The Hagia Sophia Mosque and Selim II The Middle East as we know it today emerged from disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman history involves not only the Ottoman dynasty, but also this great empire that ruled over Arabs, Serbs, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Albanians, North Africans and others. others. At one time in history, the Ottomans were considered a major power in the world. Their civilization had a major impact on many other societies at that time, through trade, culture and religion. It constitutes the history of the main religious groups including Muslims, Christians and Jews. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay To begin with, the Ottomans had a very efficient system of administration, which led to their era of success. The Ottoman Empire was ruled by the sultan, a king who claimed a religious position. For example, the sultan would claim the position of caliph, the supreme temporal leader of Islam. The influence of religion had a significant effect on the supreme power claimed by the Sultan. By claiming the title of Capliphe, religious loyalty was created between the Islamic people and the sultan. Officially, the sultan was the government. He enjoyed absolute power and, in theory at least, was personally involved in every government decision. In the Ottoman experience of government, everything that represented state government came from the hands of the sultan himself. The Ottoman Empire lasted for over six centuries due to its success through its expansion and ability to control. The empire has proven to be very successful in almost all of its attempts. The Ottomans were already experienced empire builders and had established a strong, centralized administration. It was an essentially military power (Armstrong 323). The Ottoman Empire is famous for its architecture. The Ottoman style is geometric, formalistic, and never ornamental: meaningful rather than beautiful (Goodwin 130). Sinan, the Great was a famous Ottoman architect, he began with an early career in the army where he traveled throughout the Middle East and the Balkans. . He later assumed the position of head of the empire's corps of architecture around 1539, at the age of fifty (Kostof 461). He built no less than 355 buildings or complexes. He built 81 mosques, 50 prayer rooms, 62 madrasas, 19 mausoleums or turbes, 17 caravanserais, three hospitals and seven aqueducts. Above all, Sinan built the sultanic mosques of Suleiman in Istanbul and of Suleiman's successor, Selim II, in Edrin. The Sulimiye is his masterpiece (Stierlin 116). He was an architect who grew up in one of the most splendid periods of the Ottoman state and who contributed to that era with his works. The Sehzade Mosque, which is Sinan's first major work, comprises two equal squares as a courtyard and prayer hall as well as two graceful minarets (Kuran 198). The word Sehzade is derived from the Persian language in which it means crown prince. This first sultanic mosque was built in memory of Suleyman's son, Prince Mehmet. It measures 90 m by 50 m, 185 m long and 120 m wide. This mosque comprises two squares as courtyard and prayer hall with two beautiful minarets adding more appeal to its architecture. There are several smaller domes at each corner of its upper structure, making them one of the distinctive features of the mosque. (Stierlin 120).Keep in mind: this is just a sample.Get a custom paper from our editors now.