Print Page | Close Window

ethnicity of mimar sinan(ottoman architect)?

Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: Post-Classical Middle East
Forum Discription: SW Asia, the Middle East and Islamic civilizations from 600s - 1900 AD
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8156
Printed Date: 28-Mar-2024 at 12:36
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: ethnicity of mimar sinan(ottoman architect)?
Posted By: Guests
Subject: ethnicity of mimar sinan(ottoman architect)?
Date Posted: 07-Jan-2006 at 16:12
   i want to learn the roots of mimar sinan (ottoman architect) . i heard that  he was rum(greek) origin, is it true?

   

 

   



Replies:
Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 07-Jan-2006 at 16:37

The name comes off as Armenian to me, but I am not sure.  He made many buildings.

Me'mar means architect in Arabic, so it is not part of his actual name.



-------------


Posted By: Maziar
Date Posted: 07-Jan-2006 at 16:54
I have heared he was from Albania, how accurate is this?

-------------


Posted By: The Hidden Face
Date Posted: 07-Jan-2006 at 19:41
he was an armenian rum.



Posted By: Beylerbeyi
Date Posted: 07-Jan-2006 at 20:34

He was of the Ottoman Muslim millet.



-------------


Posted By: Mira
Date Posted: 08-Jan-2006 at 02:14
Originally posted by Beylerbeyi

He was of the Ottoman Muslim millet.



I think I read that, too.  He was born Greek Orthodox with name Joseph, and then somehow, somehwere converted to Islam?


Posted By: ArmenianSurvival
Date Posted: 08-Jan-2006 at 03:56
He was born around 1490 in Kayseri as the son of a Christian mason. In 1521 he enrolled in the Janissary Corps, an elite wing of the Ottoman army whose members were all taken from Christian families converted to Islam and trained to fight for the Sultan.


Source: http://www.mymerhaba.com/en/main/content.asp_Q_id_E_142

In Kayseri (Caesarea), most Christians were either Armenian or Greek. Beylerbeyi is right, he was part of the Muslim millet, but his roots were part of an ethnicity that practiced Christianity. In that part of the Empire that means chances are he could've been Armenian.

As you know, Ottomans had many famous Armenian architects. The Balian architect family for example, was Armenian.

-------------
Mass Murderers Agree: Gun Control Works!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Resistance

Քիչ ենք բայց Հայ ենք։


Posted By: azimuth
Date Posted: 08-Jan-2006 at 04:18

both names mimar and sinan are Arabic names.

 



-------------


Posted By: ArmenianSurvival
Date Posted: 08-Jan-2006 at 04:36
Ya, the name could have been given to him after he was Islamicized (which was standard practice for Janissaries).

-------------
Mass Murderers Agree: Gun Control Works!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Resistance

Քիչ ենք բայց Հայ ենք։


Posted By: TheodoreFelix
Date Posted: 10-Jan-2006 at 12:36
I have heared he was from Albania, how accurate is this?


There are some few who have supported this, although I was not one of them, because he designed a popular mosque in Albania. But thats the only reason I can think of. Seems like BS to me.

-------------


Posted By: Beylerbeyi
Date Posted: 10-Jan-2006 at 14:26

His roots (probably Armenian) are not important. He was a typical Ottoman. 'Mimar' is not a name, it means 'architect'. 'Sinan' is a Muslim name, common one among converts/janissaries etc.  'Mimar Sinan' means 'Sinan the Architect'.



-------------


Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 10-Jan-2006 at 15:01

It's as important as this thread.  The person who created the thread did so for the very purpose of finding out for his/her own personal interest.



-------------


Posted By: azimuth
Date Posted: 11-Jan-2006 at 02:45

oh there is no such thing as muslim name, its Arabic.

 



-------------


Posted By: oTToMAn_TurK
Date Posted: 11-Jan-2006 at 10:53

no one said it wasnt arabic, and there is such things as muslim names just like there are christian names, jewish names, etc



-------------
Either your a slave to what MADE-MAN
Or your a slave to what MAN-MADE


Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 12-Jan-2006 at 19:49

Nobody could know his origin

Mimar Sinan was picked up from Kayseri (City where located  in the middle of Turkey) as a Janissary when he was child and he educated by best teachers of Ottomans.His family could be  Armenian but its not important as beylerbeyi said.

He was good Ottoman and muslim.

Moreover he was best friend of  Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent.



-------------


Posted By: Artaxiad
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 00:11
If it isn't important, then why do some sources prefer to say that he was an Albanian or a Rum?

-------------


Posted By: DayI
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 09:50

Dont look at his origin, look at his artworks. Read about it and youll amaze him twice... You simply say "whaaowww"

He whas a kind  "Haman" of the padishah kanuni sultan suleyman.

 



-------------
Bu mıntıka'nın Dayı'sı
http://imageshack.us - [IMG - http://www.allempires.com/forum/uploads/DayI/2006-03-17_164450_bscap021.jpg -


Posted By: Beylerbeyi
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 14:47

If it isn't important, then why do some sources prefer to say that he was an Albanian or a Rum?

Because we live in an age when nationalistic ideas are popular. Everyone wants a piece of a great man for her nation. But I already told you the reality, he was 100% Ottoman Muslim. Not Armenian, not Rum, nor Albanian nor any kind of Christian. Not even Turkish. He was of the Ottoman Muslim millet.

oh there is no such thing as muslim name, its Arabic.

Yes, I've met many Confucianists, Buddhists, Christians, Animists and Shamanists named Sinan myself. That's why he has that name, because he was a Christian Arab, right? Or maybe a Shamanist Turk.

Wake up and smell the coffee mate, he got that name when he converted to Islam, because it was a Muslim name, common one for converts, meaning 'tip of the spear'. Of course it is Arabic, but he did not convert to Arabness, he converted to Islam, Islam is why Turks are called Sinan, and you know it as well as I do.

Turkish nationalists say that Turkish Islam should be cleansed from Arab language and customs, or be abandoned altogether. We should return to our ancestors' religion of Shamanism.  You are giving them ammunition by writing this.



-------------


Posted By: azimuth
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 15:19

you didnt prove anything, this name is Arabic and islam isn't a language its a religion for all people.

this name and other names were used before islam by Arabs and you can find many non-muslims arabs and not arabs having arabic names that doesn't mean they are Muslims using "islamic names".

iam not arguing people who converted to islam usually change their names to names muslims use, this is a part where the person coverting changing his name from the non-bliever name to a name muslims use.

and not all muslims has arabic names, and they are muslims.

 



-------------


Posted By: Beylerbeyi
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 15:47

changing his name from the non-bliever name

There is no such thing as a non-believer name! It is an Armenian name.

to a name muslims use.

Bending over backwards not to write 'a muslim' name...

Well, I think everyone including you knows what I mean, anyway.



-------------


Posted By: Artaxiad
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 17:18

Because we live in an age when nationalistic ideas are popular. Everyone wants a piece of a great man for her nation. But I already told you the reality, he was 100% Ottoman Muslim. Not Armenian, not Rum, nor Albanian nor any kind of Christian. Not even Turkish. He was of the Ottoman Muslim millet.

I was rather talking about Turkish or Western sources.

Ottoman millet system is now (obviously) invalid. People would prefer to know his ethnic origin, rather than his religion, because that's how people identify themselves today.



-------------


Posted By: Beylerbeyi
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 19:35

I was rather talking about Turkish or Western sources.

Whatever sources. Racist Turks don't like the Ottoman Empire either.

Ottoman millet system is now (obviously) invalid.

It is more valid than you'd believe. Ask the Bosniaks around here. But Sinan is rather obviously dead for a few centuries, you know, adn it was damn valid when he was around. Don't fool yourself, he would have killed Christians in battle as a Janissary without batting an eyelid, and possibly did so. 

People would prefer to know his ethnic origin, rather than his religion, because that's how people identify themselves today.

Was a Roman Emperor from North Africa an Algerian or an Italian or a Roman?

Ethnicities are defined by religion to some degree. In the Ottoman Empire, they were almost completely based on religion. Besides, there is an ethnicity called Ottoman, defined as a member of the Muslim ruling class of the Ottoman Empire and Sinan is an Ottoman Muslim like many others. Only racists (including Turks) would claim Sinan is something other than an Ottoman Muslim.

Besides, there is a general rule, when talking history it is a big mistake to judge the past by today's values. Sorry if I am harsh, but I have little patience left for the imbeciles (again including Turks- there are many Turks like this) who come up with crap like 'this Ottoman Sultan had a Serb mother, so he is Serb, this Vizier comes from a Greek village, so he is a Greek' etc. Another testimony to the imbecility of these people is the fact that the Ottoman Empire made Sinan what he was, since he would have become a smelly peasant if he had grown up as a Caeserian Christian.



-------------


Posted By: Artaxiad
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 20:02

Nobody is denying that he became an Ottoman Muslim.

Do you think that I take this from the air? Is it really that offensive if I call him an Islamicized Armenian?



-------------


Posted By: Beylerbeyi
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 21:00

Is it really that offensive if I call him an Islamicized Armenian?

Was Pushkin a 'Christianised African'? No, he was a Russian. Sinan's conversion was beyond a religion change.

As I wrote above, it makes you sound like a nationalist/racist and I really had enough of such people. What gain are you expecting from this claim? Only thing you can claim is that Armenian genes make good architects/engineers, since that's the only Armenian (or whatever) feature of Sinan. This is a racist claim, which gets on my nerves. It is bullsh*t anyway, since 'Armenian genes' are the same as other peoples' genes from the same area.

Conversion was/is a serious event, mate, especially when it is at a young age. It changes the person's identity completely when coupled with cultural difference and change in language. When Sinan was born, modern racism/ethno-cultural nationalism was unknown, so it was even more important than today.  

If you don't believe me go to Hemshin in Turkey. There you'll find Armenian speaking Muslims, with similar culture to Armenians (all in all Muslim Armenians), but they don't call themselves Armenians, because Armenian means Christian. If you call them Armenians, they'll shoot you. Ottoman Muslims are even more different from Armenians than those people, because their culture was more different from Armenians, and they spoke Turkish (converts had to learn it first, of course).

If you insist on being a racist/nationalist, think this way: be proud of your real ancestors, not those who refused being Armenians, and became Ottomans, and today, Turks. Sinan killed Armenians, his sons killed Armenians, his grandsons killed Armenians, and so on and so forth, and you are trying to be proud by making him an Armenian.

Be proud of the Balyans, they were real Ottoman Armenians. Sinan simply wasn't.



-------------


Posted By: Artaxiad
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2006 at 23:35

Nobody said that. You're putting words in my mouth. I don't consider Armenians better than any other ethnic groups.

But it is sometimes annoying when the Armenian legacy of Turkey is ignored.



-------------


Posted By: violentjack
Date Posted: 10-May-2006 at 18:32
Originally posted by nemesia

   i want to learn the roots of mimar sinan (ottoman architect) . i heard that  he was rum(greek) origin, is it true?

He was of Greek descent,that is right



   

 

   


-------------
Bosnjaci,probudite se ili nestanite


Posted By: Bulldog
Date Posted: 18-May-2006 at 19:54
I don't understand these silly topics, to tell the truth its racist.
 
Why?
 
Because race/ethnicity does not determine your nation.
 
I am Brittish, however, a few generations back I have Black relative's and Spanish relative's.
 
My Grandmother was Spanish does this make my father Spanish? does it make me so? does the mixture of race's and ethnicities in any way, shape or form determine my nationality and national feeling? of course this is a big No
 
If racist's started trying to put me into their nation because I became succesfull and started using the various ethnicities to try and get the upper hand I'd be deeply offended as I today am Brittish, am proud to be Brittish and feel Brittish.
 
The Architect Sinan was part of the Ottoman Muslim Nation, that was his pride and love, he felt neither Greek or Armenian and in his memoirs didn't even feel the importance of putting in what his race and ethnicity was so we'll never know and quite frankly it doesn't matter.
 
As a Janissary they would quite happily fight against Greeks and Armenians or any other non-Muslim nation.
 
So could these racist discussions please stop.   Today in the Brittish football team we have alot of Black player's they are obviously not racially or ethnically Brittish but this doesn't change that they are part of the Brittish nation are proudly representing their nation and are supported fanatically by their nation.
 
If one became really successfull nobody has the right to claim he is not Brittish and part of another nation due to his race.
 
Just because Pele became the greatest player in the world it doesn't give Black African's the right to claim him as a West African Superstar as his nation is Brazil and he is Brazillian.
 
This also include's Sinan, just because he became famous it does not give everyone the right to search for his DNA composition and lay claim on him.
 
Read his book, he clearly states, I am proudly an Ottoman of the Ottoman Muslim Nation.
 
Regards


-------------
      What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.
Albert Pine



Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 19-May-2006 at 06:12
Today in the Brittish football team
 
British football team?


Posted By: Bulldog
Date Posted: 19-May-2006 at 09:49
Yeah the English Embarrassed LOL
 
Today our Black English player's will with no hesitation play against  the country whereever their racial DNA composition is from.
 
They play for the English team, that is their nation nobody else can start claiming people just because they become successfull its ridiculous.


-------------
      What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.
Albert Pine



Posted By: ArmenianSurvival
Date Posted: 20-May-2006 at 18:02
     No one in this thread has denied he was an Ottoman (or that he was proud of his country)....the person who started the thread was simply curious which ethnicity he belonged to (since in the modern era we distinguish people based on ethnicity, as opposed to religion as it was under the Ottoman system). This doesn't mean we're saying "he had loyalty for his people moreso than for the Ottomans"....no. We just want to find out his origins. There's no supremacy issue going on here.

-------------
Mass Murderers Agree: Gun Control Works!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Resistance

Քիչ ենք բայց Հայ ենք։


Posted By: Kapikulu
Date Posted: 09-Jun-2006 at 18:13
He is from my actual hometown(Kayseri)
 
He was born in Ağırnas, as ArmenianSurvival had stated before...
 
His house, which still stands there, collects a lot of visitors..
 
His roots don't really matter, his works are what we shall focus on...He served the empire in the most brilliant way.


-------------
We gave up your happiness
Your hope would be enough;
we couldn't find neither;
we made up sorrows for ourselves;
we couldn't be consoled;

A Strange Orhan Veli


Posted By: xi_tujue
Date Posted: 10-Jun-2006 at 03:46
Originally posted by azimuth

you didnt prove anything, this name is Arabic and islam isn't a language its a religion for all people.

this name and other names were used before islam by Arabs and you can find many non-muslims arabs and not arabs having arabic names that doesn't mean they are Muslims using "islamic names".

iam not arguing people who converted to islam usually change their names to names muslims use, this is a part where the person coverting changing his name from the non-bliever name to a name muslims use.

and not all muslims has arabic names, and they are muslims.

 

 
Mabey late but.
If i remember correctlly the only "muslim" name was given to the prophet muhammed mustapha(s.a.s) The arabic or middle eastern names predate Islam, christianity and some even Judaism. For instance my name is Eyp(speld turkish) Eyyub (this would be arabic in latin thow) Job or Jobe western version)
 
Would yiu say Mikail is a muslim name What about micheal mikaele (italian) or what about the russian version. Names or by region.
 
The only name who was new for the arabs was muhammed


-------------
I rather be a nomadic barbarian than a sedentary savage



Print Page | Close Window

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz - http://www.webwizguide.com