Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosque Flashcards
(46 cards)
date
1548 – 1559,
location
Istanbul
architect
Mimar Sinan’
who was Suleiman
-The tenth and longest reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
-During his reign (1520-1566) the empire reached the peak of its fortunes and became the most powerful state in the world.
why did sultans often build mosque’s
So many sultans built their mosques early in their careers, typically to assert their importance, but Suleiman was well into his reign
Mosque complex is a testament to his greatness and the greatness of the Ottoman Empire.
how is the mosque linked to the Hagia Sophia
Justinian’s Hagia Sophia designed as the templum novum solomis was a perfect model for the layout of the mosque of Suleiman
-sinans mosque was an attempt to recreate the haggia Sophia
CHARACTERISTICS
-The plan looks back to Hagia Sophia, centralised with a main dome and two semi-domes. This was not typical of mosque architecture at the time, making this one a very conscious specific decision.
-Taking materials from all over the world was exactly what Justinian had done in building Hagia Sophia.
how is it different to haggia Sophia
*Unlike the dominant lateral buttresses of Hagia Sophia, those of the Süleymaniye are partly concealed within the walls.
*Similar in plan to the Hagia Sophia, but there aren’t galleries or aisles.
*More restrained than the Hagia Sophia which has lots of gold.
what was haoppening to the sultan in the 1540s
*By the late 1540s the sultan’s health was deteriorating. He became more ‘sober’ and so too did his architecture
became more focused on religious correctness:
-He wore humble robes of cotton and wool and gave up listening to music and drinking wine.
-in 1551 he ordered that all the musical instruments in his palace be burnt.
-Under Suleiman there was a policy of rigid orthodoxy
what does the scale reflect
The sheer monumental scale of the building reflects Suleiman’s status.
The mosque looms over the city, and its subjects, accentuating the celebrated skyline of Istanbul.
exterior key features
*The mosque has a monumental exterior in grey stone
- cascade of descending domes and semidomes creating a pyramidal mass
-stands in the centre of a vast outer courtyard
-Multiple minarets symbolise royal status and they have elaborately sculptured serefes
-minarets have been integrated into the four corners of the marble-paved forecourt and rise towards God from the corners of this courtyard.
*Gilded finials decorating the pinnacles of domes and the conical caps of minarets sometimes functioned as visual emblems of their patrons’ identity.
courtyard features
-stands in the centre of a vast outer courtyard
- a porticoed courtyard of exceptional grandeur, with columns of the richest porphyry, marble and granite.
-There is also the ablution fountain where the faithful undertake ritual washings.
-Paved with marble.
-The four monolithic colossal red granite columns in the courtyard 9 metres tall were originally from Alexandria, Baalbek and Constantinople (indicating the extent of the Ottoman Empire)
-The minarets have been integrated into the four corners of the marble-paved forecourt and rise towards God from the corners of this courtyard.
where the red granite columns in the courtyard from
-The four monolithic colossal red granite columns in the courtyard 9 metres tall were originally from Alexandria, Baalbek and Constantinople (indicating the extent of the Ottoman Empire)
what do minarets symbolise
*Multiple minarets symbolise royal status - bigger complexes have more minarets and they have elaborately sculptured serefes
*The minarets have been integrated into the four corners of the marble-paved forecourt and rise towards God from the corners of this courtyard.
*The minarets are said to signify Suleiman, who was the fourth sultan to rule Istanbul, while the ten serefes denote that he was the tenth and longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
what were seferes and what did they symbolise
serefes (muezzin’s balconies).
*The minarets are said to signify Suleiman, who was the fourth sultan to rule Istanbul, while the ten serefes denote that he was the tenth and longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
what do the balconies on the minarets symbolise
*The ten balconies on the minarets may also be a reference to the ten companions of the prophet Mohammed.
how do the minerets show royal status
*In the sixteenth-century Ottoman context, the use of more than one minaret and the minaret having multiple galleries became a prerogative restricted to royal mosques – people were executed for breaking the rules.
what did the gilded finials show
*Gilded finials decorating the pinnacles of domes and the conical caps of minarets sometimes functioned as visual emblems of their patrons’ identity.
where does it face and how is this important
*Faces the direction of Mecca, as was typical of mosque architecture. In Istanbul this is roughly southeast.
horizontal or vertical emphasis in interior?
*Upon entering the building, one’s eyes immediately travel upwards.
SIGNIFICANCE OF VERTICAL EMPHASIS
-It feels as though the heavens themselves are contained within this space: it was like walking into a cosmological space.
How was the cosmological atosphere in the interior enhanced
This would have been helped by the hanging mosque lamps. Reflective metal balls would also have been hung which would create a shimmering effect throughout the building.
*A sense of the ethereal created by the light coming in from outside, but also due to the way that the space is lit.
*Walls and dome are both pierced with an extensive amount of windows.
how are the buttresses concealed
*Unlike the dominant lateral buttresses of Hagia Sophia, those of the Süleymaniye are partly concealed within the walls and given a stepped profile rhythmically in tune with the layering of the domes.
*The dome is lifted on huge buttresses concealed by colonnaded galleries and four huge masonry piers.
how is the dome lifted
*The dome is lifted on huge buttresses concealed by colonnaded galleries and four huge masonry piers.
is it symmetrical
Bilaterally symmetrical / axial layout
almost square in plan
geometry of the dome
*Devotion to geometry of hemispherical domes.
*The diameter of the dome is 27.5m and the height of its crown above the floor is 47m. To the east and the west, the dome is flanked by semidomes.
