Sinan

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Exterior of the Selim Mosque at Edirne, Turkey, designed by Sinan, 1569–75.

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Arts & Culture

Sinan

Ottoman architect

Also known as: Mimar Koca Sinan, Mimar Sinan

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 8, 2024 • Article History

Mimar Sinan: Mosque of Süleyman I the Magnificent

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Category: Arts & Culture

Also called:: Mimar Sinan (“Architect Sinan”) or Mimar Koca Sinan (“Great Architect Sinan”)

Born:: c. 1490, Ağırnaz, Turkey

Died:: July 17, 1588, Constantinople [now Istanbul]

Notable Works:: Şehzade Mosque; Mosque of Selim; Süleymaniye Mosque

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Sinan (born c. 1490, Ağırnaz, Turkey—died July 17, 1588, Constantinople [now Istanbul]) was the most celebrated of all Ottoman architects, whose ideas, perfected in the construction of mosques and other buildings, served as the basic themes for virtually all later Turkish religious and civic architecture. The son of Greek or Armenian Christian parents, Sinan entered his father’s trade as a stone mason and carpenter. In 1512, however, he was drafted into the Janissary corps. Sinan, whose Christian name was Joseph, converted to Islam, and he began a lifelong service to the Ottoman royal house and to the great sultan Süleyman ...(100 of 612 words)

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