Is Mimar Sinan The Greatest Architect?

In the 16th century, the city of Istanbul reached a level of cultural eminence that was hardly rivalled anywhere else on the planet. Nowhere was this more visible than in the city’s architecture. As the Ottoman Empire continued its conquests, Istanbul took the shape of an imperial metropolis. Much of this splendour can be attributed to a single individual - Mimar Sinan, the man whose architectural exploits have immortalised the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire.
His monuments would go on to define the development of classical Ottoman architecture and in the process, carve out a body of work that leaves one to question - was Mimar Sinan the greatest architect of all time?
FREE NEWSLETTER:
mailchi.mp/a69f93be6c66/hikma...
- Become a Patron for as little as a dollar a month to vote on upcoming and keep the movement going!
www.patreon.com/user?u=12397811
Massive thank you to our Patreons:
Omar
Farid
Ibrahim
Ari
Joshua
Joel
Haseeb
Nahid
Artin
Mahmoud
CoreBard
Big thank you to @EmbraceHistoria for the Anima! Check out his channel at:
/ @embracehistoria
- Join our social media community:
Twitter:
/ hikmahistory
Instagram:
/ hikmahistory
Facebook:
/ hikmahistory
Facebook group:
/ hikma. .
#MimarSinan #OttomanArchitecture #IstanbulArchitecture
Image Credits:
Trialsanderros
SALT Research
Hüseyin Öcal
Underlying lk
Andrey Andreev
Decius
Young Shanahan
Eye of Einstein
Moonik
Ondřej Žváček
Zigomar
Yahia Mokhtar
Dosseman
Aziz Akbiyik
Jorge Láscar
İhsan Deniz Kılıçoğlu
Sitomon
Chamboz
Music used includes:
Doug Maxwell - Arabian Nightfall (Sting):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bRzD...
Doug Maxwell - Swinging with the Sultan:
• Beautiful Arabian Musi...
Jeremy Blake - A Revelation:
• 🎵 A Revelation - Jerem...
Kevin MacLeod - Meditation Impromptu 01:
• Video
AShamaluev - Serious Documentary:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZBx1...
Chris Haugen - Mirage:
• Chris Haugen - Mirage
Ugonna Onyekwe - Destination Unknown:
• Destination Unknown - ...
Wayne Jones - Resolution:
• Resolution - Wayne Jones
If any of the images or songs are yours, please let me know I will amend them. Please don't report me straight away!

[@HikmaHistory]

Name a greater Architect than Mimar Sinan...

[@HikmaHistory]

I'm gonna say something potentially controversial here... I think La Sagrada Familia is kinda ugly. There I said it.

[@OddCompass]

I sometimes wonder if, say, a chief architect of the Vijayanagar Empire would be considered just as historically eminent (in an alternate universe where most of the city hadn't been destroyed). So I agree: Mimar Sinan is the greatest "known" architect :)

[@HikmaHistory]

@@OddCompass No way, would you consider a chief architect of the Vijayanagar Empire on the same level? To be fair I know almost nothing about them. Gimme a starting point to this rabbit hole I'm about to go into...

[@OddCompass]

@@HikmaHistory Haha nah, I should clarify that I'm not making a definitive point about Vijayanagar, just using it as an example for a more general point -- that there are many destroyed buildings, and as such, architects, whose names are now lost to time. Not necessarily that they'd be Sinan's equal in terms of career accomplishments/scope. But if you're curious to learn more about Vijayanagar architecture and art, I'd recommend George Michell's book, "Art and Architecture of Southern India."

[@HikmaHistory]

I'll definitely check it out! Still need to figure out sometime!

[@jstrimple1068]

Incredible story and amazing man - thank you for presenting this. I visited Istanbul when I was 16 - not knowing enough to appreciate all the Ottoman architecture

[@Kierkergaarder]

I have a lovely photo of Sinan's tomb. His works (those which I have seen) are truly breathtaking. The Suleimanliye mosque is one of the most amazing spaces I have ever been in.

[@HikmaHistory]

The Suleymaniye really is incredible, esp. once you find out that it was built in under 10 yrs!

[@Y1502.]

⁠@@HikmaHistoryall ottoman mosques were build in unter 10 years

[@commercialandresidentialpl7337]

In 2019 I visited Istanbul with wife and 3 kids, and during our walk abouts down and up mediaeval ottoman streets around Hagia Sophia, we stumbled across the Mimar Sinan's 'Cesme' water fountain so i made us all take a sip of water from it even though we were not thirsty. Selam from Bosnian living in Australia.

[@HikmaHistory]

I’ve been to that same water fountain myself, Mimar Sinan was a genius for sure!

[@kubragulsol6756]

The history of architecture owes a great debt of gratitude to Mimar Sinan. May Allah be pleased with him! ❤

[@satyr1349]

Fascinating video, thank you for this.

[@HikmaHistory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@hakanbaybars4435]

According to the last research, Mimar Sinan was Karamanlide (Turkish speaking Orthodox Christians)

[@Noamanos._.Machdes]

Wasn't he a Muslim?

[@HikmaHistory]

"Karamanlide (Turkish speaking Orthodox Christians)" - got any links to research? This does seem probable tbh

[@HikmaHistory]

"Wasn't he Muslim?" - originally, no

[@hadijalali9179]

And what does him being a Christians or anything else has to do with his unmatched talent?? So if he originally was a Hindo or a buddhist or even Muslim would have made him achieve any less than he did? Certainly not! right? ;)

[@hakanbaybars4435]

@@HikmaHistory Turkish historian Erhan Afyoncu wrote that about Mimar Sinan. www.sabah.com.tr/yazarlar/erhan-afyoncu/2016/04/17/mimar-sinan-karamanli-turkuydu (it's Turkish)

[@OddCompass]

What a wonderful video -- it's fascinating that his first known building was actually constructed when he was 39 years old. That's really inspiring!

[@HikmaHistory]

Thanks, dude! The man was busy experiencing life up to that point

[@hamzayaprak4497]

Nice video. Thanks for your effort

[@HikmaHistory]

Glad you liked it

[@jimboy419]

excellent video - Thanks!

[@HikmaHistory]

Glad you liked it!

[@McVaySwifty]

Best Hikma History video so far IMO

[@HikmaHistory]

Glad to hear that, many thanks!

[@HISTORYUN]

I guess we could say that Mimar Sinan was a monumental figure ; )

[@HikmaHistory]

Haha basic but great!

[@adamcheklat7387]

@@HikmaHistory His legacy really was set in stone.

[@HikmaHistory]

@@adamcheklat7387 Tremendous

[@user-fl7by8in5o]

Very very good video 👍

[@HikmaHistory]

Thanks!

[@papazataklaattiranimam]

Definitely yes

[@abdillahfamilychannel8418]

I love your video. I graduated from Bandung Technology Institute, learning city planing, and if I have a son, I will name him Mimar Sinan Abdillah insya Allah...

[@HikmaHistory]

Thank you. A name like that carries a lot of pressure with it!

[@abdillahfamilychannel8418]

@@HikmaHistory What kind of pressure? Motivation did you mean?

[@HikmaHistory]

@@abdillahfamilychannel8418 Haha yeah

[@adams6809]

Shocked I've never heard of him... Glad I have now!

[@HikmaHistory]

Monumental figure!

[@adams6809]

@@HikmaHistory yep! exactly!

[@rustee00]

Me too

[@joshrijvers]

One thing I have always found surprising is that the mosques that followed took their design from şehzade more than from Selimiye (Süleymaniye's main dome is supported by 2 semi domes rather than şehzade which has four) Selimiye's main dome sits on 8 semidomes so that there are no pillars in the main prayer hall.

[@HikmaHistory]

That's an excellent observation and one which is surprising considering the Selimiye is considered a "higher level" achievement.

[@joshrijvers]

@@HikmaHistory the only two I know of were built in the past 20 years or so. A little late but still cool

[@ssa3101]

What a personality. Wow

[@HikmaHistory]

Monumental

[@barsbuyukberber6959]

I do not know in which of his works he has done these but he has: Built special rooms for candle soot to acummulate so they would not damage tha artwork on the domes, candle soots could be later collected from these rooms in order to be used in ink production. He built special drainage canals from nearby Hamams ( Turkish Bathhouses) to under of the mosque so that the mosque would be heated with the used hot water from the hamams. There are many wonderful aspects of his work that are invisible to the eye. Truly a wonderful architect.

[@jordanianchristian8387]

You should do a video on Nizam al Mulk or just the Order of Assassins in general.

[@HikmaHistory]

Nizam ul-Mulk is a great option, super underrated yet significant!

[@Buurba_Jolof]

@@HikmaHistory Good idea

[@StoicHistorian]

Beautifully written script

[@HikmaHistory]

Thank you!

[@elvishiekios8826]

Sinan was a greek and a gifted architect!

[@weplo1597]

Either way he did contribute alot to Turkey we highly respect him. Unfortunately our people don't learn from him but I don't think he is greek or armenian since he never said it i believe

[@aldimansaku5958]

Korça ....Albania

[@MatheusCayresdeMello]

Does the name şehzade have anything with the name Sheherazade or it's just the similar sonority?

[@HikmaHistory]

Great question - Sehzade is not a name as much as it is a title meaning “Prince”. But maybe

[@faizgondal95]

Great. Alas. We lost our empires.

[@Gygsd]

living to 100 years old in the 15 16th century is insane

[@turcarumimperator1395]

and he was still working on new designs in his last days.

[@arianrezaie4729]

Firstly i would have never guessed who this man is Secondly the greatest architect is impossible to say judging how iranians see ottoman and byzentine achitecture is boring and thay see ours as over complicated

[@ilyasn.2832]

Some even take into consideration that he was of Albanian origin and the cite the following of the Mughal Emperor Babur who wanted to invite "certain pupils of the leading Ottoman architect Sinan, the Albanian genius, to carry out his architectural schemes". Does anyone know if this is authentic and thus can be taken as a proof ?

[@papazataklaattiranimam]

He was unknown origin either armenian,turkish,greek or albanian😂😂

[@HikmaHistory]

I came across that in my research, can't remember the source though.

[@hakanbaybars4435]

Lol he was not Albanian.

[@hadijalali9179]

The fact that you call him the "Albanian Genius" and then turn around and ask others to provide you with the proof says it all! And it says you're just being a wishful thinker who wishes he was Albanian but you know it well that he wasn't! Just think about it this way, where/what was Albania at that time and what other genius work in any other discipline ever was done by any other Albanian of the time which would make the Sinian the 2nd Albanian Genius?

[@ilyasn.2832]

@@hadijalali9179 Did I myself call him the "Albanian Genius" or did I just cite a source and asked for the authenticity? For me his nationality doesn't matter. I was just curious. On your part, it is quite presumptuous to think that you know the intention behind my question. Your behavior shows that you are careful to provoke arguments where no one is expected. I don't want to waste my time for people like you. Have a nice evening.

[@zah1db376]

Vid footage is mad

[@HikmaHistory]

Thanks bro

[@MANNYKLLOBOCISHTA]

His middle name is Koca which means bone in Albanian. I would think he was Albanian . God knows best

[@TheCoelho19..]

koca means big in turkish my friend not everybody is albanian ;)

[@hadijalali9179]

lol. TNX for the laugh! KOCA also mean Where in Persian, so who knows he might have been Persian according to your philosophy! ;)

[@vidaflores5532]

House and building etc 🍨

[@arberor4597]

You can’t really compare ottoman architecture with western renaissance architecture. The feats the ottoman accomplishments was not Revolutionary i don’t mean by physical beauty but by technological and architectural innovation. For example the Florence cathedral was built in 1400s it is more than 2x taller than the blue mosque the dome is wider and larger by a great deal too. Keep in mind the Florence cathedral Isn’t even in the top 5 tallest building in Western Europe at the time

[@Spartan_Disiplin]

Construction of Florence Cathedral took 200 years while Selimiye mosque completed in just 7 years

[@arberor4597]

@@Spartan_Disiplin not really. That the difference of context. When Florence cathedral began to be built it was built with a huge roof base that was larger than anything in history. When the task of beginning to build the dome came up. Architects refused as such a huge dome would collapse in on itself. So the people of Florence wait for technology to reach up and complete the dome. Then engineered Filippo Brunelleschi came along within 20 years the largest and heaviest dome in history was built To get a little comparison the dome off selimiye mosque weigh 2 tons by comparison the Florence dome is 37,000 tons. The hight of the selimiye mosque is 32 meters by comparison The hight of the dome in Florence cathedral is 114 meters high Churches in Western Europe that are just 30 meters were Minor.

[@papazataklaattiranimam]

His origin???

[@papazataklaattiranimam]

@Junkyard Dog Erdogan still unclear

[@finesse.4636]

Turkish www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/mimar-sinan-genius-architect-ottoman-empire-006052

[@binbasesatoktayyldran5236]

Mimar Sinan hristiyan bir Türk'tür, bu tartışılır bir konu değildir.

[@reeyees50]

Sheik wiggum

[@gerassimos.fourlanos]

Certainly a great architect, but his creations are mostly variations of the Hagia Sofia theme, I must say.

[@HikmaHistory]

It's tough to argue against Sinan being inspired by the Hagia Sophia but to say it's 'mostly variations' seems a little reductionist. This could be a potential topic for a future video...

[@cesaraguilar593]

I mean. To be fair, basically all neoclassical buildings in America which Latrobe and these genius fellow created are really just variations of the "classical" theme of roman and (later) Greece temples. God! We can even go as far to say that all early Greece, Etruscan and subsequently roman architecture were just variations of Egiptian architecture, which Greeks thought, were buildings made by gods themselves. Point here is. Your statement is technically correct, but doesnt take any credit from his genius.

[@gerassimos.fourlanos]

@@cesaraguilar593 I also said that he is a great architect, there is no contention here. Your comparison with American architecture, however, does not really help. For sure, all great civilisations borrow ideas and inspiration from others. My point here is that Ottoman architecture is based on variations of one single building, whereas American architecture uses so many different prototypes from the Graeco-Roman and European World, not just one.

[@yunuszen4320]

He ever never said he was Greek or Armenian. And no any evidence, documents say that he was other than Turk. There was christian Turks also. He always considered himself as a Türk and was proud of that. Why you guys always especially refrain from calling him TURK?

[@casamia995]

of course Albanian because are white race greeks and armenis are gipsy same as india

[@Dikranovski]

On the subject of his origins, many bodies of literature cast him as an Armenian. This is political dynamite in the politics of today's nationalist Turkey but if it's true, it's true. There's nothing wrong with that. After all, a very prominent architectural dynasty that built many of the famous palaces in Instanbul was the Armenian Balian family. So it would be hardly surprising if he was an Armenian given their over-representation in high Ottoman government jobs even as a minority.

[@turcarumimperator1395]

there is nothing wrong with his ethnicity. wester people think that armenians greeks and turks were always fighting but reality is different. these people lived in anatolia together for almost 1000 years, thanks to nationalist ideologies they were sepereated from each other. especially turks and armenians were really close despite the religious differences between 2 societies.

[@stoneruler]

but I feel like Sinan's works are just replicas of the byantines....

[@HikmaHistory]

I feel like that's a massive leap tbh. I've heard others say that. There are definitely similarities with Hagia Sophia e.g., but there's much more to Sinan's work. Saying something like that also doesn't take into consideration the other influences, Seljuk e.g.

[@stoneruler]

@@HikmaHistory hi, thanks for the reply. I didn't notice much of seljuk Influence. Always felt Persian architecture was more "original" ifvthat makes sense.

[@stoneruler]

@@HikmaHistory also i agree that the mosque in erdine was definitely a masterpiece, it felt different from the rest. The suleymanye mosque however was a bit dull.

[@HikmaHistory]

@@stoneruler Fair enough man. I thought the Suleymaniye was beautiful! Haven't seen the Selimiye but the minarets look stunning in pics.

[@stoneruler]

@@HikmaHistory oh yeah definitely, I'm not saying suleymaniye looks bad, I'm just comparing it to the rest of Sinan's works.

[@shaifunnessa7816]

Justinian create Hagia Sophia

[@nura2080]

Mimar Sinan had an albanian origin

[@bred714]

no she is turkish

[@oshiotomakan6900]

​@@bred714Mimar Sinan is not turkish ya idiot

[@arpysinanyan1106]

Mimar Sinan is my ancestor ,I’m Armenian

[@Turkasena28]

Mimar Sinan k Mihrimah Sultan'ı çok sevmiş ama Rus cadısı Hürrem izin vermedi .Sinan çünkü şehzade Mustafa'nın tarafını olduğu için

[@alexgenjoyian7242]

Lurges asom du mimar sinane ko ancestorna

[@berradaleonardo5417]

The greatest architect? You mean is he the greatest ottoman architect.

[@malachi5813]

Armenian or Greek :)

[@bred714]

no she is turkish

[@malachi5813]

@@bred714 lol Israeli

[@mazakantc5532]

Mimar Sinan wasnt from Karaman, his origens are very clear he was from Agirnas Kayseri, where there only live Armenians and Turks, Mimar Sinan was an Armenian Ottoman.

[@Kaan_is_myname97]

That is disputed. There is literally zero evidence of him being Armenian. He might be Turk too, which karamani Turks were christians.

[@nikhtose]

Your narrative is highly slanted. The Ottomans didn't "recruit" Christian boys into the Devshirme. The boys were selected for their talents and attributes, seized from their families and forcibly converted to Islam. As for Sinan, he was an outstanding architect, yes, but not especially original. I've seen the mosques he designed in Istanbul. All are variations of the Hagia Sophia to one extent or another. So no, not the "greatest" architect.

[@HikmaHistory]

I don't think the term 'recruit' has any negative or positive connotations; it's just a way of enlisting or finding new people (how you do that is a separate matter). Ottoman architects definitely got inspiration from the Hagia Sophia but to say all of Sinan's monuments are variations of it is too simplistic and crudely reductionist.

[@nikhtose]

@@HikmaHistory "Recruit" implies enlistment by consent, which this was not. The "greatest" architects are usually identified by their unique contributions to architecture's artistic and technical progress, like Anthemius and Isidoros (Hagia Sophia) or Frank Lloyd Wright. How does Sinan fit into this category?

[@noobsaibot7006]

@@nikhtose Mimar Sinans works were influenced by a wide range of cultures not to mention his buildings were made earthquake proof thats enough to see his genius. Hagia sophia is riddled with flaws while Mimar Sinans designed mosques still stand strong today without much restoration.

[@youtubeexpert2441]

All Egyptian artisans and builders were forcibly taken from Cairo to Istanbul after the Turks took Egypt in 1516. I wonder how much role did they play in Mimar Sinan's so called ingeniousness ..

[@hakanbaybars4435]

Nothing

[@youtubeexpert2441]

@Yusuf Isa Why did sultan selim steal all artisans and builders when he occupied cairo?

[@mknn5015]

@@youtubeexpert2441 Can you give a source?

[@youtubeexpert2441]

@@mknn5015 Badāʼiʻ az-zuhūr fī waqāʼiʻ ad-duhūr by Muhammad ibn Iyas . he lived during the ottoman conquest of egypt. he describes the events in details saying that the ottomans stole everything in cairo and left it in ruin.

[@adnanjafarov3764]

Safevids were not persians, they were turkic. Get your facts straight

[@yousufsiddiqsyed4412]

bro thats aya sophia not hagia sophia

[@HikmaHistory]

Isn't it the same thing?

[@yousufsiddiqsyed4412]

@@HikmaHistory hmm

[@yousufsiddiqsyed4412]

@Junkyard Dog Erdogan drug addict

[@mesheervaswani5387]

I hate the contemporary English accent

[@HikmaHistory]

Lool why