An Ambitious Vision

Suleiman the Magnificent

The Süleymaniye Mosque was originally envisioned by the Ottoman emperor, Suleiman the Magnificent. As one of the longest ruling monarchs, Suleiman came to power in 1520 and is renowned for his command of one of the most powerful and influential states in Europe. Ruling over the territory during the height of the empire’s political, military, and economic power, Suleiman the Magnificent eliminated military threats, reformed the legal code, and nearly doubled the size of the empire, expanding the territory from North Africa to Iraq. (1)

Ottoman Empire Territory

Throughout each of the territories he conquered, Suleiman was famous for commissioning numerous monuments and religious structures. During the Ottoman empire, “commissioning a mosque was both an act of piety and a political statement” (2). In the empire’s capital of Constantinople, Suleiman the Magnificent desired to create a mosque as majestic and grandiose as the empire he ruled over, a mosque that would be grander than all the other mosques in Istanbul (namely the Hagia Sophia).

Hagia Sophia

This vision led Suleiman the Magnificent to commission the Süleymaniye Mosque. “Of all his works, the Süleymaniye was intended by both he [Sinan] and his patron, to surpass all previous imperial mosques in beauty and size” (3). Suleiman the Magnificent’s original vision contributes to the mosque’s significance as a lieux de memoire – the landmark represents the ambitious outlook of the emperor and the majestic apex of the Ottoman empire.