Does The Blue Mosque Explain Ottoman Decline?

If you ever visit Istanbul, you’ll find it hard to miss the various extraordinary mosques built by the Ottomans. Dotted throughout the city, the most famous of them all is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque. From its numerous delicate minarets on the outside to the beautiful designs and colours used on the inside, everything about the Blue Mosque says “architectural masterpiece”. However, even though it was built at a time when the Ottoman Empire was it peak, the circumstances in which the Blue Mosque was constructed were far from favourable and may even point to the eventual decline of the great Ottoman Empire.
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0:00 Intro
1:03 Construction's Context
3:12 Architectural Detail
5:18 Does it Explain Ottoman Decline?
8:28 Outro

[@HikmaHistory]

What is the best Ottoman monument?

[@user-fl7by8in5o]

Blue Mosque

[@sfenderbabil5551]

Topkapı or Süleymaniye

[@omara.s9461]

Yeni valide the one in uskudar

[@nafismubashir2479]

by their own effort definitely sultan ahmad blue masjid

[@HikmaHistory]

@@nafismubashir2479 Fair enough. Personally, I think I prefer the Suleymaniye

[@asgrahim9164]

I went to the Blue Mosque in 2013. It looks even more impressive when you see it in person, both on the outside and the inside.

[@Bladingmom]

I had no idea about the background of the building of the Blue Mosque! Thanks for an informative video!

[@HikmaHistory]

Thanks!

[@YoreHistory]

Really enjoyed this video. I have been to the Blue Mosque and was both humbled and amazed...an architectural masterpiece indeed. Looking forward to our chat!

[@HikmaHistory]

Thanks, likewise!

[@silveryuno]

I can't wait for that video! I love the blue color in islamic art. It makes me feel at home when I am abroad. (Maybe because there is a tradicion of using that same blue in Christian tile artworks in my country...)

[@ShahjahanMasood]

May I know what country you are from? Because in my country (Pakistan) the color red is used alot in religious buildings.

[@silveryuno]

@@ShahjahanMasood I am from Portugal. Put this "azulejos portugal" on Google if you want to see the tile art I am talking about.

[@HikmaHistory]

Ahh, I'm pretty sure that the Azulejos you're talking about were inspired by the Muslims of al-Andalus. They're beautiful!

[@silveryuno]

@@HikmaHistory They were! Historically they were called "azulejo Hispano-Mourisco", it translates to something like "Spanish-Moorish tile". The history books I have read say that it was the Mozarabs (the Christians from Al-Andalus) that spread this art style all over the Iberian Peninsula.

[@HikmaHistory]

@@silveryuno Ahh that makes sense!

[@kmmmsyr9883]

Anyway, I live in Istanbul and the mosque is a good scenery from my window. Thanks Sultan Ahmed, for being weak

[@HikmaHistory]

Haha, I like that!

[@CineRanter]

Very interesting analysis!

[@chinmaykale4592]

Wow a very interesting and informative video!

[@HikmaHistory]

Thank you!

[@jimbor8774]

Thank you I appreciate you and your videos Hikma History!

[@HikmaHistory]

Thanks!

[@user-fl7by8in5o]

👍 good video

[@HikmaHistory]

Thanks!

[@ntenimarkorareincarnation4182]

Ahmed & Kosem love is timeless ❤

[@beachboy0505]

So the Ottomans fought the greatest forces of Europe and Persia simultaneously and that's not a victory??

[@justinleclairabdullahqasim117]

Thanks Sultan Ahmet may Allah Azza Wa Jalla be pleased with you.

[@ConservativeArabNet]

Excellent work

[@HikmaHistory]

Thank you Wafik!

[@zxera9702]

Great video as always sir. I am also from Pakistan wish i could meet and talk with more people like you. It's always a pleasure.

[@HikmaHistory]

Thank you!

[@mohammedumarsiddiqui1944]

video on reasons for ottoman decline please. Also corruption of jannisaries

[@HikmaHistory]

Coming up soon!

[@halaldunya918]

Ottomans ended because of the Young Turks/Ataturk, and Europe becoming technologically advanced. Ottomans were a medieval empire, Europe entered the industrial age with fighter jets and tanks and dismantled them.

[@jameslight4391]

​@@halaldunya918 no fighter jets in world war 1 also ottoman had the same weapons as Europe they fell because corruption and failing government and revolution

[@crazylazy1397]

​@@halaldunya918bro thinks jet plane is already use in ww1😂

[@surriyajabeen2646]

He wanted to be like Suleman the magnificent

[@oldgamer9992]

No

[@farhanhafesjee8444]

This KZbin post has answered my intrigue that despite all of its architectural opulence , I always found something unsettling about this masjid : AND the answer is that the Masjid unlike masjids all over the world has minarets which resemble minarets of a church ! And this is probably the cause of Ottoman empire’s decline rather than the building of the entire masjid itself ! It will be a miracle if the current government in Turkey takes up the project of simply changing the top part of the minarets which resemble trumpets similar to those on church tops and reconstruct them to look like minarets of masjids which are generally round in shape !

[@user-jh8jk9jn8u]

المعماري سنان ارمني الاصل وكان مسيحي وھو اخد تصميمات كنائس البزنطينية وحاولھا لمساجد ب لاصل ھي كنائس بعد احتلال قسطنطنية وقتل جميع مسيحين المغول العثمانيين جعلو الكنائس مساجد .......

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

No, it's not. Ahmet I wasn't a softy in first place. No military uprising happened during his reign, he punished corrupted officers without mercy. He killed his grand vizier with his own hand and executed his son in law because of treachery. He just spared his mentaly ill brother. There was big problems before his reign and he actually tried to solve problems effecting Empire. Decline started in his grandfather Murad III's reign. Firstly, civil wars ended after the last civil war between Suleiman's sons. After Suleiman's defeat son Bayezid took refuge in Safavids, only eldest son started to send sanjac. Suleiman's son Selim II had a short reign, his son Murad III came to capital after his father died. His brothers were captives in the palace, they were no rival, he simply executed them. There is no importance or anything like that it simply turned eldest son takes throne because he born first. For Murad III, his reign was actually his mother's reign. Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pasha was highly respected officer during the Selim II's reign but Murad III didn't give same respect to Mehmed Pasha. Mehmed Pasha's corrupted court rivals got more influence thanks to Murad III's mother. Bribery and corruption started to effect empire, Mehmed Pasha was the one fighting against them but he assasinated. After that, corruption surrounded every corner of the empire. Unfair treatment of common people, useless campaings against Safavids, pro-britain and pro-venetian politics, collapse of Timar system and growing palace spendings impacted empire too much. Economy got so bad there was serious military uprisings. Murad III era was really start of the troubles, his son Mehmed III reign that growing problems showed its effect.

[@alidokadri]

You have a lot of facts in your comment but also a lot of misconceptions. First, please don't let a TV show influence your thoughts because we know that most of it was overglorified and dramatized (for example, Ahmed killing a Grand Vezier with his own hand, that didn't happen, sultans rarely killed, it was almost always the jaladins). Second, no, the eldest son didn't always take the thrown, and a good example of that is Selim I who was the youngest son of Beyezid II, and he still became Sultan. Rivalry between Shehzades was always a thing in Ottoman history and happened as early as Murad I's reign. So it wasn't just the eldest, it was just a coincidence that the eldest son usually ended up the one with the better qualities, but it was not always the case. Thirdly, Sokullu might have been a great Grand Vezier, but he was also very arrogant and pretty much a dictator, that's why a lot of people hated him. The reason why Murad III wanted to get rid of him was because he had an alliance with his mother that left Murad III in a somewhat powerless position. Selim II too tried to get rid of him but he never did because Sokullu was backed up by the Janissary high command (the aghas), and feared they might revolt. The only pointless war with the Safavids was the one from 1578-1590, and even that one wasn't pointless, it was just very demanding and honestly wasn't the smartest move given how long it took and how little of a reward it had, on the contrary actually, it damaged the economy. But it wasn't pointless, they actually took opportunity of the chaos that swept through the Safavid empire at the time. Nevertheless, it did cause later revolts. But the actual pointless war was the long war with the Habsburgs that ended in the early 1600s, that was truly pointless and caused by a corrupt Pasha. Now back to Sultan Ahmed, yes he supressed some revolts, yes he spared his brother, yes he was deeply religious, yes he became sultan at a young age (13), but come on, his reign lasted 14 years, that means he should have been 20 years old in 1609 (when he ordered the construction of the mosque), what's his excuse for not leading any military expedition? Mehmed Fatih was 21 years old when he conquered freaking Constantinople! And his late grandson Ahmed at the same age is just chilling in his palace?! He didn't even supress the revolts himself he just sent Pashas to do it, the same Pashas who gave up lands to Persia in 1603 and recognized Habsburg Austria as an empire (whereas Suleiman and Fatih both refused because the Ottoman Sultan was seen as the only emperor in Europe because he was the successor of the Romans). I mean Come On, it's obvious that Ottoman Sultans became soft. He was just better than the sultans that were before him (Murad III, Mehmed III) and if you ask me he was on par with Selim II. We should not forget that the chaos that happened in the Ottoman Empire from 1622-1651 was a direct consequence of Sultan Ahmed's early untimely death, which forced child inexperienced sultans to sit on the thrown of the most powerful empire of the time.

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

@@alidokadri I never influenced by TV shows which has %50 or less accuracy. If I took them serious I should belive Selim II is most innept guy in Ottoman history :D. Firsly Ahmed I really killed Dervish pasha with his own hands, he cut his head I read it in the Alphonse De Martin's book History of Turkey. It was a mecy kill but still a kill, you can read it. Secondly read my comment again I was talking about post Suleiman I era, before him many succession crisis happened and younger Shehzades won like Selim II or Mehmed I it was a known information. The thing I talked about is after Selim II, his son Murad III was the only shehzade have send to rule sanjack. His brothers were basically captive had no power. You could say Selim II's other sons were young but same thing happened again after Murad III's succession. Only his eldest son Mehmed III have send to rule sanjack. When he returned after Murad III died he killed his 19 brothers. It is known fact some of them were at adult and reached sanjack age. But they didn't sent because of prevent civil war. In the end this faulty system completely abondoned during Mehmed III's reign. Whether his eldest son Mahmud sent sanjack or not isn't clearly known. Next topic Sokullu Mehmed pasha I never heard anthing about Selim II and Sokullu conflict please tell me your source. Every book I read always depicts their good relation, only argguments was about Don-Volga project and it was a whole different story and even that not effected their relation that much. For Murad III era, he and Sokullu not in good therms and I never heard Valide Sultan and Sokullu alliance as well another source please. It was actually Valide Sultan and her corrupt favorites caused troubles for Sokullu and Sokullu is the one fighting against corruption. Of course his rivals declared him tyrant and bad mounted him to Murad III, Sokullu couldn't crush them because Valide is the one supported them in first place . There are serious governer choices Sokullu fight against, he was the one worked for benefit of empire. After his assasination everything go downfall. You know how pointless Safavid wars, I'm not gonna talk about it. For Habsburg war, you can't say pointless because they started it and once the Safavids joined fray (thanks to previous wars) and don't forget jelali revolts, all of them caused disaster. It is a known fact Mehmed III died after he learned fall of Tbilisi and siege of Yerevan. For Ahmed I, you can't compare Fatih with any other Sultan, he was the best Sultan in Ottoman history. But for comparing experience and circumstances, Fatih's father left throne two times to him and should take back because opposing forces. Fatih's father left him a stable country and lastly Fatih was a governor in the sanjack highly experienced and had two sons once he took throne. What Mehmed III did? Not sent his son to sanjack and left a two fronted war and jelali revolts. I'm not saying Ahmed I has no mistake but his era is so different than Fatih or even Suleiman. Warfares were so different, Habsburg war ended, Safevid wars were so different thanks to their effective tactics even Suleiman couldn't find success and Shah Abbas was a great leader on par with Suleiman. And jelali revolts are not usual army vs army fights. His coordination with his grand vizier Mustapha pasha was successful and they stopped jelali revolts. How could he find opportunity? The opportunity come close but unfortunately he died before 30 years wars. After him, his son Osman II proved how inexperiencenly lead army cause disaster. Ahmed I wasn't succesful but he was not bad either like his great grand father Selim II. We couldn't judge him properly because of him dying at young age but at least he left a beautiful cultiral work named Blue Mosque. And I can certainly say Blue Mosque and Ottoman's decline have no connection.

[@alidokadri]

@@Ahmet-yu7jr I admire your knowledge and insistence on valid information. I like it, not many people are as cultivated in Ottomam History as you are, so let me keep on the discussion. My apologies, I didn't know you were talking about the post-Suleiman era and I thought you were talking about the whole Ottoman history. In that case you are right. Shehzades didn't fight for the thrown because they didn't need to, since Ahmed himself abandoned the rule of killing Shehzades and the rule became to the eldest brother. Also, you are right about the Sanjak rule, and Ahmed I was the first Sultan that wasn't sent to a Sanjak before becoming Sultan because he was very young when he became Sultan, and the sanjak thing was pretty much abandoned after that leading to inexperienced Sultans coming to power. For the Sokullu topic, I didn't say he was a bad leader (he was probably one of the best Pashas in Ottoman history up there with the Koprulus and Ibrahim), but that doesn't mean he didn't have his bad side. Like Ibrahim Pasha, he was very arrogant, and was also very reckless and was backed by the janissaries. There wasn't really an open conflict between Selim and Mehmed, as Selim still respected him a lot for his commitment and experience, but he also sometimes felt he had too much power and thought about removing him but feared the janissaries would revolt. I read that Mehmed and Nurbanu had some sort of alliance that also resulted in Mehmed Pasha having too much power. My source for all of this about him is the Turkish Historian Yılmaz Öztuna in his book History of The Ottoman Empire, which I must say is a great book that showcased a lot of the power of the Ottoman Empire and all its internal struggles as well as the Pashas and Sultans and their personalities. And believe me I was a bit surprised at what he had to say about Sokullu. For the Habsburg wars (the long war) I'm pretty sure it was a Pasha that caused it during either Mirad III's rule or Mehmed III's, but I can't correctly remember, but what I know is that it was a bit pointless too and it wasted a lot of the Ottoman's energy and economy (kind of like the Safavid war). Now for Ahmed, I know I can't compare the great Fatih or Kanuni to Ahmed, but I was only comparing their ages. By 1609 the Ottoman Empire had become somewhat stable (no big revolts, no wars etc). Ahmed was about 20 years old at that time so he could have been ready to lead a campaign. But then again, you are right, the circumstances were different. And yeah I kind of feel like he was right not going into any war because the empire needed to recharge after the exhausting two wars it fought and the revolts. Unfortunately he died young, whic was also a huge problem for his successors who were all young, which lead to Kosem and corrupt Pashas/aghas taking power. Yes, for your last statement. I agree with you completely, I'm not saying Ahmed was bad, but he wasn't great either. I thought you were one of those brainwashed people who only knew Ahmed from the TV show and think he was one of the best Ottoman Sultans 😅 I would say he was like Selim II, just okay and slightly above average (I'm also tired of people who think Selim was a bad Sultan). But in the end, his only accomplishment really was the Blue Mosque, don't get me wrong, the Blue Mosque is a masterpiece and a great architecture achievement (probably the best Ottoman achievement in architecture) but I feel like it wasn't the smartest decision to build such a mosque because the empire was just out of two wars that damaged its economy, so that money could have been better spent elsewhere in stabilizing the empire, organizing the army, strengthening the navy etc... The Mosque isn't a direct cause for Ottoman decline, but it might give you an idea of how the Ottoman way of thinking changed from prioritizing Jihad and more important political stuff to becoming soft and thinking about only preserving and defending their lands instead of launching more expeditions. It's like they lost their ambitions, like this video said, a mosque like this with such a budget should have been constructed after a glorious campaign and with the money looted from war, not the empire's own economy that was already cripled. That's all I'm saying, so it's not really a cause for Ottoman decline, but it indirectly suggests that the Ottomans are headed in the decline route.

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

@@alidokadri Thanks, sadly many people not reads Ottoman history. While most of them only look for glory times and brag about Fatih and Kanuni's achivements, I actually interested more about decline era. Speaking of Yılmaz Öztuna :D... If you like his book it is okay but I'm not a fan of him. He is a biased historian and mostly his political views effects his works. That's why I found Sokullu Nurbanu alliance suspicious, if it comes from Yılmaz Öztuna I find it even more suspicious. One of the problem about Yılmaz Öztuna was, he worships Padisahs. He describes them peoples like have no mistakes, all the faults belongs to someone else not padisash. Personally I don't like his works. I recommend you more unbiased historians. Like Ali Sevim and Yaşar Yücel's history of Turkey or Alphonse De Martin's History of Turkey (an unbised foreign view). You can find nice essays from young generation as well. Günhan Börekçi has nice essays from Murad III throught Ahmed I era. She wrote nice essay about Ahmed I's early era. By the way are you turk? I'm turk, we could talk turkish, after all it turned conversation between us :D.

[@alidokadri]

@@Ahmet-yu7jr fair enough. Yeah I can feel some sort of bias in his work but he doesn't always speak nicely about Padishahs, I mean he does point out their flaws and mistakes, but yeah sometimes it feels like he is overglorifying. To be fair, the Mehmed-Nurbanu alliance wasn't your typical alliance, it was more like an uneasy one actually, and Mehmed himself tried to do his best to limit her involvement in politics as well, but in a smart way, as in sometimes doing her favors but at the same time trying to limit her influence without her knowing about it. Thanks for the other sources, I am very interested in Ottoman History and I read a lot about it, and interestingly I've been lately searching and reading about the so called stagnation period, more specifically from Mehmed III's rule all the way to the Koprulu era. So much things that people don't know about that period. Unfortunately I am not a Turk, and I can't speak Turkish. I am from Algeria :D I read the book in Arabic actually 😅

[@cubetalent2624]

The ottoman peak was during Ahmad's grandson

[@HikmaHistory]

Mehmed IV?

[@hussainsultanzada6123]

@@HikmaHistory in terms of territorial expansion, yeah

[@HikmaHistory]

@@hussainsultanzada6123 True

[@brittwell2345]

@@hussainsultanzada6123 I think selim the first did it better than anyone else had he lived or reign much longer , I'm not surprised if he also managed to captured Granada

[@jarsomolu2589]

the role of the chain on the mosque door🥺😭

[@omara.s9461]

It is very ostentatious I remember praying there and thinking this mosque is huge

[@HikmaHistory]

Beautiful space!

[@surendrapatro7932]

Bruh. I always thought blue mosque and Hagia Sophia were same building 💀

[@matthewmann8969]

Open sesame

[@comedygold6249]

6:10

[@NithinJohnJacob-vc5rb]

6:48 why does this Sultan look like Apostate Prophet

[@Bruh-cg2fk]

virgin Ahmed I vs Chad Justinian the great

[@lucastop5660]

The day that the Ottoman incorperated the Arab world that was the day its down fall started.

[@oldgamer9992]

Not right at all... It was great expansion.. Selim 1 destroyed Persians and mamluks 2 enemies of the ottomans The Timurids - AK Qonlu - karaman-Persians were stabbing ottomans from behind...

[@user-jh8jk9jn8u]

المصمم الارمني سنان اغا🇦🇲...

[@soodabhi]

He who built Haghia Sofia will reclaim it one day

[@maddog5284]

So the greeks

[@MeLDiL75]

Muhteşem bir eser