. None of this prepared me for the dynamic city
bombard me with images of martyrdom, mortality or
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the Last Judgement. There was no Niobe grieving
patterned carpets. Colour is autonomous and vibrant,
for her children or Laocoon in his death agony, and
suffusing and articulating the various elements with
none of the theatricality of Tintorreto, Caravaggio
clarity and resonance. It is an uncluttered environment
or Bernini.
of worship that unfocuses the mind and renders
The rejection of such content in Islamic art,
it susceptible to contemplation and prayer. Likewise
and the formal alternatives it offered, was a revelation
in the Ottoman palace, power, majesty and courtly
– particularly for an art student who painted abstract
splendour are expressed through a similar continuum.
pictures at the time and was schooled in the belief
Here the same motifs and materials are often used,
that only ‘significant form’ could provoke aesthetic
showing the close proximity between religious and
emotions. My initial response to Islamic art on a
secular life in Muslim society. Gilded and painted
formal and sensual level served its purpose, but I
arabesques fill the domes, pious inscriptions grace
soon realized that it was not just about formal values.
bedroom walls, and the immense floral repertoire
It was far more complex than that. I discovered
of mosque tilework appears on plates, dishes,
that in the religious domain it has much the same
vases, embroidered bedspreads, cushions, velvets
content as any other sacred art. What is different is
and ceremonial silk kaftans.
that it conveys it largely by non-figurative means. For
After many visits to Istanbul I have now
instance, the Qur’an has a visionary text replete with
learned to appreciate more the manifold complexities
sublime images of the Last Judgement and Paradise.
and subtleties of Ottoman art. The experience has
These subjects are not illustrated, but are called to
been like peeling an onion and constantly discovering
mind and contemplated through the mediation of
new layers. Each visit has opened up new vistas
calligraphy and illumination. Doctrine is also a part
and brought fresh discoveries. In recent years my
of religious art, conveyed not through pictures but
attention has been drawn to the beauty of Istanbul’s
through calligraphy that takes iconic, and occasionally
eighteenth-century rococo fountains and the breath-
monumental, form on the walls of mosques. Notions
taking delights of the Bosphorus with its palaces
of God’s plenitude, creation and the nearness of
and yalıs (waterfront houses). That most despised
paradise are expressed in the tilework and floral
century – the nineteenth – is also capable of yielding
arabesques that grace the mosque, palace and home.
unexpected pleasures, such as the Hırkai-erif mosque,
In the secular domain of Islamic art there is a very
and the beautiful wooden houses that give the towns
strong figurative tradition. Miniature paintings con-
and villages of the Bosphorus and Princes Islands so
tain a wealth of literary, mythological, historical, social,
much character and distinction. I also now realize
anecdotal and factual content – even occasionally
that, handled sensibly, academic knowledge need not
bending the law to allow the representation of
get in the way of appreciating and looking at art. In
religious subjects.
recent years it has given me an interest in nineteenth-
Meaning and content abound in Islamic art on many levels, but they cannot generally be read
century Ottoman art and architecture, despite the fact that much of it is not to my taste.
in a linear way or understood through iconographies
These recent discoveries have made me
like those used in Christian, Hindu or Buddhist art.
aware that I have only scratched the surface in
Meaning is often conveyed diffusely and holistically
many respects. The writing of this book has served to
through an expression of harmony and unity, with
heighten awareness not only of the enormous gaps in
several art forms working together within a con-
my own knowledge but also in the field of Ottoman
tinuum. The sense of the sublime and transcendent
art as a whole. What has been written in English
is conveyed in the mosque through an interplay
remains very patchy. It is generally polarized between
of architectural space, geometric form, polychrome
highly specialized books, catalogues and papers, and
marble, painted arabesques, calligraphy, tilework and
superficial coffee-table picture books. Some books are
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absurdly expensive for what they are, and a number
specific collections. Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy
are not easily available outside Turkey. A great deal
from the Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul by M. Ug˘ur
of material belongs to the self-contained world of
Derman is an excellent book and catalogue produced
academia in the form of published papers for specialist
for the exhibition of the Sakıp Sabancı Collection
journals. Such papers tend to be written by academics
held in 1998 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
for academics, and they do not address the needs of
York. Likewise, the catalogue Empire of the Sultans,
the general educated reader. At the other end of the
by J. M. Rogers, contains invaluable information on
spectrum there is a popular genre of books, dealing
calligraphy in the Nasser Khalili Collection (London),
with the court and harem, that generally sensationalize
exhibited at the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental
and misrepresent the Ottoman world, perpetuating
and African Studies (SOAS), London in 1996. Very little
the stereotypical image in the West of the lustful and
information was available on the sultan’s monogram,
terrible Turk.
the tug˘ra, until the catalogue Imperial Ottoman
Of the most useful books on Ottoman art
Fermans, edited by Aysegül Nadir, came out in 1987 to
and architecture, one or two should be mentioned.
accompany the exhibition of the same name. In the
The best introduction is Michael Levey’s World of
case of Ottoman embroidery, two of the best books
Ottoman Art. It is not just about Istanbul, but deals
relate to specific collections. Flowers of Silk and Gold,
with the whole of Ottoman art in a short, incisive
by Sumru Belger Krody, is about the collection in the
and immensely readable volume. Godfrey Goodwin’s
Washington Textile Museum, and Ottoman Embroidery,
magisterial work A History of Ottoman Architecture
by Marianne Ellis and Jennifer Wearden, contains
goes well beyond Istanbul in covering the spectrum
useful technical information on the embroidery in
of Ottoman architecture. It is the definitive book on
the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Ottoman architecture, but much more information
In addition to ground-breaking works like
on the nineteenth century has appeared since its
Arthur Lane’s Later Islamic Pottery, there are now some
publication in 1971. Pars Tug˘laci’s book The Role
informative books on Iznik ceramics. Most notable
of the Balian Family in Ottoman Architecture is the
is Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, by Nurhan
authoritative work on Istanbul’s nineteenth-century
Atasoy and Julian Raby, as well as John Carswell’s
art and architecture. Also, Splendours of the Bosphorus:
concise introduction to the field Iznik Pottery. An
Houses and Palaces of Istanbul, by Chris Hellier
excellent brief guide and introduction to the ceramics
and Francesco Venturi, is a readable introduction to
collection in the Çinili Kiosk, Istanbul is Turkish Tiles
eighteenth- and nineteenth-century architectural
and Ceramics: Çinili Köşk, by Alpay Pasinli and Saliha
developments along the Bosphorus. Zeynep Çelik’s
Baliman. Weaving and carpets are generally better
excellent book The Remaking of Istanbul: Portrait of
served, and two very substantial books have now
an Ottoman City in the Nineteenth Century is also an
been published in Istanbul. These are Nevber Gürsu’s
invaluable contribution to this period. Of the age
The Art of Turkish Weaving: Designs through the Ages
of Süleyman the Magnificent, much more is now
and Otkay Aslanapa’s One Thousand Years of Turkish
available on the architect Sinan. Among others, there
Carpets. One noteworthy paper providing a concise
is now Godfrey Goodwin’s own book Sinan: Ottoman
introduction to the carpets in the Victoria and Albert
Architecture and its Value Today and Aptullah Kuran’s
Museum, London is Michael Franses and Robert
clear analysis Sinan: The Grand Old Master of
Pinner’s ‘The “Classical” Carpets of the 15th to 17th
Ottoman Architecture.
Centuries’, published in the journal Hali. Two useful
With many of the decorative arts one has
Arts Council of Great Britain exhibition catalogues,
to look to exhibition catalogues rather than books.
relating to exhibitions held at the Hayward Gallery
Books on Ottoman calligraphy are thin on the ground
(London) in the 1970s, are The Arts of Islam and
and the best material has come from exhibitions of
Islamic Carpets from the Collection of Joseph V. McMullan.
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Godfrey Goodwin’s Topkapı Palace is a
shared experiences with colleagues and groups of
readable guide to the palace with a lot of interesting
students who have accompanied me on numerous
contextual material, and the book Topkapı, edited
study tours to Istanbul. Their reactions, observations
by Ilhan Aksit, provides a useful introduction
and questions have partly influenced the selection
to its various collections. Dealing with the Topkapı
of material and issues considered. My intention is to
collections much more thoroughly and systematically
provide the reader with the background knowledge
is a series of scholarly books by J. M. Rogers covering
and understanding to appreciate and enjoy Ottoman
architecture, the contents of the treasury, albums,
art not only in Istanbul’s mosques, palaces, houses
illuminated manuscripts, carpets, costumes, em-
and museums but also where it appears in museums
broideries and other textiles. J. M. Rogers is one of the
throughout the world.
most distinguished scholars in the field, and he was
Certain decisions had to be made regarding
responsible, with Rachel Ward, for the catalogue and
the range and scope of the book and what constitutes
exhibition Süleyman the Magnificent, held at the British
the art of Istanbul. I have adopted a liberal inter-
Museum in 1988. His work on albums, miniatures and
pretation of this, choosing works of art that best
illuminated manuscripts has been particularly useful.
manifest the city’s Ottoman culture rather than
It is a subject that has received little attention, with
those manufactured only in Istanbul. Some arts
information consisting of either brief introductions
like calligraphy, miniatures and luxury goods were
or detailed catalogues and scholarly papers. Two
produced in Istanbul, but those that most effectively
good but slim introductions are Meredith-Owens’s
contributed to the splendour and majesty of the
Turkish Miniatures and Richard Ettinghausen’s Turkish
city were commissioned and imported from Iznik,
Miniatures: From the 13th to 18th Century. Museum
Kütahya, Bursa and various towns in Anatolia.
catalogues, such as those produced by the British
Ceramics came from Iznik and Kütahya, carpets from
Museum or the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, tend
Anatolia and silks and velvets from Bursa. Iznik tiles
to list and describe the collections without comment
and Anatolian carpets lined the walls and covered
or analysis. Of scholarly papers, Esin Atıl’s ‘Ottoman
the floors of mosques and palaces. Bursa silks and
Miniature Painting under Sultan Mehmed 11’ (Ars
velvets provided splendid ceremonial court dress as
Orientalis 9) is excellent, as is her magnificent book
well as the soft furnishings of palaces and houses.
Levni and the Surname: The Story of an Eighteenth-
These works defined the environment of the mosque,
Century Ottoman Festival. Finally, in this review of
the palace and home, and have since formed the
literature, John Freely’s Blue Guide: Istanbul must
content of Istanbul’s many museums.
be acknowledged as an informative and invaluable work for both practical and reference purposes.
Museum collections have also guided the selection of material. Certain works of art, such as
Among this heterogeneous and imbalanced
the pre-Ottoman carpets in the Museum of Turkish
literature there is no single book that deals specifically
and Islamic Art, Istanbul and elsewhere, fall outside
with the Ottoman art and architecture of Istanbul
the Ottoman period, but they have to be considered
in one accessible comprehensive volume. This is
because of the light they shed on subsequent carpet
what I have attempted to provide here. As with my
developments. They are also beautiful works in their
other books, I have tried to bridge the gap between
own right and should not be missed on any visit
the specialist scholar and the general reader. I am
to those museums. Likewise, some works of art – not
indebted to all the above scholars, whom I have used
necessarily Ottoman – have received attention because
and acknowledged throughout this text. This book
they are important museum items. For example, in
is also a distillation of my own observations and
the Topkapı Saray Museum there are some miniatures
experiences of a city that has been so much a part
in the Fatih Album, attributed to the artist Mehmet
of my life over the years. It is also the product of
Siyah Qalam. These are not Ottoman, but they are
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outstanding works of art and reveal something
Apart from problems of length, I felt it was beyond
about the court acquisitions of the time. The Italian
the scope of this book to deal with the building
painting of A Turkish Scribe or Artist, attributed to
activities among the European communities of Galata,
Gentile Bellini, is discussed at some length for what
Pera and elsewhere. Ignoring these architectural
it reveals about Mehmet the Conqueror’s taste, his
developments was not easy because they were
patronage and its influence on Turkish painting at
both significant and fascinating. It produced such
the time. Also, exported works of art that would not
tantalizing architecture as the church of St Stephen
have been seen in the palaces and houses of Istanbul
of the Bulgars, assembled in Istanbul out of pieces
are examined for what they tell us about trade and
of prefabricated cast iron made in Vienna. Another
cross-cultural contacts. Mention has also been made
enticing building that recently caught my eye is the
of European works of art that contributed so much
Crimean Memorial Church, built in the Gothic style
to the character of the nineteenth-century Ottoman
by George Edmund Street between 1858 and 1868.
palace interior.
This small pocket of Victorian England in the midst
Decisions on the selection of architectural
of Pera’s steep narrow streets represented yet another
material were less problematic until the nineteenth
delight and another possible line of investigation.
century was reached. Here I chose to discuss buildings
All of this, however, is another story – another
produced under Ottoman, rather than European,
book – and it simply goes to show that Istanbul
patronage. This seemed logical for a book on Ottoman
is inexhaustible. It is an onion that can never be
art, but it is questionable for a book on Istanbul.
completely unpeeled.
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I NTRODUCTION
The Turks, the Ottomans and the Conquest of Constantinople
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n the course of the ninth and tenth centuries,
Mamluks ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1517 before the
fundamental changes occurred in the Muslim
Ottoman Turks took control).
world as its political leadership gradually passed
Thus, the initial impact of the Turks was
from the Arabs to the Persians and the Turks. During
that of a significant administrative and military class
the ninth century the Abbasid Empire, with its capital
within a world dominated by Arabs. The Turks were
in Baghdad, was the political centre of the Muslim
essentially a tribal nomadic people who for centuries
world; but after the death of the caliph Haroun
had moved their herds from one pasturage to another
al-Rashid in 809, a war of succession, followed by
across the inhospitable steppes, deserts and mountains
political and religious insurrection, precipitated its
of Central Asia. They were formidable warriors who
slow decline. In order to combat growing instability,
exercised weaponry skills, expert horsemanship and
the caliphs of Baghdad replaced regular Arab and
swift mobility with great discipline and courage.
Persian forces with slave troops of Turks conscripted
This was why they made such desirable troops and
from the Caucasus and Transoxiana. Because these
bodyguards. In their homelands they operated as
slaves were independent of the factional interests of
tribes, but under the occasional leadership of a khan,
the Arabs and the Persians, they proved to be far
they could unite with devastating effect. Earlier in
more loyal and reliable. In addition to soldiers,
their history, from the third to the fifth centuries
Turkish slaves were also recruited into the civil service
the Turkish Huns had ravished China, Russia and
and, like their military counterparts, they rose
Central Europe, penetrating as far as Italy. During the
through the ranks to achieve the highest offices of
tenth century they were constantly engaged in border
state. A slave meritocracy was thus established which
skirmishes and incursions against the Arabs and the
became an administrative and military élite, and over
Persians, but in the eleventh century the Turks went
the course of time the weakened caliphate gradually
on the offensive and invaded Persia and Iraq.1
surrendered political control to its Turkish generals, bureaucrats and grand viziers.
AD,
In 1040, a branch of the Og˘uz tribe known as the Selçuks invaded eastern Persia under their leader
Because of the weakness at the centre, the
Tügrül Beg. They conquered Khorasan, where Tügrül
Abbasid Empire lost its territorial sway in both
Beg proclaimed himself sultan. In the course of the
the east and the west. In the east, aristocratic Persian
next fifteen years he occupied the rest of Persia,
families, such as the Tahirids, Saffarids and Samanids,
invaded Iraq and took Baghdad at the invitation of
established their rule in Khorasan and parts of
the vizier Ibn al-Muslima. Later, Isfahan in Persia was
Central Asia. In the west, a surviving member of the
chosen as the capital of the Selçuk Empire and the
Umayyad family, Abd al-Rahman I, created, in
caliph in Baghdad was reduced to a symbolic religious
756, an independent dynasty in Spain which later
figure with no political power. Tügrül’s successors,
established a caliphate to rival that of Baghdad. In
Alp Arslan (r.1063–72) and Malikshah (r.1072–92),
800 the Aghlabid governors of Tunisia also established
placed government administration in the hands of the
autonomy, paying only lip service to Baghdad. Egypt
vizier Nizam al-Mulk, who held that office for twenty
became independent in the ninth century when a
years. He was a brilliant administrator and political
Turkish slave from Samarra (the new Abbasid capital),
philosopher, and his book The Book of Government is
Ahmed ibn Tulun, was sent there as governor by
a classic of Islamic literature. He also had a profound
the caliph al-Mu’atazz. He built up a formidable
influence on the intellectual life of Islam by creating
army and carved out an empire for himself in Egypt,
the first Sunni theological colleges (medreses), known
Palestine and Syria which lasted over thirty years.
as Nizamiyas, in Baghdad and elsewhere. The great
Although Egypt briefly returned to Abbasid control,
Persian philosopher al-Ghazali (1058–1111), who
Ibn Tulun set a precedent for Turks becoming the
reconciled the divisions between mysticism and
ruling class of Egypt (later, slave dynasties of Turkish
Islamic law, was professor of religious sciences at the
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Nizamiya in Baghdad. It was also during this period
sooner had Kılıç Arslan consolidated his position in
that Islamic architecture achieved some of its most
Anatolia than a second Crusader army of regulars
perfect forms of expression in buildings like the
defeated him at Eskişihir. He lost his capital at Iznik,
Masjid-i-Jami in Isfahan.
but fought back with some success and eventually
Perhaps the most decisive event in Turkish history was Alp Arslan’s victory over the Byzantines at
settled on Konya in central southern Anatolia as his new capital.
the battle of Manzikert in eastern Anatolia in 1071.
Konya remained the capital of the Selçuk
For many years, the Selçuks of Persia had encouraged
Empire until the arrival of the Mongols in the
the Turkomans to raid Byzantine territory because it
thirteenth century. Despite the initial setback from
suited them to direct the energy of these nomads
the first Crusade, the Selçuk sultanate managed to
against an external enemy. Out of self-interest, the
hold on to most of Anatolia; but as Justin McCarthy
nomads served the Selçuk sultans well in wars of
has explained, it was a regime afflicted by constant
conquest, but in times of peace they lacked loyalty
instability. The sultanate was often weakened centrally
to the state, and their resistance to centralized
by power delegated to the royal princes, who governed
government and refusal to pay tax had a destabilizing
in the provinces. Also, when a sultan died the
effect on the settled community. The battle of
traditions of inheritance caused conflict, as land
Manzikert opened up Anatolia to the Turkish nomads
and spoils, including empires, were divided among
and provided new opportunities for conquest and
his offspring.2 Nevertheless, the Selçuks presided
occupation. Under the leadership of Süleyman,
over a thriving multicultural empire in which trade,
most of Anatolia came under Turkish rule and an
manufacture and the arts flourished. Much of this
independent Selçuk sultanate was created with its
creative energy was due to nomadic culture, which
capital at Iznik, the ancient city of Nicaea where,
contributed to the unique character of Selçuk art
under Byzantine rule, many important ecumenical
and architecture, particularly in the field of carpet
church councils had been held. What emerged
weaving. During the thirteenth century Marco Polo
was two discrete empires – that of the Great Selçuks
commented on the great beauty of the carpets
of Persia and the sultanate of Rum (or East Rome)
produced in the Konya, Kaysari and Sivas regions
in Anatolia.
(although he attributes this manufacture to the
Other groups of Selçuk Turks advanced into
Greeks and Armenians).3
Syria and Palestine, capturing Jerusalem in 1071 and
When Marco Polo passed through Anatolia,
Damascus in 1076. It was the defeat of Christendom
he would also have seen some of the most remarkable
at Manzikert and the capture of Jerusalem in the
architecture in the Muslim world, including the Gök
same year that created the momentum in the West
medrese at Sivas, which was completed in the year
for a Christian counter-attack. In 1095 Pope Urban II
he was there, 1271. He was in Anatolia at a time
called for a crusade, and the advance force, consisting
when the Selçuks were suzerains of the Mongols. The
of Peter the Hermit’s ragtag army, entered Anatolia
Mongols had invaded Anatolia in 1243, but ruling
by way of Constantinople in 1097. The Crusaders
from Tabriz in western Persia, their hold on the region
could not have picked a better time to invade the
was slack and the Selçuks retained much administrative
Muslim world because it had never been so divided.
control. The Selçuks’ loss of sovereignty did not
Syria and Palestine consisted of a number of rival
prevent the remarkable flowering of architecture, and
Selçuk principalities and Süleyman’s successor, Kılıç
many great masterpieces were built under Mongol
Arslan, was engaged in a bitter struggle to keep Selçuk
rule and occasionally with Mongol patronage. The
Anatolia together. The only thing which united the Selçuks was Sunni Islam and their common hatred
great buildings of this period included the Karatay . (1251) and Ince Minare (1258) medreses at Konya, the
of the Shi’ite Fatimid Empire ruled from Cairo. No
Gök and Çifte Minare medreses at Sivas (1271), as well
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as the Çifte Minare medrese at Erzurum (1258). Selçuk
was strengthened in 1361 when the city of Edirne
architecture was a brilliant synthesis of many regional
(Adrianople) surrendered to Orhan’s son Murat I.
styles, including those of Syria, Persia, Armenia
The tribes that united under the first
and Georgia. Its influence spread as far as Egypt and
Ottomans did so because there was wealth to be
can be seen in the great portal of the Sultan Hasan
gained from the spoils of war. However, by appealing
mosque (1356–61) in Cairo, which is similar to the
to them as Muslims with a duty to extend the
entrance to the Gök medrese at Sivas.
rule of Islam, the Ottomans from the outset had a
The tenuous hold the Mongols had on
vision of empire that transcended tribal differences.
Anatolia was eventually wrested from them by a
The disunited Christians provided the easiest
new breed of Turkoman leaders, known as beys. These
pickings, and under Murat I the Ottoman Empire
warriors, fleeing Mongol oppression in Persia, first
rapidly extended into Byzantine and Serbian territory,
settled their tribes in Cilicia and regions on the Black
with the Serbs suffering major defeats at the battles
Sea coast. Then they gradually penetrated western
of Maritza (1371) and Kosovo (1389). By the time of
Turkey and set up independent principalities known
Murat’s death (he was killed at the battle of Kosovo),
as beyliks. Konya was captured in 1276 by Mehmet
the rulers of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia had
Bey, the leader of the Karamanli tribe, who proclaimed
become vassals of the Turks. Turkish control of the
Turkish, rather than Persian, as the official language.
Balkans was based on vassalage rather than direct
The Selçuks reconquered Konya, but after the collapse
rule because there were not enough Turks to settle
of Mongol power in 1337, the Karamanlis returned
and colonize the region. While most of his energy was
there and established the powerful beylik of Karaman.
concentrated on the Balkans, Murat did not ignore
Many other Turkoman tribes migrated to western
Anatolia, and in 1387 he conquered Karaman, the
Anatolia, increasing the Turkification of the region
most powerful beylik outside the Ottoman domain.
and further eroding what was left of the Byzantine
Murat was succeeded by Beyazit I, known
Empire. Mindful of more conflict with Byzantium,
as the ‘Thunderbolt’, and living up to his nickname,
many Turkish beys assumed the title of gazi, meaning
he stormed across the Balkans and Anatolia in a
holy warrior, and pursued the conquest of Christian
new wave of conquest. He pushed into Wallachia
territory as a holy war, or jihad.
and southern Hungary, captured more of Thrace and
The most significant beylik to emerge in western Anatolia, at the expense of the Byzantines,
laid siege to Constantinople, where he built on the Bosphorus the fortress of Anadolu Hisarı.
was that of the Ottomans. Tradition has it that
Unlike his predecessors, he concentrated his
Osman Bey, the first of the Ottoman dynasty, was the
efforts on the east, and within a year of coming to
leader of the Kayı tribe of the Og˘uz Turks. He emerged
the throne he had conquered south-western Anatolia
as a leader in the Sög˘üt area of western Anatolia
with the help of Christian troops. One of the reasons
after a period of power conflict between various rival
why his forebears had delayed attacking the beyliks
Selçuk princes and their Mongol overlords. Rather
was the difficulty of persuading Turks that it was
than struggle against fellow Turks, Osman took on
in their interests to fight fellow Turks. This was
the mantle of gazi and, uniting the nomadic Turkish
not the case with the Christians, and Beyazit adopted
tribes against Byzantium, he made territorial gains
the strategy of using Christian armies, raised in the
that culminated in the capture of Iznik. His son
Balkans, against the remaining beyliks in Anatolia. In
Orhan Gazi continued the holy war, making Bursa
so doing he also established a significant innovation
the capital in 1326 and then taking the rest of north-
in raising an army of Christian slaves. With these
western Anatolia as far as Scutari and Nicodemia,
forces at his disposal, he conquered Sivas and the east
within striking distance of Constantinople. In 1354
and even occupied Malatya within the border of the
the Ottomans took Gallipoli, and their grip on Europe
Mamluk Empire (ruled from Egypt).
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Anadolu Hisarı
Beyazit’s aim was to rule an empire, with
As in the Abbasid and Mamluk empires, this form of
centralized control, through a powerful civil service
slavery produced a ruling class, and the term devşirme
and military élite. He wanted a standing army and a
also denotes a class as well as a system. It produced a
treasury and bureaucracy that could raise taxes. Like
military corps d’élite, known as the Janissaries, and
the Abbasid caliphs before him, Beyazit preferred an
a body of civil servants that included grand viziers.
army and civil service comprised of loyal slaves rather
As a consequence of this, the Turkish aristocracy
than Turkish warlords and aristocrats. The slaves
experienced the erosion of their power and did not
were products of a system of conscription known as
welcome the rise of the devşirme. Although Beyazit
the devşirme. This involved enslaving the most able
did not live to see these reforms in place, it was
and intelligent Christian youths, converting them to
his radical thinking that made possible a system
Islam and giving them an education and training
of government that served the Ottoman dynasty
that prepared them for the highest offices of state.
for centuries.4
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Beyazit’s penetration into eastern Anatolia
After his victory at Varna, Murat abdicated
quickly brought him into conflict with Tamerlane,
and retired to Manisa, where he sought a more
the most powerful and ruthless figure to appear in
contemplative life among the Sufis. Mehmet II was
the East since Genghis Khan. Tamerlane destroyed
only twelve years old when he came to the throne,
Beyazit’s army at the battle of Ankara in 1402 and
and it was soon apparent that he was too young to
Beyazit was taken prisoner and paraded in an iron
rule such a volatile empire. Mehmet was obliged to
cage. His dramatic downfall, humiliation and
abdicate in favour of his father, and as soon as Murat
death subsequently caught the imagination of the
resumed his reign, another crusade was launched, led
West, inspiring paintings, plays and operas, such
by Stanislas III’s general John Hunaydi. This crusade
as Christopher Marlowe’s Tamerlane the Great, and
was routed in 1448 at Kosovo – the second major
Handel’s Tamerlano. Tamerlane restored the beyliks to
defeat a Christian army had suffered on that soil.
their former independent status and the rest of the
Three years later Murat died at Edirne, and Mehmet II
Ottoman domains were divided among Beyazit’s sons, . Mehmet, Isa and Süleyman. The Ottoman Empire in
returned to the throne in 1451, an older and wiser
Anatolia reverted to the territory it once occupied
of Manisa. Murat left Mehmet with a secure, united
under Murat I, but the European territories remained
and governable empire, and taking advantage of
intact. There followed a period of interregnum, with
this stability Mehmet concentrated on his overriding
the sons fighting each other until Mehmet I emerged as
ambition to conquer Constantinople. He wasted no
the winner. After the turbulence of this period, Mehmet
time in preparing for this, and in 1452 he built the
chose to consolidate what was left of the empire
fortress of Rumeli Hisarı on the European side of the
rather than attempt any campaign of reconquest.
Bosphorus, opposite Beyazit I’s fortress of Anadolu
Despite his peace-loving nature, Mehmet’s successor, Murat II, had to be vigilant in holding on
man, after gaining political experience as governor
Hisarı. These two fortresses gave him complete command of the Bosphorus.
to the Balkans, as well as in dealing with a number
In 1452, all that was left of the Byzantine
of rebellions in Anatolia. Internally, he struggled
Empire was the city of Constantinople, the territories
against factions of insubordinate nomads led by
around Trebizond and Mistra in the Greek Pelo-
Düzme Mustafa, who claimed to be Beyazit’s son.
ponnese. Constantinople stood like a wedge, dividing
Murat’s principal European enemies were Hungary
the European and Anatolian halves of the Ottoman
and Venice, but he also had to contend with Vlad
Empire, and its conquest was essential in order to
5
Drakule, who declared independence in Wallachia.
unify and bind the empire together. As the Romans
Murat had further to face an alliance of Christian
and Byzantines had understood, its location made
powers when Pope Eugenious IV called for a crusade
it a perfect capital for an empire that straddled east
against the Turks. This call to arms was partly the
and west. It was also of great economic significance, a
outcome of Emperor John VIII’s (the Byzantine
natural port and the bridge between the Mediterranean
emperor) successful diplomatic activity. In order to
and Asia where all the main land and sea trade routes
rally Christendom against the Turks, John VIII agreed
met. Above all, the capture of Constantinople was
to proposals, negotiated at the Council of Florence
a symbolic act, and Mehmet was very conscious of
in 1439, to unite the Greek and Latin churches
stepping into the shoes of the Roman and Byzantine
under the partial authority of the Pope. The crusade,
emperors. Its conquest meant the ultimate triumph
led by King Ladislas III of Poland and Hungary, was
of Islam over Christian territory, and as a gazi,
crushed at Varna in 1444, and the plan to unite
Mehmet wanted the satisfaction of achieving what
the churches collapsed when the Greek clergy, who
his illustrious predecessors had failed to do.
first approved it, later repudiated it on their return to Constantinople.
6
Having
secured
his
command
of
the
Bosphorus, cutting Constantinople’s supplies from
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I NTRODUCTION : T HE T URKS ,
THE
O TTOMANS
AND THE
C ONQUEST
OF
C ONSTANTINOPLE
7
the Black Sea, Mehmet positioned his army against
of plunder, with no protection against the ensuing
the city’s walls in the spring of 1453. The offensive
mayhem. Constantine refused to surrender, hoping
began with Mehmet’s artillery pounding the city walls
for a miracle or help from his Christian allies. Neither
with devastating effect. His fleet was less successful,
was forthcoming. The angel of deliverance did not
and it failed to penetrate the harbour – the inlet
appear, and the Christian communities closest to
of water that separated the city from the districts of
hand, like the Genoese of Galata, had been forced
Galata and Pera known as the Golden Horn. An iron
to surrender and remain neutral.
chain protected the mouth of the Golden Horn,
The Theodosian Walls were finally breached
but Mehmet overcame this obstacle and reached the
near the present Topkapı gate on May 29th, and
harbour by hauling his galleys on wheeled cradles
the infantry, followed by the Janissaries, were the
over the hills of Pera. The artillery and infantry attack
first to get through. Constantine died bravely in the
on Constantinople’s walls lasted for seven weeks, but
fighting, but by the end of the morning all effective
the resilient Greeks, led by Constantine XI, effectively
resistance had come to an end. There followed three
patched up the damage after each bombardment.
days of looting, and despite Mehmet’s orders that
Mehmet sent a message to Constantine saying that
no buildings should be destroyed, many were, and it
if he surrendered the city, the safety of its citizens
was estimated that 4,000 civilians died. According to
would be guaranteed. If not, they faced three days
Ritter J. von Hammer-Purgstall:
The Theodosian Walls
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Notes
[L]ooting started, a looting which nothing was to stop, neither weeping women and girls, nor cries of the children nor the oaths of the
1
McCarthy, J., The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History
2
McCarthy, J., op. cit., p. 13.
3
Polo, M., The Travels (London: Penguin, 1958), pp. 46–47.
to 1923 (London and New York: Longman, 1997), p. 4.
wounded. No restraint could curb soldiers intoxicated with victory. The only criteria that affected the fate of trembling creatures were
Marco Polo attributes these carpets to the Greeks and
those of youth, beauty and fortune. Without
Armenians but his observations have been questioned. He
any distinction of rank or sex, prisoners were
does not seem to recognize the difference between the
tied two by two with their belts or veils. Next
nomadic and settled Turk and refers to the Turkoman
it was the turn of the churches: pictures of
as a worshipper of ‘Mahomet’ who spoke a barbarous
saints were torn from their walls and cut up;
language and bred horses and mules. Owing to his
sacred vessels were destroyed; vestments were
anti-Muslim feelings and ignorance of the Turkish
turned into coverings; the crucifix capped
language, his contacts in the region were Christians. For these reasons his observation that the Greeks and
by a Janissary’s helmet, was carried around
Armenians were the sole producers of carpets may
the streets; altars were profaned and used as
be unreliable. In another contemporary source, El
dining-tables, or as beds to violate girls and
Muhtasar fi tarihi l-basar, the Arab historian Abu al-Fida
boys, or as stalls for horses. ‘Aya Sophia,’
(1273–1331) states that according to Ibn Said, ‘There
[Haghia Sophia] says Phranzes, ‘God’s sanctuary,
[Aksaray] Turkoman carpets are made and exported to all
the throne of His glory, the marvel of the earth,
countries in the world.’ Quoted in Aslanapa, O., One
was transformed into a place of horror and
Thousand Years of Turkish Carpets (Istanbul: Eren, 1988), p. 33.
abominations.’
7
The horror, destruction and violation of the city and
4
McCarthy, J., op. cit., p. 48.
5
Vlad Drakule is better known as Vlad the Impaler, the infamous tyrant who provided the inspiration for Bram
its people was no worse than that inflicted by the Crusaders in 1204, but as we shall see in the next
Stoker’s book Dracula. 6
According to Ritter J. von Hammer-Purgstall, when similar
chapter, after the destruction came rebuilding and
plans for uniting the churches were discussed in the
reconciliation on an unprecedented scale.8
Haghia Sophia in 1452, they were bitterly opposed by Patriarch Gennadius, and Grand Duke Lucas Notarus said he would ‘prefer to see in Constantinople not the hat of a cardinal but rather the turban of a Turk’. Quoted in Kelly, L., Istanbul: A Travellers’ Companion (London: Constable, 1987), p. 83. 7
Quoted in Kelly, L., op. cit., p. 166.
8
Compare Edward Gibbon’s account of the desecration of the Haghia Sophia in 1204 by the Crusaders. His account is also published in Kelly, op. cit., pp. 75–76.
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C HAPTER O NE
Mehmet the Conqueror and the Rise of Istanbul
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T HE A RT
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he first thing Mehmet did upon entering his
century and moved to the Blachernae Palace.
newly conquered city was to head straight for
Further afield, on the fourth hill of the city, the great
the Haghia Sophia, the most renowned cathedral in
Justinian Church of the Holy Apostles was also in a
Christendom. As he entered Justinian’s great church,
ruinous state. It was handed to Gennadius, the newly
he encountered one of his soldiers breaking up the
appointed Greek Patriarch, but its condition was so
floor with an axe. Provoked by this act of vandalism,
bad, and the area so depopulated, that Gennadius
Mehmet ‘admonished him with his symetar’ and
sought permission to use another church, and was
declared that the building belonged to him. After
given the monastery of St Mary Pammakaristos as
the looter was dragged away by his feet, Mehmet
the headquarters for the Greek Patriarchate. What
ordered the proclamation of the shahada (the Muslim
was left of the Church of the Holy Apostles was
creed), and the Haghia Sophia was formally rededicated
later demolished, and its site and recycled fabric
as a mosque – the Ayasfia Cami Kabir, or Great
were used to build Mehmet’s new mosque and külliye
Mosque of Haghia Sophia.1 According to Tuman Bey,
(mosque complex).
the following day Mehmet climbed up to the dome
The city was badly depopulated, and the
of Haghia Sophia and, surveying the ruins of the
reconstruction process was planned in tandem with
surrounding buildings, recited the following verse:
a radical resettlement policy. Those who abandoned the capital before the conquest were encouraged to
The spider serves as a gatekeeper in the halls of Khrosrau’s dome.
return, and those taken prisoner and enslaved in the
The owl plays martial music in the palace of Afrasiyah.2
given property. Some populations within the empire,
course of the conquest were resettled in the city and such as the Greeks of Morea, were forcibly transplanted to Istanbul, where they were settled in the area of
The dereliction around the Haghia Sophia was not the
Fener near the Greek Patriarchate. Greeks, Italians
result of the siege or the looting but a symptom of
and Jews were brought in from western Anatolia
the long, slow decline the city had experienced since
and from the Aegean islands of Thassos, Samothrace,
the fourth crusade and subsequent Latin occupation
Euboa and Mytilene. Christians and Muslims were
of the city in 1204. Nearby, the Great Palace, a vast
brought from Konya, Aksaray and Bursa.3 The
complex of buildings stretching from the Hippodrome
Jews, with their mercantile acumen, were particularly
to the sea of Mamara, had long been in ruins since
encouraged to settle and, leaving Thessalonika and
the imperial family abandoned it in the thirteenth
places as far afield as Italy and Germany, they joined the existing community of Jews in Balat under the leadership of their chief rabbi Moshe Capsali. Across the Golden Horn in Galata, the Genoese community was guaranteed its trading rights and religious freedom as a reward for its prompt surrender and neutrality throughout the siege. Each non-Muslim community formed a millet (nation) with its own religious leader answerable to the authority of the sultan. Thus the social, religious and, within limits, the legal practices of the various ethnic groups were respected and maintained under Ottoman rule.4 According to a census in 1477, the population of the city was between 60,000 and
The Haghia Sophia
70,000 people, but it is worth bearing in mind that
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11
Rumeli Hisarı
the population of Constantinople at its height, just
Mehmet designed the layout of the fortress
before the Latin conquest and occupation of 1204,
and ordered each of his senior viziers, Saruca Paşa,
was probably 400,000.
Halil Paşa and Zaganos Paşa, to build the three main
Mehmet’s own contribution to the rebuilding
towers. The waterfront tower, with its sea gate and
of the city consisted principally of two fortresses,
surrounding barbican, was built by the grand
two palaces, the bedestan (market) and his külliye, as
vizier, Halil Paşa; the Black Tower, on the northern
well as the repair of roads, bridges and fortifications.
side, was built by Saruca Paşa; and the southern,
Because his reign was dominated by wars of conquest,
Rose Tower, was built by Zaganos Paşa. Mehmet
it comes as no surprise that his first two buildings
took responsibility for the curtain walls with their
were fortresses of monumental scale. As we have
thirteen minor towers and bastions. This delegation
already noted, the first, Rumeli Hisarı, was completed
of responsibility induced a spirit of competition,
before the conquest in 1452 in preparation for
which made possible the completion of the whole
the siege. It commands the narrowest point of the
project within four months. Rumeli Hisarı presents
Bosphorus where, in ancient times (512
Darius
an impressive, rambling chain of architectural masses
built his bridge of boats during his campaign against
slung along the steeply raked contours of the site.
the Scythians. Situated opposite the smaller fortress
Viewed from the water, the heavy, imposing cylindrical
of Anadolu Hisarı (built by Beyazit I in 1390), Rumeli
masses of the Black and Rose towers rearing up on
BC),
Hisarı secured Mehmet’s grip on the Bosphorus,
the hill behind contrast with the lighter multifaceted,
enabling him to levy taxes on passing ships as well
angular forms of the duodecagonal waterfront tower
as to prevent the besieged city from receiving grain
and the projecting pentagonal tower at the left-
supplies from the Black Sea. The fortress ensured
hand corner. The tops of the towers would originally
that, if necessary, his Janissaries could aim their
have been conical wooden structures covered with
heavy artillery and destroy any ships passing through
lead, similar to that seen today on the Galata tower.5
the strait.
Enclosed within the curtain walls were a mosque
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Yediküle
and a circular water cistern, as well as less substantial
with wooden conical caps, similar to the somewhat
wooden buildings providing accommodation for four
fanciful picture the artist Matrakçi painted of them
hundred officers and men. All that remains of these
in the sixteenth century.6 This fortress never played a
interior features is the stump of a brick minaret now
significant defensive role and was initially used as a
set among trees within a pleasing park landscape.
treasury. Up until the early nineteenth century, it served
After the siege, Mehmet’s priority was to
as a prison in which many foreign merchants and
repair and strengthen the walls of the city and, in so
ambassadors were incarcerated. It was also a notorious
doing, he extended the fortifications at the southern
place of execution. One sultan, Osman II, was cruelly
end of the Theodosian land walls and built the fortress
executed here at the age of seventeen in 1622.
of Yediküle (the Castle of Seven Towers).
Rumeli Hisarı and Yediküle are dramatic and
Pentagonal in plan, the fortress consists of
impressive pieces of military architecture – they are
an Ottoman extension (1457–58) inside the existing
fitting monuments to the age of conquest and express
Theodosian wall (built by Theodosius II in 447) made
something of the vigorous personality of their creator.
up of three towers connected by a curtain wall. The
However, Mehmet was a complex figure and more than
longest side of the fortress is the Theodosian section,
just a ruthless conqueror. He was a refined and learned
consisting of four towers, the central two of which
man who enjoyed intellectual debate, and he was fully
form pylons astride the bricked-in, triple-arcaded
conscious of his imperial role and destiny. Immediately
Golden Gate of Theodosius I (390). Like Rumeli Hisarı
after the conquest he was described by one of the
and Galata Tower, the towers were surmounted
Venetian envoys, Giacomo Languschi, as follows:
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13
The sovereign, the Grand Turk Mehmet Bey, is
already possessed – those of gazi and khan. Gazi
a youth of twenty six (sic), well built, of large
conferred the role of holy warrior, khan asserted his
rather than medium stature, expert at arms,
claims on all Turkish lands and caesar now gave him
of aspect more frightening than venerable,
the authority to rule over Christendom.8 In many
laughing
circumspection,
respects Mehmet was following Alexander the Great
endowed with great generosity, obstinate in
and the first Umayyad caliphs in assuming the rank
pursuing his plans, bold in all undertakings,
of king of kings.
seldom,
full
of
as eager of fame as Alexander of Macedonia.
Because of his territorial ambitions in the
Daily he has Roman and other historical works
West, Mehmet made it his business to understand
read to him by a companion named Ciriaco
European culture and Christianity in particular.
of Ancona, and another Italian. He has them
Legend has it that his wife, Gülbahar, a Christian
read Leartius, Herodotus, Livy, Quintus Curtius,
slave of Albanian origin, never relinquished her
the chronicles of the popes, the emperors, the
Christianity. He asked the Greek patriarch Gennadius
Kings of France, and the Lombards. He speaks
to teach him the history and doctrine of the Greek
three languages, Turkish, Greek, and Slavic.
Church, consulted clerics of other faiths and even
He is at great pains to learn the geography of
observed the Mass.9 According to Brother George
Italy and inform himself of the places where
of Muhlenbach, Mehmet visited the Franciscan
Anchises and Aeneas and Antenor landed,
monastery of Pera:
where the seat of the pope is and that of the emperor, and how many kingdoms there are in
The Franciscan brothers living in Pera have
Europe. He possesses a map of Europe with the
assured me that he came to their church and sat
countries and provinces. He learns of nothing
down in their choir to attend the ceremonies
with greater interest and enthusiasm than the
and sacrifice of the Mass. To satisfy his curiosity,
geography of the world and military affairs; he
they ordered him an unconsecrated wafer at
burns with desire to dominate; he is a shrewd
the Elevation of the Host, for pearls must not
investigator of conditions. It is with such a
be cast before swine.10
man that we Christians have to deal ... Today he says the times have changed, and declares
It would be wrong, however, to attribute his interest
that he will advance from East to West as in
in Western culture entirely to ulterior motives.
former times the Westerners advanced into the
Foreign intelligence was an important factor, but
Orient. There must he says be only one empire,
he also had a genuine appreciation of Western art,
one faith, one sovereignty of the world.
literature and learning. His library contained a number
7
of important inherited, acquired and commissioned This statement alerts the Christians to Mehmet’s
works. In view of the comparisons made between
territorial aspirations and his identification with
him and Alexander the Great, two significant Greek
Alexander the Great. His interest in European history
books in his library included The History of Mehmet
and geography was not entirely cultural, but indicative
the Conqueror by Kritoboulos and a copy of Arrian’s
of his longer-term ambitions to extend his empire
The Anabasis of Alexander the Great and the Indica.
further west – even as far as Rome. Mehmet was
One of the themes in Kritoboulos’s commissioned
conscious that in capturing Constantinople he had
history is Mehmet’s similarity to Alexander the Great,
taken on the mantle of the Byzantine emperors and
and these volumes, copied by the same hand, were
now in effect ruled the territories of the former eastern
designed to complement each other. Mehmet also
Roman Empire. He felt he could legitimately claim
had a copy of the Iliad, and when campaigning
the title of caesar, a title that he added to those he
near Mytilene in 1462, he made a special detour
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to visit the site of Troy. His interest in geography
through his friendship with the humanist Robert
and astronomy prompted him to acquire a number
Valturio, established contact between Mehmet and
of European maps and copies of the Geography,
Sigismondo Malatesta of Rimini.
Cosmographia and Almagest by the Greek mathe-
This led to a curious diplomatic liaison in
matician, astronomer, geographer and physicist
which Sigismondo Malatesta attempted to pass
Claudius Ptolemy (lived c.150
military intelligence to Mehmet via the artist Matteo
AD).
The copy of Geography contained sections
de’ Pasti. Mehmet asked Sigismondo to recommend
from Hero of Alexandria’s Pneumatica, a treatise on
an artist to paint his portrait, and the choice fell on
engineering and military science. Also in Mehmet’s
Matteo de’ Pasti, who had established his reputation
library was Mariano Taccola’s treatise on military
in Rimini as the master of works for the humanist
engineering De Machinis (1449). Such works con-
and architect Leon Battista Alberti. Matteo was
tributed enormously to the Ottoman army’s military
also a famous medallist and maker of illuminated
superiority in field artillery. Mehmet was also
manuscripts. He set out for Istanbul in 1461 with
interested in medical science, but in this case it was
a letter from Sigismondo and gifts which included
Muslim sources that attracted his attention. For his
detailed maps of Italy and a copy of Robert Valturio’s
Jewish physician Jacopo da Gaeta, Mehmet acquired
handbook on warfare De re militare lib. XII (Twelve
a Latin translation of Canones (Qanun fi’ Tibb or
Books on the Art of War, c.1450). The Venetians, who
Canon of Medicine) by the great Persian philosopher
were no friends of Sigismondo, got wind of this
and physician Ibn Sina (d.1037). Other medical . treatises included Isa ibn Jazla’s Takwin al-Abdan,
venture and, recognizing the import of such sensitive
a work on drugs and remedies, and Sharaf al-Din’s
captured Matteo in Crete.13 He was brought before
illustrated treatise on surgery Cerrahye-i Ilkhaniye.
the Council of Ten in Venice, but he was eventually
Mehmet’s interest in theology, both Christian and
released and sent back to Rimini with a warning
Muslim, is demonstrated by numerous volumes on
not to go to Istanbul nor to have any contact with
Islamic mysticism, philosophy and jurisprudence, as
the sultan. He didn’t, but according to Babinger,
well as by Christian texts in Greek and Latin, including
a medal attributed to Matteo de’ Pasti and the
The Testament of Solomon, the Book of the Prophet
Burgundian artist Jean Tricaudet was, nevertheless,
Daniel and Thomas Aquinas’s Summa contra Gentiles.
eventually struck.14
11
intelligence in the hands of their Turkish enemy,
The number of Italian scholars Mehmet
Another curious diplomatic incident, which
cultivated in his court made this collection of books
resulted in the striking of a portrait medallion,
possible. In his assessment of Mehmet, Giacomo
concerns Mehmet’s relationship with Lorenzo de
Languschi mentioned the presence of Ciriaco of
Medici. In 1478, Lorenzo narrowly escaped an
Ancona (c.1390–1455) in Mehmet’s retinue. He was
assassination attempt on him in the Duomo
a noted merchant, traveller and antiquarian who
(cathedral), Florence by members of the Pazzi family
studied ancient monuments in Greece, the Aegean
and their hired assassins. His brother Guiliano was
islands, Anatolia and Egypt. He made drawings,
killed in the mêlée while Lorenzo escaped to the
collected gemstones, medallions and manuscripts
sacristy. All the conspirators were rounded up and
and was one of those remarkable early humanists
executed except Bernado Bandini Baroncello, who
who contributed to the Renaissance rediscovery of the
escaped to Istanbul, where his relatives gave him
ancient world.
Not only did they enrich his court
refuge. Mehmet had him arrested and, following an
but also a number of visiting humanists, scholars and
audience with Antonio de Medici, he was returned
artists proved useful in securing European diplomatic
to Florence and publicly hanged. A commemorative
links for Mehmet. One such humanist in Mehmet’s
medallion, designed by Bertoldo di Giovanni, was
court was the Italian Angelo Vadio of Casena, who,
struck in memory of Guiliano, and as a token of
12
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15
his gratitude, Lorenzo ordered another to be struck in honour of Mehmet. This medal shows on the obverse side a portrait of Mehmet, and the reverse displays an allegorical scene depicting the sultan riding triumphally in a chariot with three nude females in the rear representing the vanquished empires of Asia, Trebizond and greater Greece.15 According to Michael Levey, Mehmet, who was preoccupied with building the Topkapı Palace at that time, exploited Lorenzo’s debt of gratitude by asking him to send Florentine craftsmen to Istanbul skilled in intarsia work (a form of inlay made up of different woods).16 There is no trace of any response to this request, and the only record of a prospective visit to Istanbul by an Italian architect occurred long before the Pazzi conspiracy. This was in 1465, when the Florentine architect and sculptor Antonio Filartete planned a visit, but it is unlikely it ever occurred.17 Undoubtedly the most celebrated artist invited to Mehmet’s court was Gentile Bellini, who was sent in 1479 as part of a diplomatic initiative. The result was a number of paintings by Bellini, including
Mehmet II by Gentile Bellini © National Gallery, London, 2010
the portrait that now hangs in the National Gallery, London. He was recommended partly on account of
Western art was concerned, Mehmet was a dilettante,
his mural restorations in the Hall of the Great Council
but within his own cultural field he was a great
at the Doge’s Palace in Venice, and he was supposed
connoisseur. Apart from possible Italian influence in
to have spent much of his time in Istanbul painting
the marble floor of the hamam, there is nothing in
erotic murals in the Topkapı. These were removed by
the Topkapı Palace, or in any of his other buildings,
Mehmet’s successor, Beyazit II.18 Bellini was awarded
that remotely suggests Western influence – they
a knighthood for his services to the sultan, and in his
are manifestly Ottoman. Culturally the Turks looked
painting St Mark Preaching in Alexandria (Pinacoteca
back to their roots in Central Asia and towards the
di Brera, Milan) he includes a portrait of himself
Persian values they assimilated during the first waves
wearing a red robe proudly displaying his gold chain
of conquest in the eleventh century. Since the rule
of knighthood.19 Mehmet also requested an architect
of the Great Selçuk Turks in Persia, Persian rather
and a bronze caster, but they were not sent, although
than Turkish had been the language of the court,
two assistants did accompany Bellini. The only
and Mehmet spoke this fluently (something Giacomo
evidence that Italian craftsmen might have been
Languschi missed from his list of Mehmet’s linguistic
involved in the Topkapı Palace is the Italian-style
attributes). Arabic was the language of theology but
marble floor in what later became the camekan, or
Persian was the language of literature, and the great
disrobing room of the baths (hamam) of Selim II.
classical works of Firdawsi and Nizami were promoted
20
Mehmet’s interest in, and appreciation of,
in the Turkish court as models for imitation. Mehmet
Western art was genuine, but it has to be balanced
lavishly patronized contemporary Persian poets and
against the overwhelming weight of his Muslim
philosophers, and many Persians were appointed to
identity, background, taste and culture. As far as
the highest ranks in the court.
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The Çinili Kiosk
Mehmet also took a great interest in Shi’ism
preceptors, to inform him on intellectual issues, and it
– the branch of Islam followed by the Persians –
was their regular duty to choose, read and comment
prompting speculation regarding his own religious
on theological texts.
convictions. His interest in Christianity had led to
His cultural bias towards Persia can clearly
rumours that he had converted to Catholicism, and
be seen in the architecture of the earliest building in
by the same token, his regard for Persian literature
the Topkapı Palace complex, the Çinili Kiosk (1472).
and Shi’ism prompted the comment that ‘A man
The Topkapı Sarayı was the second of two palaces
who reads Persian loses half his religion.’ While
established by Mehmet. The first, later known as the
publicly maintaining orthodox Sunnism, it is possible
Eski Saray (Old Palace), was built in the area now
that his own religious convictions were somewhat
occupied by Istanbul University on the third hill.
ambivalent. His pious son Beyazit was more forth-
The Topkapı occupies the high triangular promontory
right in asserting that his father did not believe in
where the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the
the Prophet Muhammad at all. Mehmet’s ecumenical
Golden Horn meet. It forms the first hill of Istanbul,
mind guaranteed religious freedom and tolerance,
and the original acropolis of Byzantium once stood
and within the Islamic sphere he nurtured regular
there. Byzantine walls already enclosed the site
theological debate in which his own participation
and Mehmet marked out the boundaries of the
was never superficial. For example, the work of
new palace when he completed the wall behind the
the twelfth-century Persian theologian al-Ghazali
Haghia Sophia on the south-western side. The gate of
stimulated a long-standing debate in his court
Bab-ül-Hümayün (the Gate of Majesty) pierces this.
regarding the differences between theologians and
Within this enclosure Mehmet established a division
philosophers. He appointed scholars, known as
between the public (selamlık) and the private (harem)
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domains of the palace, and like the palace in the
slender stone columns, is the building’s most elegant
former Ottoman capital at Edirne, it functioned as
and imposing feature. The columns date from the
a private residence, a centre of government and a
eighteenth century, when they replaced the timber
place for education and training.
originals. Their form is Persian, and one can see
The Çinili Kiosk is a unique structure and
similar columns made of timber in the talas (the
undoubtedly the most Persian of Ottoman buildings.
columned halls and verandas) of the Ali Qapu
Its cuboid form and symmetry of proportion makes
and Chihil Sutun palaces in Isfahan, Iran. Halls
it the most classical and self-contained of all the
of columns, like these, have pre-Islamic origins in
Topkapı’s buildings. Built of brick and stone its plan
the adapanas, or audience halls, of ancient Persian
and elevation echoes the Persian garden pavilion of
Achaemenid architecture.
the Timurid period known as a hasht bihisht (eight
The Çinili Kiosk, meaning Tiled Pavilion, is
paradises). In Persia and Central Asia these pavilions
so called because of the use of glazed brick and tile
were built of less substantial materials, and few
mosaic. The style of decoration, like the rest of the
fifteenth-century examples survive. Traces of a
building, is Persian. According to Blair and Bloom,
contemporary cruciform plan, similar to that of the
there is some evidence that tile cutters from Khorasan
Çinili Kiosk, can be found in the summer palace of
were involved with the work.21 Here and in the
the Shirvanshahs at Nadaran, near Baku in Azerbaijan.
contemporary türbe (tomb) of Mahmut Paşa (1474),
In Persia these pavilions were essentially pleasure
we witness the last use in Ottoman architecture of tile
domes placed in quadripartite garden settings known
mosaic and glazed tiles, known as banna’i work. The
as charah baghs (four gardens). The Çinili Kiosk was
extensive use of tile decoration in the loggia owes
not set in a formal garden, but overlooked a park at
much to Timurid architecture, in which widespread
the back and a stadium at the front. The loggia served
areas of interior and exterior brick walls and vaults are
as a grandstand for viewing wrestling matches, polo,
covered in tiles. In Ottoman architecture the principal
lion tamers and parades of animals brought from the menagerie nearby. In the evenings it served as a pleasure dome, with musical entertainment by the women of the harem. It is a two-storeyed building, and the plan on the second floor consists of a central domed cruciform hall, the arms of which lead to outward-facing, open-vaulted halls, known as iwans, on the north-eastern and south-western sides. The north-western arm leads to a projecting hexagonal room overlooking the park, and the axis of the south-eastern arm is made up of the vestibule and entrance iwan. In addition to the room overlooking the park, four rooms clustered around the central hall complete the suite of royal apartments. These rooms are decorated with octagonal navy blue and turquoise tiles, forming bold angular patterns, with some displaying gilded arabesques like those in the Yeşil Cami (Green Mosque) in Bursa. The lower storey consists of rooms for the grand vizier, as well as utility rooms and servants quarters. The loggia in the facade, made up of an arcade supported on fourteen
The entrance to Çinili Kiosk
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A tile mosaic at the Çinili Kiosk
The türbe of Mahmut Paşa
building material is stone, and ceramic tiling is used sparingly in selective areas of the interior, such as on the qibla wall (the wall orientated towards Mecca). The most noticeable feature of the Çinili Kiosk’s decoration is its geometric character – something it shares not only with contemporary Timurid design but also with earlier Turkish Selçuk art. The colours are dense and resonant, despite being restricted to turquoise blue, dark blue, white and yellow. Framed by a narrow band of scrolling arabesque, the entrance iwan is packed with diagonal patterns in the tympanum and with kufic inscriptions in the vault. This geometry is offset by the cursive rhythms of the white and yellow sülüs calligraphy that runs horizontally around the three sides of the iwan vault. The inscription praises the palace in the following words: This pavilion, which is as lofty as the heavens, A tile mosaic on the türbe of Mahmut Paşa
was so constructed that its great height would
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seem to stretch its hand up to the Gemini
facing we see today is the work of Sultan Abdülaziz,
themselves. Its most worthless part would adorn
who restored and altered the gate in 1867. The
the most precious part of Saturn’s crown. Its
central iwan is pierced by a door, with a shallow
emerald cupola sparkles like the heavens and
arched lintel of joggled voussoirs (interlocking
is honoured with inscriptions from the stars.
wedge-shaped stones), leading to a domed passage
Its floor of turquoise with its varied flowers …
with flanking rooms that once housed fifty guards.
reminds one of the eternal vineyards of
The second storey, which was dismantled by
Paradise.
Abdülaziz, originally consisted of a wooden structure
22
with a hipped roof. A central window lighted it This kind of Arabian Nights hyperbole is typical of
with three smaller lights on either side, and over the
literature associated with palace architecture across
years it served a number of functions, including a
the Muslim world. The Çinili Kiosk is not a lofty
depository, treasury, pavilion and viewing platform
pavilion, and it is worth noting the modesty of
for the women of the harem.23 The Bab-ül-Hümayün,
scale generally displayed in most of the Topkapı
sometimes called the Gate of Justice, was also used to
buildings. This palace complex was the seat
exhibit the severed heads of traitors and criminals.
of government for a powerful empire, but most of the
The use of monumental gates for this gruesome
buildings do not exceed one storey.
display of law enforcement was commonplace across
Among those that do are the two gates built
the Muslim world.
by Mehmet. The first, the Bab-ül-Hümayün (1478),
Passing through the Bab-ül-Hümayün one
is like a triple-arcaded triumphal arch with a lofty
enters the first court of the Topkapı Palace, where
iwan in the centre flanked by two niches. The marble
the ancient church of St Irene stands. This court
Bab-ül-Hümayün
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Orta Kapı, or the Middle Gate
was known as the Court of the Janissaries because
activity took place. It is a landscaped space with
it served as their parade ground, and the barracks of
cypress trees, plane trees and rose bushes, and
the Janissary cadets were located there. This was very
throughout Ottoman times gazelles, peacocks and
much the public domain of the palace, but nothing
ostriches were allowed to roam here. The most
from the period of Mehmet survives here except the
important building in this court is the Divan, where
next gate, variously known as the Gate of Peace, Orta
the Imperial Council of State met four times a
Kapı, or the Middle Gate. If justice was displayed
week. It consists of the Council Chamber, the Public
on the Bab-ül-Hümayün, it was here that justice was
Records Office and the Office of the Grand Vizier.
dispensed. Prisoners were kept in the two flanking
The Divan was rebuilt in the 1520s and restored
octagonal towers, and in front of the gate stood the
by Murat III (1574–95) after it was badly damaged by
executioner’s block.
fire in 1574. Later, Ahmet III (1703–30) refurbished
The Middle Gate leads to the second court,
the rooms in the gilded rococo style we see in the
the Court of the Divan, where most of the ceremonial
Public Records Office and the exterior of the building
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today. Nothing survives from the time of Mehmet
bay and circular dome) pierced by window lights
the Conqueror except the treasury building next
on each side. On the outside the zones of transition
door. This sturdy structure consists of a vestibule and
break through the roofline carrying the lead-sheathed
hall made up of eight domed units of equal height
domes with their shallow, saucer-shaped profiles.
supported on piers. They are simple domed cubes
The level, uniform array of domes and the exterior
with octagonal zones of transition (the intermediary
prominence of the zone of transition is characteristic
structure that makes the transition between square
of early Ottoman architecture.
2 3
4 5
1 Key 1. Middle Gate 2. Gate of Felicity 3. Outer Treasury 4. Divan 5. Public Records Office
Plan of the Middle Court (Court of the Divan)
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Plan of the Third Court Key 1. Disrobing room (ibid.) 2. Pavilion of the Conqueror / Inner Treasury 3. The Pavilion of the Holy Mantle
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More imposing are Mehmet’s pavilions in the
The most unusual decorative feature in this
third court, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle (Hirkaı
building is the polychrome marble panelling in the
Saadet Dairesi) and the Pavilion of the Conqueror
Egyptian Mamluk style on the outside rear wall. Here,
(Inner Treasury). The Pavilion of the Holy Mantle of
in an elegant cloistered arcade, are rectangular marble
the Prophet, which now contains holy relics, was
patterns forming a dado supporting horizontal panels
once Mehmet’s private residence. It consists of a
of Iznik. Compared to Mamluk dados this is low and
square symmetrical complex of four domed halls,
shallow, playing a subordinate role to the tiles above.
plus a smaller domed annexe that once served as the
The date of this feature is uncertain, but we know
circumcision room. The far room on the right-hand
that Selim I (1512–20) brought Egyptian craftsmen
side, which now contains the Holy Mantle, was
to Istanbul after his conquest of Egypt in 1517.24 He
Mehmet’s bedroom. The interior decoration of this
also brought with him Egyptian marble taken from
suite of rooms dates from the time of Murat III,
the floor and interior walls of the Citadel mosque
who lined them with Iznik tiles and used them as
of al-Nasir Muhammad, as well as marble from a
reception rooms for a selamlık (men’s public domain).
number of Mamluk palace buildings on the Citadel.25 Goodwin attributes the work to the beginning of the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent.26 The new treasury, which originally served as a selamlık, is the most imposing pavilion built by Mehmet. Like the Çinili Kiosk, it is a two-storeyed building, but here the rooms below functioned principally as a treasury. The royal apartments consist of four lofty rooms and a loggia overlooking the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. Two of the rooms are domed and a shallow hipped roof covers the rest. The two domed rooms are identical, but one is separate from the main body of the pavilion, and served as the camekan, or disrobing room, for the hamam of Selim II (1566–74) next door. Selim
The Pavilion of the Holy Mantle
built his hamam in the 1570s, but the Hall of the Expeditionary Force (now the museum of costumes) later replaced the main structure – the hot and cold rooms – in 1719. Because the camekan is a part of the hamam complex, questions arise as to whether this is the work of Mehmet or Selim. Goodwin suggests that it is the work of Mehmet, who constructed the first hamam on this site, and Selim’s contribution was probably limited to repaving the floor.27 The other domed room marks the first of a suite of lofty reception rooms that now display the contents of the treasury. The proximity of the hamam next door, with its constant steam and smoke, eventually rendered this building unsuitable
Rear wall of the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle showing Mamluk marble panelling
as a selamlık, and during the seventeenth century it was converted into storerooms.
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The new treasury
A long, arcaded portico fronts the courtside
undoubtedly was his most important architectural
of the pavilion with columns capped with antique
contribution to Istanbul. As conqueror of the city, it
capitals. From the other side, the pavilion overlooks
was incumbent upon him to build his own mosque,
the park, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. It
and he would have been very conscious of the fact
is from this side that both storeys are revealed, and
that what he built had to equal in magnitude the
viewed at a distance from the seashore below, its
Haghia Sophia. Since before the conquest, Mehmet
clarity of form and dignified proportions can best be
had coveted the Haghia Sophia, and its conversion into
appreciated. Domes supported on octagonal zones
the principal mosque of the city was an expression of
of transition break the roofline, like that of the old
his regard for that sacred building. However, Mehmet
treasury in the second court. The weight of its mass
had to demonstrate that Ottoman architects could
is relieved on the first storey by a horizontal band of
build a new city with a different identity. The Haghia
windows, and on the second by two tiers of windows
Sophia with its complex dome structure was, and
and the double-arched openings that pierce both sides
continued to be, a challenge to Ottoman builders until
of the loggia in the corner. In the centre, breaking the
the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent. It influenced
flat surface, is a projecting balcony resting on corbels
the subsequent development of Ottoman architecture,
surmounted by a triangular sloping roof.
but it must be emphasized that the Ottomans had
Architecturally more significant than the
already achieved a distinct architectural style of some
Topkapı is Mehmet’s külliye on the fourth hill. This
maturity and sophistication well before the conquest.
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It can be seen in the mosques of the former Ottoman
tradition, went to Rome.29 The sacred pillars were also
capitals at Bursa and Edirne, where a century of
broken up and fragments transported to the West.
architectural development had produced a remarkable synthesis of Selçuk, Persian and Byzantine forms.
Constantinople never recovered from the despoliation of the Latin conquest. By the time of
He chose to build his mosque on the fourth
the Ottoman conquest, the Church of the Holy
hill over the ruins of the Church of the Holy
Apostles was in a ruinous state and the whole area
Apostles. It was a prestigious site, for the Church
depopulated, and, as already noted, Gennadius, the
of the Holy Apostles had been the second most
patriarch, was only too willing to relinquish it as his
important church in Constantinople. It was famous
headquarters and move to St Mary Pammakaristos.
for its funerary chapel containing the royal mausolea
In 1463 Mehmet demolished what was left of
in which various Byzantine emperors and empresses,
the Church of the Holy Apostles and used its
including Constantine and his mother St Helena,
fabric in the building of his new mosque. The royal
were interred. As well as the royal burials, it also
sarcophagi were removed to the Topkapı Palace,
housed the bodies of saints John Chrysostom,
where they can still be seen on display outside the
Polyeuctus, Spiridon and Gregory Nazianzen, as well
Archaeological Museum. According to Babinger,
as the relics of several saints and Apostles, including
Mehmet also demolished the neighbouring church
saints Andrew, Luke and Timothy. The church also
of Constantine Lips.30 This amount of demolition
contained two sacred pillars: one at which Christ
was necessary because Mehmet needed to clear an
was scourged and the one where Peter wept after
enormous space, 320 metres square, not only for
his denial of Christ. The church was also of great
his mosque but also for all the ancillary buildings
architectural significance, and its cruciform plan,
that make up the külliye. In terms of scale and
surmounted by five domes, provided the architectural
complexity, the külliye was very much an Ottoman
model for the great Apostles churches of St John at
invention, and in building it on such an ambitious
Ephesus and St Mark’s in Venice.
scale, Mehmet set a precedent that was to transform
During the fourth Crusade (1204) the Franks, searching for holy relics, ransacked the church and
the architectural landscape of Istanbul. Many of his successors were to follow his example.
funerary chapel. These precious objects were eagerly
A külliye is a major urban plan consisting
sought, not only for their material wealth – their
of many of the following buildings: a mosque (cami),
jewel-encrusted gold and silver mounts, rock crystals
mausolea (türbes), theological colleges (medreses),
and oriental silks – but also for their religious value
a college for the study of tradition, or hadis
and miraculous powers. Transported to the West,
(darül-hadis), a Qur’an school (darül-kurra), a Qur’an
famous relics attracted pilgrims, thus transforming
school for boys (sibyan-mekteb), library (kütüphani),
the status and economies of recipient churches and
hospital (bimarhane), asylum (timarhane), a combined
monasteries. Most of the churches in Constantinople
hospital and asylum (daruşşifa), soup-kitchen (imaret),
were looted for that purpose. Günther of Pairis, in his
hospice (tabhane), caravansarai, market (arasta) and
Historia Constantinopolitana, gives a vivid account of
baths (hamam). The külliye extends and embodies the
how Abbot Martin enriched the monastery of Pairis
functions of the mosque that the Prophet Muhammad
in Alsace with a hoard of relics which he obtained
established in Medina. The original Prophet’s
(by means of armed robbery) during the pillage of
mosque was not just a place of prayer but a centre
Constantinople. Throughout the Latin occupation,
of government, education, jurisprudence, welfare
the relics and sacred remains in the Church of the
and hospitality. It embodied the spirit of Islam,
Holy Apostles were sent west, including the bodies
which does not separate the religious and secular
of St Helena, and those of saints John Chrysostom
domains. All these functions, except government,
and Gregory Nazienzen, which, according to Western
were later to develop within the precincts of the
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Plan of Mehmet’s külliye 1. Mosque 2. Courtyard 3. Türbe
4. Medreses 5. Caravanserai 6. Library
mosque, and across the Muslim world during the
With eight medreses accommodating a
thirteenth century discrete buildings and multipurpose
thousand students, what Mehmet built between
complexes evolved. They can be seen in such works
1463 and 1470 was a university city. Little of the
as the Selçuk mosque and hospital at Divrig˘i (1228)
original mosque remains because it was destroyed
in eastern Anatolia or in Sultan Qala’un’s mosque,
by earthquake in 1766, and what we see today is
medrese and hospital in Cairo (1284). However, what
the new mosque, totally different in plan, built by
makes the Turkish külliye unique and extraordinary
Mustafa III in 1771. The only record we have of
is its urban scale and complexity.
the original mosque is an engraving by M. Lorichs
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dating from the sixteenth century. All that has
grandeur of the sahn in most of Istanbul’s classical
survived of the original complex is the sahn
imperial mosques.
(courtyard), the entrance portals to the sahn and
The main entrance portal to the sahn on the
prayer hall, parts of the hospice and sections of the
north-western facade, and that leading to the prayer
minarets. The most striking aspect of this grand urban
hall, are on the same axis, and both survive from
plan is its symmetry. The mosque, sahn and cemetery
the original building. Their fine proportions, simple
form three adjacent rectangular units occupying the
mouldings and disciplined restraint bear witness
centre of a huge enclosed precinct flanked by two
to the maturity of Ottoman design at that stage in
broad ranges of medreses known as the Karadeniz (Black
its development. Their
Sea) and the Akdeniz (White Sea or Mediterranean)
composition, consisting
medreses. The precinct once served as a camping
of upright framing panels
ground for caravans, and flanking its entrance gates
pierced by central niches
on the north-western side were two small pavilions
with conical hoods filled
consisting of a library, which began with a collection
with stalactite clusters,
of eight hundred books, and a boys’ Qur’an school.
known
Outside the precinct, on the south-western side, were
present a classical format
the hospital, hospice, imaret, hamam and caravansarai.
derived
There was also a saddle market in the vicinity, the
architecture. The mono-
rents from which contributed to the upkeep of the
chrome austerity of the
mosque and its dependencies.
prayer
The plans of Ottoman mosques are largely
Entrance to Prayer Hall
as
muqarnas,
from
hall
beautifully
Selçuk
portal offset
is by
determined by their dome structures. The prayer
gilded calligraphy, set
hall of Mehmet’s original mosque consisted of a
against dark green panels, proclaiming the name of
large dome, twenty-six metres in diameter, next to
Mehmet and the date of the mosque’s foundation.
a half-dome of the same diameter extending to the
The generous space of the sahn is relieved by
mihrab in the qibla wall. There were three smaller
an informal arrangement of tall cypress trees and a
lateral domes on either side. The main dome and
centrally placed fountain with a wide conical roof.
half-dome were supported by buttresses within the
The domed revaks (arcaded cloisters) surrounding the
north-western wall of the prayer hall, two piers
sahn have arcades supported on antique columns
and two antique porphyry columns taken from the
surmounted by muqarnas capitals. In total there are
Church of the Holy Apostles. The central dome was
twenty-two bays, and the level array of their domes,
the largest in the Ottoman Empire, but it fell short
breaking through the roofline of the facades, provides
of the Haghia Sophia, which has a dome thirty-one
a globulous baseline towards which the descending
metres in diameter. Projecting from the main body
domes of the prayer hall cascade. Inside the sahn, the
of the prayer hall of Mehmet’s mosque are the
lunettes above the window grills at each end of the
monumental facades of the sahn enclosure pierced
qibla revak contain calligraphic inscriptions in blue,
by two tiers of windows and three entrance portals.
turquoise, green and yellow in cuerda seca tilework.
The prayer hall and the sahn form adjacent spaces,
Developed in Central Asia, the cuerda seca technique
like open and closed boxes, with the former covered
involved the application of several colours on the
with domes and the latter open to the sky. The
tile and separating each on firing with a mixture of
sahn forms a spatial overture to the mosque, and
wax or oil with manganese. The result was that each
in this case it occupies a slightly larger space than the
colour is left outlined with a thin dark line. It was
prayer hall. This arrangement of sahn and prayer hall
a technique used by craftsmen from Tabriz in Bursa
is significant because it establishes the subsequent
and Edirne, but whether they were later responsible
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follows tradition, and although the new mosque is essentially eighteenth-century baroque, it is somewhat circumspect and conservative. Its baroque character is defined more by its grandiose use of space than by the details of painted decoration or the bulbous finials that once capped the two minarets (now replaced by conical caps). Next to the mosque, the most important features of this külliye are the eight medreses. It is these buildings, which once formed a major university, that The Sahn
proclaim the cultural shift taking place in the new city. The two ranges of buildings, the Akdeniz and the Karadeniz, flank the main precinct. Each consists
for this work, or played any part in setting up the
of four medreses and, separated by a passageway,
Iznik ceramics industry, is a matter of conjecture.
four annexes known as the Tetumme medreses (now
31
Mustafa’s reconstruction of Mehmet’s mosque
destroyed). Each medrese had an arcaded courtyard,
comes as no disappointment when entering its prayer
around which were arranged nineteen cells for the
hall. The interior space is quite awesome, and one
students, an iwan and a domed derşane, or lecture
wonders how Mehmet’s original dome construction
hall. The annexe buildings each contained nine cells.
might have looked in such a vast area. The plan of
When the student population grew to one thousand,
Mustafa’s mosque follows Mehmet’s foundations, but
overcrowding became a problem, with up to five
the dome structure is quite different, consisting of a
students sharing a cell. The curriculum, in part, was
rosette formation of four half-domes clustered around
not unlike that of the liberal arts studied in Western
a central dome of the same diameter. Koca Sinan
universities. The liberal arts, derived from the classical
first used this arrangement in 1548 for his Şehzade
world, consisted of the trivium (rhetoric, logic and
mosque. It was again used by Sultan Ahmet I in the
grammar) and the quadrivium (music, astronomy,
Blue Mosque (1616) and in Valide Sultan Turhan
geometry and arithmetic). According to Babinger, the
Hadice’s Yeni Cami (1666), which follows an earlier
medrese curriculum embraced:
design dating back to 1597. In this respect Mustafa
Akdeniz medrese
Court of Karadeniz medrese
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[C]omplete courses in ten sciences: grammar,
cultivable land, and the produce, rents and profits
syntax, logic, rhetoric, geometry, astronomy,
contributed to their upkeep. In Istanbul it was the
and the four legal-theological disciplines,
vakf endowments of successive sultans and grand
dogmatics, jurisprudence, the ‘traditions’ of
viziers that produced the great külliye that mark the
the Prophet, and Qur’anic exegesis.32
architectural landscape of the city. Of the other buildings in Mehmet’s külliye,
The influence of Byzantium is at work here, for
only the tabhane has survived in several states of
Islam since its inception has embraced, preserved
restoration. This was a hospice built to accommodate
and absorbed Greek learning. What we have in this
travellers and itinerant Sufis (dervishes). In total it
curriculum is the intellectual tools of Greek learning
has forty-six domes, twenty of which cover the bays
plus the Islamic disciplines of jurisprudence, Qur’anic
of the arcaded revaks surrounding the central court.
exegesis and hadis, or tradition. Often Turkish külliye
The columns are antique and no doubt taken from
would have four separate medreses, each devoted to
the Church of the Holy Apostles. A large hall on one
the four orthodox schools of Islamic law, known as
side, equivalent in size to the derşanes in the medreses,
madhahib. These schools, developed during the first
served the dual purpose of prayer room and hall for
two centuries of Islam, are the Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi’i
Sufi ceremonies. The iwans, used for prayer meetings,
and Hanbali, named after their founders, Malik ibn
are supported on piers with corner colonettes similar
Anas (d.795), Abu Hanifa (d.767), al-Shafi’i (d.820)
to those in the entrance portals of the sahn and
and Ahmed ibn Hanbal (d.855). The study of
prayer hall. The colonettes, mouldings and rosette
hadis involved knowledge of the sayings, actions and
decoration suggest that they date from the time
example of the Prophet. Interpretation of this material,
of Mehmet. A kitchen and bakehouse were located
and the quality and reliability of its transmission
on the north-eastern and south-western side, and
(isnad), was critically important. This was taught
they also served the nearby imaret (now destroyed).
in the building known as the darül-hadis, and
Rooms flanking the main hall were used for storage
Qur’anic exegesis and commentary was studied in
and prayers, leaving accommodation for only about
the darül-kurra.
twelve guests. Most travellers were accommodated
Also influenced by Greek culture is the nature
in cells and lodgings outside the külliye precincts,
of the külliye itself. Although the Prophet’s mosque at
where they were allowed to stay for up to three days.
Medina provided the ultimate model for the külliye,
Visiting merchants stabled their animals and stored
the implementation of this model owes something
their merchandise in the numerous caravansarais,
to Greek pious and charitable institutions known as
which, according to the seventeenth-century traveller
piae causae. These had long existed in the Byzantine
and chronicler Evliya Çelebi, housed up to three
world and they influenced the development of their
thousand animals.33
Islamic counterparts, the vakf. A vakf was land and
The imaret had no dining hall but consisted
property perpetually endowed for charitable purposes
of two kitchens providing a take-away service. This
by merchants, government ministers, grand viziers,
building alone was totally inadequate to serve all
viziers, sultans or valide sultans (mothers of reigning
the needs of the külliye, and it must be the case that
sultans). Their assets would be free from taxation,
other catering facilities existed, such as those in the
and endowments not only paid for the building
tabhane and hospital. The food in the hospital was
fabric of vakfs but also for the salaries of the imams,
particularly noted for its quality. This building
muezzins, teachers, doctors, librarians, cooks, bakers,
was located symmetrically opposite the tabhane and
door-keepers, porters and lamplighters who manned
was similarly constructed around a courtyard plan.
them (totalling 383 in the case of Mehmet’s
With its distinctive apse, the derşane shows Byzantine
külliye). Many institutions incorporated shops or had
influence, something that occurs in a number of
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The tabhane
Istanbul’s early Ottoman buildings. Lectures would
both were reconstructed after the 1776 earthquake.
take place in this room because the hospital also
Mehmet’s is in the baroque style and Gülbahar’s is
served as a teaching hospital. In total there were
in a simpler classical form. The exterior of Mehmet’s
fourteen wards, staffed by Jewish physicians. Jewish
türbe is octagonal in plan and divided vertically at
doctors were very much valued by Mehmet, and they
the corners by heavy, engaged classical pilasters.
had long held high reputations in the Muslim world.
Its dignified simplicity of form is broken by the
Saladin’s doctor was the great Jewish philosopher
undulating spread of the striking baroque canopy
and physician Maimonides. During Mehmet’s time,
over the entrance porch. It is dated 1784 and is
Pope Nicholas V denied Jews and ‘Saracens’ any
the work of Mustafa’s successor, Abdülhamid I. The
professional status and Catholics were forbidden
screen and opulent baroque interior decoration is in
contact with them. As a consequence Jews flocked . to Istanbul, and two of them, Isak Paşa and
keeping with the status of the türbe and its occupant.
Jacopo of Gaetea, became personal physicians
warriors, and for centuries his tomb has been
to Murat II and Mehmet. The hospital ministered to
the focus of pilgrimage. Gülbahar’s tomb, on
both the physically and mentally sick, and music, as
the other hand, has attracted the veneration of
in Greek medicine, played an important therapeutic
a number of Christians because tradition has it
Mehmet is revered as one of Islam’s great holy
that she never renounced her Christianity. She
role. Every külliye would contain the tomb or türbe
was originally an Albanian Christian, although there
of the founder. Those in the cemetery adjacent to the
was also a popular belief she was the daughter of
mosque belong to Mehmet and his wife Gülbahar, and
a French king.34
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The türbe of Mehmet II
The architect of Mehmet’s külliye was Atık Sinan, also a Christian by birth, whose original name was Christodoulis. He was a product of the devşirme, which produced architects and engineers as well as generals, admirals and grand viziers. Despite his magnificent achievement in building Mehmet’s külliye, Atık Sinan displeased the sultan when he failed to build a dome as large and high as that of the Haghia Sophia. For this the ungrateful sultan had him mutilated and executed. Some sources say that Atık Sinan was also guilty of cutting down two beautiful antique columns, which had been transported some considerable distance at great expense. His assistant . and successor, Iyas ibn Abdullah, who died a natural death in 1487, was also of Christian descent. However, their Christian backgrounds had no bearing on their architectural design, which is thoroughly Ottoman in spirit. It demonstrates how totally Ottomanized they had become on account of their rigorous Gülbahar’s tomb
education and training.
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Another külliye established by Mehmet in
with twenty domes supported on twelve piers.
1458 was that at Eyüp, the burial site of the Prophet
Carved on one of the gates to the Eski Bedestan is
Muhammad’s companion and standard bearer Eyüp
a single-headed eagle, the emblem of the Byzantine
Ensari. After Mecca and Jerusalem, Eyüp, for the Turks,
Comneni dynasty. According to Freely, this has
is the third holiest place in Islam. Eyüp Ensari was
suggested to some scholars that the fabric of the
killed just outside the walls of Constantinople during
Eski Bedestan may be Byzantine in origin.37 It is more
the first Arab siege of 674 to 678. There is a legend
likely to be a piece of recycled fabric in an Ottoman
that the şehülislam (chief jurisconsult and leader of the
structure, but there is no doubt that Mehmet built
learned authorities known as the ilmiye) miraculously
the bazaar in one of the commercially vibrant areas
discovered the tomb during the Ottoman conquest. As
of the city. The main thoroughfare of the bazaar,
Freely points out, this story is somewhat apocryphal
the Avenue of the Long Market, follows the ancient
because there is plenty of evidence that the tomb
shopping street known as Makro Embolos.
was known during the Byzantine era.35 Christians who
Mehmet died of an abdominal disorder in
prayed for rain at the tomb during times of drought
1481. At the time of his death he had extended and
venerated it. Eyüp is now exclusively a Muslim shrine,
consolidated an empire that brought together most of
and it was here that successive sultans were formally
the various countries and beyliks of the Balkans and
invested with the sword of Osman – the Ottoman
Anatolia. Istanbul was now the hub of that empire,
ceremony of coronation. Mehmet’s külliye at Eyüp
and it was Mehmet’s tight centralization of power in
consisted of a mosque, türbe, medrese, hamam, imaret
the capital that held the eastern and western wings
and market, but nothing of the original buildings
of the empire together. Its strategic position was
remain. They were all pulled down at the end of the
crucial, but Mehmet never lost awareness of its
eighteenth century and Selim III built the present
history and symbolism, and his architecture reflects
complex in 1800. According the Godfrey Goodwin,
this on a grand scale and established a model for
the imaret was still dispensing food to the poor and
his successors. Also, wearing the mantle of Caesar,
needy as late as the 1970s.
he never lost sight of his ambition to reclaim the
36
Mehmet’s other lasting contribution to
Eastern Roman empire, and towards the end of his
Istanbul’s architecture was the grand bazaar, or
life his campaigns were directed at the invasion
kapalı çarşı (covered market). Like the külliye, it is an
of Italy. To that end he captured a number of Greek
independent entity, although its rents originally went
islands, besieged Rhodes and invaded Otranto,
towards the upkeep of the Haghia Sophia. It remains
causing panic in Rome. More significantly, he became
the largest covered market in the world. The market
embroiled in a number of disputes with the Egyptian
as a whole was not confined to the kapalı çarşı, but
Mamluk sultans over border territories and the
extended as an open market down the hill to the
custody of the holy sanctuaries in Mecca and Medina.
Golden Horn, thus linking Beyazit Square with the
His death lifted the threat to Rhodes and Italy, but
Yeni Cami and the Egyptian Bazaar. The present
the quarrels with the Mamluk Empire (consisting
covered market, with approximately three thousand
of Egypt, Syria, western Arabia and parts of eastern
shops, occupies the original site. Owing to a number
Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia) continued with
of fires, little of Mehmet’s original structure survives,
his successors, Beyazit and Selim, giving them the
except the Eski Bedestan (old market), which still sells
opportunity for subsequent territorial gains which
the precious goods for which it was designed. This
permanently changed the face of the Middle East.
structure, in the centre of the bazaar, has fifteen domes supported on eight massive piers. Another surviving section, dating from the time of Beyazit II (1481–1512), is the Sandal Bedestan, which is taller,
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Notes 1 Babinger, F., Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time
21 Blair, S. and Bloom, J., The Art and Architecture of
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1978),
Islam 1250–1800 (London: Yale University Press, 1995), p. 215.
pp. 94–95. 2 Other sources state that he said these words while
22 Hillenbrand, R., Islamic Architecture: Form, Function and
viewing the ruins of the Blachernae Palace. The origin
Meaning (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994),
of this verse, according to Babinger, is unknown, but
p. 459.
Freely attributes it to the Persian poet Saadi. Babinger, F.,
23 Goodwin, G. (1971), op. cit., p. 132.
op. cit., p. 96 and Freely, J., Inside the Seraglio: Private
24 Goodwin, G., Topkapı Palace: An Illustrated Guide to
Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul (London and New York:
its Life and Personalities (London: Saqi Books, 1999), p. 169.
Viking, 1999), p. 15. 3 Holt, P., Lampton, A., and Lewis, B. (eds), The Cambridge
25 Behrens-Abouseif, D., Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An
History of Islam Vol. 1A (Cambridge University Press,
Introduction (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1989), p. 109.
1970), p. 306. 4 Freely, J., Istanbul: The Imperial City (New York: Viking,
27 Goodwin, G. (1971), op. cit., p. 134.
1996), p. 183. 5 Goodwin, G., A History of Ottoman Architecture (London:
Miniatures of the 16th Century (Istanbul: Dost Yayinlari,
PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997). 29 Majeska, G., Russian Travellers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries (Washington, DC:
1996), p. 33. 7 Mehmet was 21 at the time of the conquest. Giacomo Languschi’s account comes from Cronaca by Zorzo 8 Inalcik, H., “The Rise of the Ottoman Empire” in Holt, P., Lampton, A., and Lewis, B. (eds), op. cit., pp. 296–97.
31 Carswell, J., Iznik Pottery (London: British Museum Press, 1998), pp. 26–27. 33 Mantran, R., Istanbul dans la seconde moitié du XVIIe
10 Freely, J. (1999), op. cit., p. 24. 11 Raby, J., “East and West in Mehmed the Conqueror’s Bibliophile,
pp. 302–05.
32 Babinger, F., op. cit., p. 296.
9 Babinger, F., op. cit., p. 410.
du
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1984), 30 Babinger, F., op. cit., p. 292.
Dolfin. It is quoted in Babinger, F., op. cit., p. 112.
Bulletin
28 Andrea, A. J., The Capture of Constantinople: The “Historia Constantinopolitana” of Gunther of Pairis (Philadelphia,
Thames & Hudson, 1971), p. 105. 6 See Tanney, D. H., Istanbul Seen by Matrakçi and the
Library”,
26 Goodwin, G. (1971), op. cit., p. 325.
Vol.
3,
1987,
pp. 296–321. 12 Grendler, P., “Ciriaco d’Ancona,” in Hale, J. R. (ed.), A
siècle (Paris: Maisonneuve, 1962), p. 137. 34 Freely, J. (1996), op. cit., p. 189. 35 Freely, J., The Blue Guide: Istanbul (London and New York: Black & Norton, 1991), p. 288.
Concise Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance
36 Goodwin, G. (1971), op. cit., p. 125.
(London: Thames & Hudson, 1981), p. 85.
37 Freely, J. (1991), op. cit., p. 172.
13 Jardine, L., Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance (London: Macmillan, 1996), pp. 231–39. 14 Babinger, F., op. cit., p. 203. 15 Babinger, F., op. cit., pp. 386–88. 16 Levey, M., Florence (London: Jonathan Cape, 1996), p. 222. 17 Jardine, L., op. cit., p. 405. 18 Babinger, F., op. cit., pp. 377–79. 19 Chong, A., “Gentile Bellini in Istanbul: Myths and Misunderstandings”, published in Campbell, C. and Chong, A. (eds), Bellini and the East (London: National Gallery Company; Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. Distributed by Yale University Press, 2005). 20 Goodwin, G. (1971), op. cit., p. 134.
