The Sultan Ahmed Mosque

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was on the rise, expanding militarily in all directions. However, at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, when Ahmed I ascended the throne, Turkish military power began to decline. The Turks were forced to sign a truce with the Habsburgs in the west, and in the east, they were defeated by the Persians. Ahmed decided to build a grand mosque in the capital to divert attention from these failures and gain favor with his subjects. The Sultan entrusted this important task to the court architect Sedefhar Mehmet, a disciple of the great Sinan.