3 Cultural power: the Ottomans and the architecture of empire

The Ottomans used military power to establish their empire but, in this section, we will consider the ‘conquest after the conquest’. What does this term mean? It refers to the systems developed to facilitate colonial control following military victory. In this case you are going to explore how cultural power was used to consolidate Ottoman rule.

Material culture and the transformation of the physical landscape helped the Ottomans to bolster their imperial power in urban spaces. How did these construction works connect to their evolving political and military power? State-sponsored architecture has always been a method of representing imperial power: think of the pyramids in Egypt, and the colonial statues and monuments built across British India.

This was also true in this case of the Ottoman reconstruction of Constantinople after they conquered the city in 1453. Ottoman material and financial power was translated into cultural forms through the construction of these buildings, as an important way for the Ottomans to forge a sense of imperial identity among their new subjects.

Figure 4 1537 Ottoman map of Constantinople.

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A colour image of a map. Two land masses can be seen at the top and bottom of the image divided by large rivers. Ships can be seen on the rivers, colourful buildings with red tiled roofs can be seen on the land.

Figure 4 1537 Ottoman map of Constantinople.

After Sultan Mehmed’s II (r.1432–1481) conquest of Constantinople, he was instrumental in the project to turn the city into a new Ottoman imperial capital, by restoring it to its Roman-Byzantine splendour. Mehmed ordered the construction of a grand palace overlooking the Bosporus, later known as the Topkapı Palace, as well as number of imposing mosques and a vast covered market. One of the main motors of reconstruction was through public institutions: mosques, schools, hospitals, baths, caravanserais (inns for travellers) which all had attached bazaars, bakeries, mills and factors.

The Hagia Sophia church was the central Christian religious building in the former Byzantine capital. After the Ottoman conquest it was renamed the Aya Sofya and turned into a mosque. Four minarets were added to the structure, and inside, Arabic calligraphic inscriptions to Allah and Prophet Muhammed were hung on the walls. The building is a monument to Constantinople’s many-layered history of conquerors and interlopers.

In 1517 Sultan Selim (1470–1520) took over the Hijaz (Hejaz) in western Arabia, the site of Islam’s holiest city, Mecca. Historians of Mecca such as Ziauddin Sardar have argued that the Ottomans ‘lavished largesse and put their distinctive imprint on Mecca’ (2014, pp. 182–3). Ottoman sultans, the Ottoman royal family, senior Ottoman officials and merchants engaged in what we might call ‘imperial philanthropy’.

Money and goods were collected from across the Ottoman empire, from the Sultan and the elites as well as through Awqaf al-haramain, pious foundations for the Holy Cities. These funded projects for the poor, for religious sites, and to pay for workers such as teachers, doctors and nurses. They built mosques, fountains, religious schools and colleges, libraries, and hospitals in Mecca. New buildings were erected in the Ottoman architectural style.

The provision of new buildings which offered useful services for local communities allowed imperial rulers to demonstrate their benevolence. It was an attempt to persuade the population that the colonial project would be of benefit to them. This would encourage them to accept the change and cooperate with the new regime.

It also enabled the imperial rulers to determine how the city looked and was experienced, rather than the subject population. It gave them the opportunity to set in stone a lasting expression of their taste, wealth, and cultural power.