Sinan (redirected from Hadji Mimar Sinan)

Sinan (sēnän), Muslim architect, 1489?–1578?. He is regarded as the greatest of Islamic builders, his achievement lying in his solutions to spatial problems in cupola-topped structures. He was active during the reigns of Selim I, Sulayman I, and Selim II, and in 1539 he was named court architect. His masterpieces are the mosques of Şehzâde and Sulayman I, both at Constantinople (now İstanbul), and the mosque of Selim II at Adrianople. His autobiography lists more than 300 buildings of his design.

Bibliography

See study by A. Stratton (1972).

---

Sinan 

(also Koca Sinan). Born 1489 or 1490 in Kayseri; died 1588 in Constantinople. Turkish architect and engineer.

Beginning in 1538, Sinan directed all architectural construction under Sultan Suleiman I, erecting mosques, fortifications, bridges, and other structures. His best works are variations of the Byzantine-style domed basilica with absolutely circular floor plans. These majestic structures are noted for the perfect scale and spatial composition of their impressive interiors. Sinan built the Shehazade Mosque (1548) and the Mosque of Suleiman I (1550-57) in Constantinople and the Mosque of Selim II (1569–75) in Adrianople (present-day Edirne).

REFERENCE

Koca Sinan. [Ankara] 1968. [23–1212–]