Koca Mimar Sinan Ağa (Ottoman Turkish: قوجو معمار سنان آغا; Modern Turkish:
Mimar Sinan) (15 April 1489 - 17 July 1588)
was the chief Ottoman architect and civil engineer for sultans Suleiman I, Selim II, and Murad III. He was, during a period of fifty years, responsible for the construction or the supervision of every major building in the Ottoman Empire. More than three hundred structures are credited to his name, not including some more modest projects, such as his Koran schools (
sibyan mektebs).
His masterpiece is the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, although his most famous work is the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul. He had under him an extensive governmental department and trained many assistants who, in turn, distinguished themselves, including Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa, architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. He is considered the greatest architect of the classical period of Ottoman architecture, and is often compared to Michelangelo, his contemporary in the West
The stature of Michelangelo and his plans for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome were well-known in Istanbul, since he (and also Leonardo da Vinci) received an invitation to build a bridge over the Golden Horn by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II in 1502.
Constructions
During his tenure during 50 years of the post of imperial architect, Sinan is said to have constructed or supervised 476 buildings (196 of which still survive), according to the official list of his works, the
Tazkirat-al-Abniya. He couldn't possibly have designed them all, but he relied on the skills of his office. He took credit and the responsibility for their work. For, as a
janissary, and thus a slave of the sultan, his primary responsibility was to the sultan. In his spare time, he also designed buildings for the chief officials. He delegated to his assistants the construction of less important buildings in the provinces.
- 94 large mosques (camii),
- 57 colleges,
- 52 smaller mosques (mescit),
- 48 bath-houses (hamam).
- 35 palaces (saray),
- 22 mausoleums (türbe),
- 20 caravanserai (kervansaray; han),
- 17 public kitchens (imaret),
- 8 bridges,
- 8 store houses or granaries
- 7 Koranic schools (medrese),
- 6 aqueducts,
- 3 hospitals (darüşşifa)
Some of his works:
