Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University

THE FOUNDER OF OUR UNIVERSITY Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University was established by the decision of the General Directorate of Foundations of the Republic of Turkey dated 25.08.2009 and numbered 487/406, and by law numbered 5981 dated 15.04.2010. Founding (Established) Foundations - Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han Foundation - Sinan Ağa bin Abdurrahman Foundation - Nurbanu Valide Sultan Foundation - Hatice Sultan Foundation - Abdullahoğlu Hacı Abdülaziz Ağa Foundation FOUNDING FOUNDATIONS OF FATIH SULTAN MEHMET FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY Sultan Mehmed II (Mehmed the Conqueror) He was the seventh Ottoman Sultan. He was born in Edirne in 1432. He was the fourth son of Sultan Murad II. He was placed on the throne by his father when he was twelve years old. Due to political and military developments, he abdicated the throne and was sent to Manisa as governor in 1444 with his tutors. During this period, he participated in some of his father's campaigns. Upon the death of Sultan Murad II, he ascended the throne in Edirne in 1451. His greatest ambition was to conquer Istanbul. In 1452, he had the Rumeli Fortress built in four and a half months. While preparations for the siege continued, he informed the Byzantine Emperor to surrender the city. After a year of intense preparations in Edirne, the great march began in February, and by the beginning of April, a large buildup had taken place in front of the land walls of Istanbul. The siege of Istanbul, which began on April 6, 1453, was completed on May 29, 1453. The conquest of Istanbul was considered by the Western world to be the beginning of the Modern Age. Thanks to this conquest, Sultan Mehmed II saw himself as the heir to a world empire and gained absolute power. The conquest of Istanbul was met with excitement throughout Europe. Pope Nicholas V called for unity among the Italian states and invited all Christians to join the Crusade. Many of the Aegean islands, the Trebizond Empire, and Bosnia were conquered. The Karamanid principality and Crimea were annexed. The Sahn-ı Seman Madrasahs, which formed the foundation of Istanbul University, were established by him. Istanbul became not only the center of the state but also a center of learning. Mehmed the Conqueror passed away on May 3, 1481. He is buried in his tomb in front of the Fatih Mosque. Mehmed, who wrote poems under the pseudonym Avni, was the first Ottoman sultan to have a divan (collection of poems). Sinan Agha bin Abdurrahman (Architect Sinan) He was born in the village of Ağırnas in Kayseri (1492). He is known as Mimar Koca Sinan (Great Sinan). As a Janissary, he participated in the Belgrade and Rhodes campaigns. During the Moldavian campaign of 1538, he built a wooden bridge over the Prut River in a few days. Upon his return from the campaign, he was appointed chief architect of the imperial court. His first work as chief architect was the Haseki Complex, which he built in 1539 for Hürrem Sultan. The Şehzade Complex (1548), which he had built in memory of Şehzade Mehmed, the son of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who died at a young age, is his first important work. He left his mark on Istanbul with the Süleymaniye Complex (1550-1557). Other important works include the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Üsküdar (1547), the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Edirnekapı (1565), the Sokollu Mosque in Kadırga (1571), the Piyale Paşa Mosque in Kasımpaşa (1572), the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (1574), the Mağlova Aqueduct (1554-1563), and the Büyükçekmece and Drina Bridges. He created hundreds of works in a vast geographical area stretching from the Balkans to the Middle East and Arabia. As chief architect, he served for twenty-eight years during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, eight years during the reign of Selim II, and fourteen years during the reign of Murad III. He brought a new breath to Ottoman architecture. With the works of Sinan the Great, the classical style of Ottoman architecture was established and gained a wide richness of expression. Sinan Ağa died in Istanbul in 1588. His tomb is located next to the Süleymaniye Complex. He had two daughters, Ümmühan and Neslihan, and a son, Mehmed. His son died during his lifetime. His wife was Mihri Hatun. Architect Sinan Ağa, a devout man, had a mosque and a primary school built in the neighborhood where he lived in Istanbul. He also donated his house and shops during his lifetime. Nurbanu Valide Sultan She was the favorite wife of Sultan Selim II and the mother of Murad III. She gave birth to five children, four of whom were girls. Upon Selim II's ascension to the throne in 1566, she became the Haseki (favorite wife) as the mother of Prince Murad, and later the Valide Sultan (mother of the Sultan). The great respect Sultan Murad III showed his mother and the substantial salary allocated to her ensured that the position of Valide Sultan became a powerful one within the dynasty. Nurbanu Sultan placed great importance on charitable foundations and works. Her endowment deed reveals her to be a pious and benevolent woman. Besides the mosques, prayer rooms, soup kitchens, and baths she commissioned in Mercan, Alemdağ, and Langa in Istanbul, she is particularly known for the Atik Valide Mosque and Complex she built in Üsküdar. Designed by the architect Sinan, the complex consists of a mosque, madrasa (religious school), tekke (Sufi lodge), primary school, darülhadis (school of hadith), darülkurra (school of Quranic recitation), imaret (soup kitchen), tabhane (medical facility), caravanserai, darüşşifa (hospital), and hammam (bathhouse). In her endowment deed, she considered the needs of the complex she established down to the finest detail, even specifying what meals would be prepared in the soup kitchen on special occasions such as holidays and religious festivals. The library within the complex is notable for being the first library established by a woman in the Ottoman Empire. To provide income for the mosque and complex, the tax revenues of the Yeni İl district, encompassing a large area south of Sivas, were given to the sultan, who then endowed them to her mosque and complex in Üsküdar. Nurbanu Sultan died in Istanbul in 1583. She is buried in the tomb of Sultan Selim II in the courtyard of Hagia Sophia. Hatice Turhan Sultan She was the chief consort of Sultan Ibrahim and the mother of Sultan Mehmed IV. She became chief consort on January 1, 1642, after giving birth to Ibrahim's first son, Mehmed. In 1648, when Ibrahim was deposed and his seven-year-old son Mehmed ascended the throne, she received the title of Valide Sultan (Queen Mother). Besides Sultan Mehmed IV, she also had a daughter named Atike Sultan. Following the death of Kösem Sultan in 1651, Turhan Sultan, whose influence had increased, appointed Uzun Süleyman Ağa, the Darüssaade Aga, and Mekki Kalfa as her advisors. Upon the recommendation of architect Kasım Ağa, she appointed Köprülü Mehmed Paşa as Grand Vizier with extraordinary powers in 1656. Around 1660, Mehmed IV, having reached an age where he could manage the affairs of the sultanate, withdrew from politics. He devoted his wealth to charitable works. In 1660, he commissioned the construction of fortifications known as the "New Castles" and a mosque in the Dardanelles. In Istanbul, he completed the construction of the New Mosque complex in 1665, a project whose foundations had been laid by Safiye Sultan in 1598 but remained unfinished. His health deteriorated in the 1680s. He died on July 5, 1683, and is buried in his tomb in the courtyard of the New Mosque. Hacı Abdülaziz Ağa He lived during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I. Hacı Abdülaziz Ağa, son of Abdullah, was a resident of Ahmed Çavuş neighborhood in Milas town, Peçin district, in Western Anatolia, and endowed his properties between 1737 and 1739. According to his endowment deed, he built a madrasa (religious school) with twenty rooms in Milas. The fact that the daily allowance for the teacher was 60 akçe (Ottoman currency) indicates that it was a madrasa with 60 rooms. He endowed his farm, called Tekfur Anbarı, to cover the expenses of this madrasa.