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75-465: The Green Mosque is often seen as the culmination of the early Ottoman architectural style, mainly due to the level of aesthetic and technical mastery displayed within the mosque. The Green Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi , who ruled from 1413 to 1421, after a fight against his brothers to reunite the Ottoman Empire. The mosque's construction was begun in 1412 and, according to

150-434: A common features well into Islamic times. The second iwan building is located across a courtyard, and Walter Andrae, a German archaeologist, suggested that it served as an administrative building rather than as a religious center because there is no evidence of inscriptions or wall carvings. Although the absence of inscriptions or carvings does not equate necessarily to a civic function, it was not uncommon for iwans to serve

225-477: A decorated entrance iwan which leads to an inner courtyard. The courtyard is flanked by arcaded porticos along three sides and a domed dershane on the side opposite the entrance. Two small iwans are also found along the two other lateral sides of the courtyard, though they stand behind the porticos. It currently houses the Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art . The hammam of the complex is located east of

300-580: A famous Muslim Sufi and charismatic theologian. He was an eminent Ulema , born of a Greek mother and a Muslim father in Simavna (Kyprinos) southwest of Edirne (formerly Adrianople ). Mehmed's brother Musa had made Bedreddin his " qadi of the army," or the supreme judge. Bedreddin created a populist religious movement in the Ottoman Sultanate, "subversive conclusions promoting the suppression of social differences between rich and poor as well as

375-685: A large corbelled dome. Ancient Egyptian architecture began to use vaulting in its structures after the Third Dynasty, after around 2600 BCE, constructing very early barrel vaults using mud bricks. Iwans were a trademark of the Parthian Empire (247 BC – AD 224) and later the Sassanid architecture of Persia (224–651), later finding their way throughout the Arab and Islamic architecture which started developing in 7th century AD, after

450-599: A room itself. In contrast, the Sasanian iwan served as a grand entranceway to a larger, more elegant space which was usually domed. Both the Parthian and Sasanian iwans were often elaborately decorated with inscriptions and sculpted reliefs including scenes of hunting, vegetal motifs, abstract, geometric patterns, and animal scenes. The reliefs’ style shows a blend of influences including other Near Eastern cultures, Roman , and Byzantine decorative traditions. For instance,

525-416: A school and one a refectory for the poor, both of which he endowed with royal munificence. Mehmed I had three known consorts: Mehmed I had at least five sons: Mehmed I had at least eight daughters: [REDACTED] Media related to Mehmed I at Wikimedia Commons Iwan An iwan ( Persian : ایوان , eyvān , also romanized as ivan or ivān / īvān , Arabic : إيوان , ’īwān )

600-412: A secular use, as they were frequently incorporated into palaces and community spaces. Other early sites including Parthian iwans include Hatra , the Parthian ruins at Dura Europos , and Uruk . The Sasanian Empire also favored the iwan form, and adopted it into much of their architecture; however, they transformed the function. The Parthian iwan led to other spaces, but its primary function served as

675-484: A tall hood). A three-line calligraphic inscription is put in an arch over one of its doors. The mosque was the center of a larger religious and charitable complex (a külliye ), which encompassed several other buildings nearby. These include the mausoleum (the Green Tomb), a madrasa, an imaret (public kitchen), and a hammam (public bathhouse). The mausoleum of Mehmed I is situated on a raised mound across from

750-453: A thick layer of gold overlay, cover the large iwans flanking the prayer hall. A narrow floral black-line band surrounds these tiles, topped by a larger black-line band featuring a white and gold inscription upon a blue background. In the prayer hall itself, dark green hexagonal and triangular tiles (including some nineteenth and thirteenth century replacements) cover the lower portions of the walls. The mihrab and its moulded tile frame feature

825-405: A wide array of tile styles, shapes, and colors. Square black-line tiles, glazed in blue, purple, white, and yellow, cover the mihrab's interior with geometric motifs. Equally colorful vegetal arabesques, composed of square and rectangular black-line tiles, decorate the spandrels. The mihrab niche's twelve rows of muqarnas and two ribbed columns feature similarly intricate and colorful tilework. In

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900-542: Is a mihrab niche on the south ( qibla ) side of the mosque, as well as two sets of four windows. Immediately past the entrance of the Green Mosque lies a foyer. From here, wide corridors, framed by Byzantine columns, extend in both directions, ending in staircases leading to the royal chambers. These corner rooms overlook the interior court, and connect to yet another small room leading to the royal box, which effectively functions as another iwan. These chambers contain

975-543: Is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called pishtaq , a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and geometric designs . Since the definition allows for some interpretation, the overall forms and characteristics can vary greatly in terms of scale, material, or decoration. Iwans are most commonly associated with Islamic architecture ; however,

1050-422: Is a two-story, cube-shaped building with an extension on the south side. The mosque has a vestibule at the entrance leading up a short staircase to a central prayer hall. This stairway has four marble cubby-holes (Turkish: papuçluk ) on each side for slippers. These architectural inclusions point to the court being paved previously, although it is now carpeted. The central hall, which runs from north to south,

1125-700: Is at the dār al-imāra (governor's palace) in Kufa , as rebuilt by the Umayyad governor Ziyād ibn Abīh in the late 7th century. It only became common in mosque design in the twelfth century, long after the iwan's invention in the first century CE. The first patrons to incorporate this layout into mosques were the Seljuks, with the first example probably being the Seljuk modifications to the Great Mosque of Isfahan in

1200-540: Is based on an inscription on the tiles around the mosque's mihrab which is signed as the "work of the masters of Tabriz". Tabriz , a prominent artistic and cultural center in western Iran, was a particularly important channel through which Timurid influence arrived at the Green Mosque, as it was invaded by the Timurids throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Hacı İvaz Pasha was also reported to have “brought masters and men of skill from foreign lands” to help with

1275-516: Is called the Green Mosque . Mehmed I also completed another mosque in Bursa, which his grandfather Murad I had commenced but which had been neglected during the reign of Bayezid . He was also known for his janissary reforms and architectural skills reflected in the tomb of his parents . Mehmed founded in the vicinity of his own Green Mosque and mausoleum two other characteristic institutions, one

1350-497: Is crowned by a half-dome with a cascade of muqarnas , whose face is covered with arabesques and Rumi inscriptions. Above the niches on each side of the entrance door is an inscription dedicated to Hacı İvaz Pasha, the mosque's designer. Between the inscription and the muqarnas is a small window that illuminates the path to the sultan's box. The domes on top of the building were originally covered by blue and green tiles but are now clad in lead. There are windows pierced into drums in

1425-399: Is flanked by iwans (Turkish: eyvans ) on the east and west. Both are domed and two stories high. There are two doors, smaller iwans, connecting to corner rooms on the first floor that are similar to those on the north side of the building, each containing a fireplace. The central hallway running north–south is intersected by a longer hallway running east–west. Within the central hallway,

1500-455: Is made of carved marble and features a tall, recessed muqarnas niche, with unique marble tympana (decorated with arabesques) framing the flanking windows. This portal, framed with floral carvings and scripture, references similar portals found in Seljuk mosques, madrasas, and mausolea. The two tabhane rooms connected to the central hallway, designed to provide lodging for travelers, contain carved plaster niches and ocaks (fireplaces with

1575-556: Is near the modern town of Salman Pak , Iraq , on the Tigris River about twenty-five miles south of Baghdad. Construction began during the reign of Khosrau I after a campaign against the Eastern Romans in 540 AD. The arched iwan hall, open on the facade side, was about 37 meters high 26 meters across and 50 meters long, the largest vault ever constructed at the time. Early photographs and 19th-century drawings show that

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1650-455: Is not fully understood today. Due to the 7.5 magnitude Bursa earthquake of 1855 , the complex underwent extensive renovations planned by French architect and artist Léon Parvillée, beginning in 1863. The exact completion date is unknown. Ahmet Vefik Paşa, the regional administrator of west Anatolia and a patron of the preservation of Ottoman cultural heritage, asked Parvillée to restore the major fourteenth and fifteenth century royal monuments of

1725-683: Is widely known as the "second founder" of the Ottoman Sultanate. Soon after Mehmed began his reign, his brother Mustafa Çelebi , who had originally been captured along with their father Bayezid I during the Battle of Ankara and held captive in Samarkand , hiding in Anatolia during the Interregnum, reemerged and asked Mehmed to partition the empire with him. Mehmed refused and met Mustafa's forces in battle, easily defeating them. Mustafa escaped to

1800-521: Is widely-attested that the four-iwan layout spread to other regions with the subsequent proliferation of madrasas across the Islamic world. In some regions it also spread to other building types such as caravanserais and bimaristans . In the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods of Egypt and Syria the four-iwan plan was prominently used in the architecture of madrasas, with the most monumental example being

1875-495: The Battle of Çamurlu . Before his death, to secure passing the throne safely to his son Murad II, Mehmed blinded his nephew Orhan Çelebi (son of Süleyman), and decided to send his two sons Yusuf and Mahmud to be held as a hostage by Emperor Manuel II , hoping to ensure the continuing custody of his brother Mustafa. He was buried in Bursa, in a mausoleum erected by himself near the celebrated mosque which he built there, and which, because of its decorations of green glazed tiles,

1950-637: The Elamites vaulted many of their buildings with barrel vaults , and Nineveh , where the Assyrians frequently vaulted their passages for fortification purposes. Outside Mesopotamia, a number of extant vaulted structures stand, including many examples from Ancient Egypt , Rome , and the Mycenaeans . For example, the Mycenaean Treasury of Atreus , constructed around 1250 BCE, features

2025-535: The Exposition Universelle . Parvillée was involved in restoring the interior and the exterior of the mosque, including the tile work. Parvillée restored the black-line tiles on the portal of the mosque. The two minarets were rebuilt on an old base by Parvillée. Polychrome painted decorations, which had previously adorned the upper parts of the walls and ceilings, were not restored. During a second restoration project that took place from 1941 to 1943,

2100-781: The Rûm Eyalet (central northern Anatolia ), recently conquered from its Eretnid rulers. On 20 July 1402, his father Bayezid was defeated in the Battle of Ankara by the Turko-Mongol conqueror and ruler Timur . The brothers (with the exception of Mustafa , who was captured and taken along with Bayezid to Samarkand ) were rescued from the battlefield, Mehmed being saved by Bayezid Pasha , who took him to his hometown of Amasya . Mehmed later made Bayezid Pasha his grand vizier (1413–1421). The early Ottoman Empire had no regulated succession , and according to Turkish tradition, every son could succeed his father. Of Mehmed's brothers,

2175-516: The Byzantine city of Thessaloniki , but after an agreement with Mehmed, the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos exiled Mustafa to the island of Lemnos . However, Mehmed still faced some problems, first being the problem of his nephew Orhan, who Mehmed perceived as a threat to his rule, much like his late brothers had been. There was allegedly a plot involving him by Manuel II Palaiologos , who tried to use Orhan against Sultan Mehmed; however,

2250-811: The European part of the empire (the area dividing the Anatolian and European sides of the empire, Constantinople and the surrounding region, was still held by the Byzantine Empire ), becoming Mehmed I. He consolidated his power, made Edirne the most important of the dual capitals, and conquered parts of Albania , the Jandarid emirate, and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from the Mamluks . Taking his many achievements into consideration, Mehmed

2325-519: The Green Tomb, while the imaret is located to the northeast of the tomb. Only partials remains have been preserved from the original structures of both these buildings. (See also: Ottoman architectural decoration ) Mehmed I Mehmed I ( c.  1386/7 – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi ( Ottoman Turkish : چلبی محمد , "the noble-born") or Kirişçi ( Greek : Κυριτζής , romanized :  Kyritzis , "lord's son"),

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2400-554: The Muslims making it difficult at times to determine who was influencing whom. Islamic art and architecture borrowed many Sasanian decorative motifs and architectural forms, including the iwan. Iwans were used frequently in Islamic non-religious architecture before the twelfth century, including houses, community spaces, and civic structures such as the bridge of Si-o-Se Pol in Isfahan . Furthermore, Islamic architecture incorporated

2475-601: The Ottoman presence in Europe by the conquest of Wallachia in 1415. Venice destroyed his fleet off Gallipoli in 1416 as the Ottomans lost a naval war. Mehmed was born in 1386 or 1387 as the fourth son of Sultan Bayezid I ( r.  1389–1402 ) and one of his consorts, the slave girl Devlet Hatun . Following Ottoman custom, when he reached adolescence in 1399, he was sent to gain experience as provincial governor over

2550-501: The Sasanian placement for the iwan by making it a grand entrance to the prayer hall or to a mosque tomb, and often placing it before a domed space. The iwan became common in Islamic religious architecture from the twelfth century onward. Within the Islamic world the iwan was especially important in the architecture of Central Asia and Greater Iran , but it was also adopted into the local architectural traditions of other regions. It

2625-466: The barriers between different forms of monotheism." Successfully developing a popular social revolution and syncretism of the various religions and sects of the empire, Bedreddin's movement began in the European side of the empire and underwent further expansion in western Anatolia. In 1416, Sheikh Bedreddin started his rebellion against the throne. After a four-year struggle, he was finally captured by Mehmed's grand vizier Bayezid Pasha and hanged in

2700-453: The cenotaphs are located. In addition to the sultan's burial, the mausoleum contains the tombs of his sons Mustafa, Mahmud, and Yusuf, as well as several women of his family and his nanny. The madrasa of Mehmed I's complex, located to the southwest of the mosque, is a well-planned example of the open courtyard madrasas of this period, with similarities to the madrasas of the Seljuk era . It has

2775-491: The ceramic facing of the tiles was removed and reinstalled. The Green Mosque underwent another renovation, starting in 2010 and reopening on May 11, 2012, which cost 1.8 million Turkish Liras. The Green Mosque is now a popular tourist destination in Bursa. Since 2014 it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designated around historic Bursa. The Green Mosque is based on an inverted T-plan and

2850-542: The city of Serres , a city in modern-day Greece , in 1420. The reign of Mehmed I as sultan of the re-united empire lasted only eight years before his death, but he had also been the most powerful brother contending for the throne and de facto ruler of most of the empire for nearly the whole preceding period of 11 years of the Ottoman Interregnum that passed between his father's captivity at Ankara and his own final victory over his brother Musa Çelebi at

2925-410: The city. During this period, Bursa was undergoing a transformation into a modern city. Parvillée first visited the Ottoman capital of Istanbul in 1851, later moving there in 1855. He worked in the empire as a decorator, contractor and architect. Parvillée was well-versed in the main aspects of early Ottoman style due to his experiences living and working in the region as well as his extensive research of

3000-552: The design allows the structure to be open to the elements on one side. At Persepolis, however, the apadāna takes the form of a veranda (a flat roof held up by columns rather than a vault) but is still open to the elements on only one side. By the time of the Parthian and the Sasanian Empires , the iwan had emerged as two types of structure: the old columned one and a newer vaulted structure; both, however, carrying

3075-744: The domes and on the exterior walls. An oculus above the ablution basin in the central hall was enclosed with a lantern at the time of restoration. The two minarets were fitted with stone spires, carved in the baroque manner, at the time of renovation. They can only be accessed through the sultan's apartments and by climbing up the winding stairs to the attics. The Green Mosque employs a distinctively diverse range of tile techniques (including black-line tiles (often mistaken for, yet technically separate from cuerda seca tiles), monochrome underglaze tiles, mosaic, and painted terra-cotta relief) and colors (including green, blue, turquoise, white, yellow, light purple, and dark purple). The black-line tiles, which compose

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3150-533: The early 12th century, though the layout also appears in other mosques in Iran built or renovated by the Seljuks around the same time. André Godard attributes both the origin and spread of this design to the appearance of madrasas, which also began with the Seljuks, and he further argued that the layout was derived from the style of domestic architecture indigenous to Khorasan . The details of Godard's origin theory have not all been accepted by other scholars, but it

3225-427: The eldest, Ertuğrul, had died in 1400, while the next in line, Mustafa, was a prisoner of Timur. Leaving aside the underage siblings, this left four princes—Mehmed, Süleyman , İsa , and Musa , to contend over control of the remaining Ottoman territories in the civil war known as the " Ottoman Interregnum ". In modern historiography, these princes are usually called by the title Çelebi , but in contemporary sources,

3300-491: The form is pre-Islamic Iranian in origin and was invented much earlier and fully developed in Mesopotamia around the third century CE, during the Parthian period. Iwan is a Persian word that was subsequently borrowed into other languages such as Arabic and Turkish . The New Persian form is eyvān and its etymology is unclear. A theory by scholars like Ernst Herzfeld and Walter Bruno Henning proposed that

3375-542: The history of Ancient Near Eastern architecture is the incorporation of a vaulted ceiling. A vault is a ceiling made from arches, known as arcuated , usually constructed with stone, concrete, or bricks. Earlier buildings would normally be covered in a trabeated manner, with post and lintel beams. However, vaulted ceilings did exist in the ancient world before the invention of the iwan, both within Mesopotamia and outside it. Mesopotamian examples include Susa , where

3450-533: The inscription over its entrance portal, it was completed in December 1419 or January 1420 ( Dhu'l-Hijja 822 AH ). Construction was supervised by architect and patron of the arts vizier Hacı İvaz Pasha, who had been a commander under Mehmed I. Upon his death, Mehmed I was buried in a mausoleum called the Green Tomb , commissioned by his son and successor, Murad II , located within the complex. Construction of

3525-461: The iwan developed, there is a general consensus that the iwan evolved locally, and was thus not imported from another area. Similar structures, known as "pesgams", were found in many Zoroastrian homes in Yazd , where two or four halls would open onto a central court; however, it is not known whether these spaces were vaulted. The feature which most distinctly makes the iwan a landmark development in

3600-670: The iwan form may have developed under the Seleucids , today most scholars agree that the Parthians were the inventors of the iwan. One of the earliest Parthian iwans was found at Seleucia (Seleucia-on-the-Tigris) , located on the Tigris River , where the shift from post-and-lintel construction to vaulting occurred around the 1st century CE. Other early iwans have been suggested at Ashur, where two buildings containing iwan-like foundations were found. The first building, located near

3675-421: The iwans could be oriented towards the qibla (direction of prayer) and include a mihrab in order to serve as a prayer space. The history of the evolution of the standard four-iwan plan has been debated by scholars. The four-iwan plan was already in use in palace and temple architecture during both the Parthian and Sasanian periods. The earliest known appearance of the four-iwan plan in Islamic architecture

3750-406: The main hall contains an octagonal, white marble fountain with a pool beneath the central dome—the highest dome in the mosque—which is illuminated by a lantern overhead. On either side of the pool, two further iwans lead to rooms for traveling dervishes, while a higher raised iwan directly behind the water (when seen from the central hall's entrance) leads to the prayer hall itself. In this iwan, there

3825-605: The majority of the tiles within the mosque, reflect an extensive Timurid influence that emerged through the empire's frequent invasions of Ottoman territories . This influence can also be observed in Timurid ceramics and architecture in Central Asia, such as the mausolea within the Shah-i Zinda shrine complex. Moreover, an inscription above the mihrab designates the black-line tiles as amal-i ustādhān-i Tabrīz ("work of

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3900-518: The massive 14th-century Madrasa-mosque of Sultan Hasan . In some more distant regions, like the Maghreb , the four-iwan plan was not commonly adopted for mosque architecture, but it most likely influenced the axial designs of local madrasas that began under Marinid and Hafsid rule. In early Ottoman architecture , particularly as it developed in Bursa around the 14th century, the four-iwan plan

3975-586: The masters of Tabriz"), accompanied by a couplet from the Persian poet Sa'di . Meanwhile, the blue- and turquoise-glazed tiles in the entrance hallway and iwans, as well as the gold-adorned green hexagonal tiles in the iwans, reveal a Seljuk influence (which can also be observed in the Karatay Madrasa in Konya ). In the hallway connecting the vestibule to the prayer hall, dark green hexagonal tiles cover

4050-472: The mosque's construction, according to 15th-century historian Aşıkpaşazade . Another Persian inscription inside the royal loge above the entrance identifies Mehmed el-Mecnun ("Mehmet the Mad") as the artist who decorated the ceramics of the mosque. Scholar Patricia Blessing notes that the exact roles played by each person named in the inscriptions is still not certain, as the terminology used in these historical texts

4125-415: The mosque, to the southeast. It consists of a octagonal structure covered by a dome 15 metres (49 ft) in diameter. The whole building is decorated with tiles, and those of the mausoleum chamber are as rich as those in the mosque. They cover the walls, cenotaphs, and another ornate mihrab. A burial chamber or crypt (usually off limits to visitors today) is located beneath the floor of the main chamber where

4200-520: The period of Muhammad ( c.  570 –632). This development reached its peak during the Seljuki era, when iwans became a fundamental unit in architecture, and later the Mughal architecture . The form is not confined to any particular function, and is found in buildings for either secular or religious uses, and in both public and residential architecture. Although some scholars have asserted that

4275-471: The presence of extant examples and contact between cultures. For example, the Great Mosque of Damascus was built in the early eighth century CE on the site of a Roman Christian church, and incorporates a nave -like element with a tall arcade and clerestory . The Sasanian Empire also had a tremendous impact on the development of Islamic architecture; however, there was some overlap between the Sasanians and

4350-565: The remaining part of the hall has reduced since then. The dating for the Taq-i Kisra has been debated throughout history; however, a variety of documents detailing the arrival of Byzantine sculptors and architects sent by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian , suggest that the correct date for the construction is around 540 CE. The 540 date suggests that the construction of the Taq-i Kisra, and perhaps Justinian's “help”

4425-519: The rock-cut iwan at Taq-i Bustan features Roman style figures, Eastern-inspired vegetal patterns and crenellations, and wide-eyed, stylized Byzantine-esque angels and mosaic interiors. The most famous example of a Sasanian iwan is the Taq-i Kisra ("Iwan of Khosrau"), part of a palace complex in Mada'in , which is the only visible remaining structure of the ancient Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon . It

4500-548: The root of this term is Old Persian apadāna , but this is no longer taken for granted. The word apadāna appears in what modern scholars call the Apadana palace at Persepolis , where king Darius I declares in an inscription: "I, Darius, ... had this apadāna constructed". In this case, the word denoted a type of structure, the iwan proper and not the palace. The term in Old Persian means "unprotected", and

4575-470: The ruins of a ziggurat , featured a three-iwan façade. The proximity of the building to a ziggurat suggests that it may have been used for religious preparations or rituals. It could also indicate a palatial building, as it was common for the ziggurat and palace to be situated next to one another in the Ancient Near East. What seems to be a palace courtyard had iwans on each side, which remained

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4650-412: The same native name of apadana/iwan, because both types are open on one side to the elements. Ivan is an alternative form of the name, used in Iran, reflecting the Persian pronunciation. Many scholars, including Edward Keall, André Godard, Roman Ghirshman, and Mary Boyce, discuss the invention of the iwan in Mesopotamia, the area around today's Iraq . Although debate remains among scholars as to how

4725-456: The subject. The French consul of Bursa stated in 1906 that Parvillée remained in Bursa from 1862 to 1867, but this is disputed. It is unclear whether Parvillée merely planned the restoration and then left Bursa, or stayed to supervise the execution of his specifications. In any case, it is documented that Parvillée had returned to Paris by 1867 to design and build the Turkish pavilion displayed in

4800-399: The sultan found out about the plot and had Orhan blinded for betrayal, according to a common Byzantine practice. Furthermore, as a result of the Battle of Ankara and other civil wars, the population of the empire had become unstable and traumatized. A very powerful social and religious movement arose in the empire and became disruptive. The movement was led by Sheikh Bedreddin (1359–1420),

4875-406: The sultan's loge, the walls and ceiling are covered in gilded black-line tiles that depict motifs of stars and polygons. In contrast to these geometric motifs, the black-tile border around the opening into the mosque is decorated with vegetal motifs. Carved decorations exist along all exterior elements of the mosque, from the entryway to the mihrabs to the window frames. The front portal of the mosque

4950-537: The title is reserved for Mehmed and Musa. The Byzantine sources translated the title as Kyritzes (Κυριτζής), which was in turn adopted into Turkish as kirişçi , sometimes misinterpreted as güreşçi , "the wrestler". During the early interregnum, Mehmed Çelebi behaved as Timur's vassal. Beside the other princes, Mehmed minted coin which Timur's name appeared as "Demur han Gürgân" (تيمور خان كركان), alongside his own as "Mehmed bin Bayezid han" (محمد بن بايزيد خان). This

5025-639: The tomb was completed in May 1421. Decorative work continued on the mosque after Mehmed I's death. A calligraphic inscription in the sultan's loge above the entrance records that the decoration was completed in August 1424 (at the end of Ramadan 827) by Nakkas ("the Artist") Ali bin Ilyas Ali. Ali bin Ilyas Ali is believed to have brought a diverse group of craftsmen called the “Masters of Tabriz” to assist him. This

5100-518: The vaulted iwans of earlier periods were replaced with flat-roofed iwans in the later Mamluk period. Starting in the late 13th and 14th centuries, the word iwan in Mamluk Egypt itself seems to have been become more restricted, on the one hand, to secular architecture while, on the other hand, it was used in this context to denote large domed structures in addition to vaulted halls. The celebrated monumental throne hall of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad

5175-461: The walls, punctuated by a large roundel in the center of each wall. These roundels feature an intricate floral arabesque in black-line tiles glazed in white, yellow, green, and blue. The recessed mahfils that flank the opening into the prayer hall are covered in similar dark green hexagonal wainscot tiles with gold decoration, with a large, intricate arabesque on each ceiling. More of these dark green hexagonal wainscot tiles, each decorated with

5250-419: The winding stairways leading up to the lofts. Between these corner rooms, a passage opens to the balconies on the northern façade where the minaret steps begin. The two minarets opposite from each other on the north facade were later additions. A porch was designed but never built. Marble panels, a majority of which were replaced in the nineteenth century, overlay the mosque's edifice of hewn sandstone. The door

5325-663: Was highly adaptable and it appears in a variety of contexts and in different configurations. Iwans could be placed along the sides of the interior courtyards of buildings, as they were in many madrasas , or on the exterior of buildings, as at the Taj Mahal and other Mughal mausoleums. Under the Ayyubids and Mamluks , who ruled Egypt and the Levantine region, it became a common feature of madrasa architecture, although in Cairo

5400-406: Was in response to the victory of Sasanian king Khosrau I over Antioch in 540, which is depicted in the mosaics decorating the interior of the Taq-i Kisra. The Taq-i Kisra was finally demolished for the most part by al-Mansur, who reused the bricks to build his palace complex. Islamic art and architecture was also heavily influenced inspired by Roman, Byzantine, and Sasanian designs, both due to

5475-575: Was probably an attempt on Mehmed's part to justify to Timur his conquest of Bursa after the Battle of Ulubad . After Mehmed established himself in Rum , Timur had already begun preparations for his return to Central Asia, and took no further steps to interfere with the status quo in Anatolia. After winning the Interregnum , Mehmed crowned himself sultan in the Thracian city of Edirne that lay in

5550-522: Was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421. Son of Sultan Bayezid I and his concubine Devlet Hatun , he fought with his brothers over control of the Ottoman realm in the Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413). Starting from the province of Rûm he managed to bring first Anatolia and then the European territories ( Rumelia ) under his control, reuniting the Ottoman state by 1413, and ruling it until his death in 1421. Called "The Restorer," he reestablished central authority in Anatolia, and he expanded

5625-524: Was thus called the Great Iwan ( al-Iwan al-Kabir ) even though its main element was a domed hall, not a vaulted hall. The four-iwan plan (cruciform) is one of the most characteristic floor plans of Islamic architecture, consisting of four iwans arranged around a central square or rectangular courtyard ( durqāʿa or ṣaḥn ), with the iwans aligned with the central axes of the courtyard. For cruciform mosques and cruciform madrasas , one of

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