Cafer Paşa Tomb

Audio Narration:

Person in the Tomb:

Cafer Paşa

Location of the Tomb:

Eyüpsultan, İstanbul

Title:

Silahtarağa, Paşa

Birth / Death:

Unknown –1586/1587

About the Person:
  • Cafer Paşa was brought into the palace through the “devshirme” method and trained in Enderun. In 1530-31, while he was still “Cafer Ağa”, he began to serve as the silahtar (sword-bearer) of Suleiman the Magnificent. His resemblance to Suleiman in terms of his facial features and physical appearance was a striking feature in the chronicles of the period.
  • During the reign of Selim II, he came under the protection of Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Paşa and became the head doorkeeper, then the Janissary Agha, and by marrying Sokollu’s daughter, he became related to the palace dynasty. He was dismissed from his duty on the grounds of negligence in the Istanbul fire of 1568-69; however, as a punishment, he was sent to the position of Rumelia Beylerbey, one of the most prestigious positions of the period.
  • During the reign of Murad III, he was called to the center again and was promoted to the fifth vizier of the Kubealtı. He died in 1586/1587 (according to some sources, he was martyred) and was buried in his own tomb, which is still in Eyüpsultan.
About the Tomb:

Construction Year: 1585

Ordered by: Cafer Paşa

Architect: Unknown

Prominent Features:

  • The tomb is located within the social complex (madrasa and tekke) that bears Cafer Paşa’s name. The tomb, which has a two-storey facade, is enlivened by four rectangular windows with socket iron grids on the lower floor and four windows with pointed arches on the upper floor. There is another entrance with a crooked arch on the right side of the facade.
  • The main entrance to the tomb is a door with a pointed arch and an inscription, which is in ruins today. From the entrance to the madrasah next to the tomb, there is an open passage to the classroom-mosque section.
  • Inside, there is the coffin belonging to Cafer Paşa and the marble sarcophagi of his son İsfendiyar Bey and his family members. The architectural structure of the tomb is related to its function as a lodge; in the last period, it transformed from the Halvetiyye (Khalwatiyya) order to the Kadiriyye (Qadiriyya), and then to the Sa’diyye order with Mehmed Salih Sırrı Efendi.
  • After it started to be used as a lodge, the tevhidhane section was separated from the tomb by a wall or railing. The building was also used as a sheikh center (sheikhdom center) for a period.
  • Some sections within the tomb and dervish lodge structure have also functioned as shops in recent times; there is currently a shed adjacent to the tomb facade.