The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire

Mimar Koca Sinan (c 1489-1588), the 'Great Architect Sinan', was appointed chief royal architect to the Ottoman court by Sultan Suleyman I in 1539. This work argues that Sinan's variety of mosque designs sprang from a process of negotiation between the architect and his patrons, rather than from restless, unrestrained formal experimentation.