Byzantine Design Meets Islamic Design

Mimar Sinan

The Süleymaniye Mosque was designed by Suleiman’s royal architect Mimar Sinan. As the Chief Ottoman Architect, Mimar Sinan was responsible for constructing more than 300 structures across the empire (1). Of his works, the Süleymaniye Mosque is one of his most renowned structures because of its unique combination of Islamic and Byzantine elements. This architectural combination is evidenced in both the exterior and interior structural designs (2).

Courtyard

From the exterior, the mosque is surrounded by an imperial courtyard. Along the edges of the marble paved courtyard, alternating red and white voussoirs (Img 1) form the arches of the colonnade. This arch design is consistent with many other Islamic mosques like the Mosque of Cordoba in Spain (Img 2). Additionally, similar to most Islamic mosques, towering minarets (structures used to call the faithful to prayer five times a day) stick out like needles from the four corners of the courtyard (Img 3). Unlike most mosques, however, the minarets were designed to contain a total of 10 balconies to indicate that Suleiman was the 10^th Ottoman sultan (3).

Square Floorplan

In the interior, Sinan designed the mosque to contain several features that resemble Byzantine architecture. Similar to the Hagia Sophia, a Byzantine church built in Istanbul during 532 AD, the mosque has a square interior. Structurally, the interior dimensions of the mosque measure 59 meters by 58 meters. Additionally, like many other Byzantine structures in the city, the mosque is crowned by a large half-dome with a 27.5 meter diameter (Img 4). Although the structure of the dome resembles a Byzantine church, the center of the dome is inscribed with a Qur’anic verse that is typically seen in many Islamic mosques. In combination, both the exterior and interior elements of the mosque add another dimension to the mosque as a lieux de memoire. They create a structure with a contrasting blend of Islamic and Byzantine architectural elements.