Sultan I. Mustafa and Sultan İbrahim Tomb

I. Mustafa

Birth/Death: 1591 – 1639
Title: 15th Ottoman Sultan
About: I. Ahmed’s brother, Mustafa, ascended the throne from the 'kafes' after his brother’s death. Due to his mental health issues and lack of administrative experience, his reign was effectively controlled by his mother Halime Sultan, the sheikh al-Islam, and palace aghas. This increased the influence of the Janissaries and fueled palace intrigues. Political instability revived the Celali rebellions and unrest along the Ottoman-Safavid border. After a year, he was replaced by his nephew Osman II. Reinstated following Osman’s assassination in 1622, he was soon deposed again by statesmen. He lived the rest of his life in a room in Topkapı Palace and was buried in his father Mehmed I’s tomb in Ayasofya. His dual reigns without actual power marked him as a ‘kafes sultan’ of a turbulent transition era.

I. İbrahim

Birth/Death: 1615 – 1648
Title: 18th Ottoman Sultan
About: Ascending after his brother Murad IV’s death, İbrahim emerged from years in the ‘kafes’. Initially governed under his mother Kösem Sultan and Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha. In 1645, he launched the Cretan War against Venice and reclaimed Azov Fortress. However, war expenditures led to heavy taxation and currency debasement. His extravagant lifestyle and erratic rule provoked Janissary and religious opposition. Deposed by a fatwa in 1648 and later executed, his son Mehmed IV succeeded him. He is remembered as the initiator of the Cretan War and a symbol of dynastic crisis.

Construction Year: 1639

Ordered by: Mimar Kasım Ağa

Architect: Unknown

Prominent Features:

Located southwest of Hagia Sophia, the tomb was converted from the former baptistery.
Externally square, internally octagonal, with a dome lacking a drum.
Originally used as an oil depot post-Conquest, converted to a tomb in the 17th century.
Baptismal font removed during conversion and repositioned by the wall; west entrance sealed and new one opened.
An 18th-century baroque porch and tomb keeper’s room were added.
Interior apses were turned into niches and cupboards, dome and pendentives adorned with classical Ottoman artwork.
Contains 19 sarcophagi, including those of Sultan Mustafa I, Sultan Ibrahim, daughters of Sultan Ahmed I and Sultan Murad IV, and children of Sultan Ahmed II.
Kaya Sultan’s sarcophagus is located by the window facing the sanctuary.
A rare example of Byzantine architecture repurposed in the Ottoman period.

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Sultan I. Ahmed Tomb

Sultan I. Mustafa and Sultan İbrahim Tomb

I. Mustafa

I. İbrahim

Fatih, İstanbul

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