At a glance
- Era
- The Gunpowder Empires
- Region
- Anatolia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 3/5 · Help complete it
Summary
The Medrese of Süleyman Pasha in İznik was built a few years after the conquest of Nicaea by Süleyman Pasha, Orhan Gazi's eldest son; it was the first Ottoman building designed specifically as a medrese and is thus of particular interest in Ottoman architectural history 1.
Plan
Its three-sided porticoed courtyard is open on one side today, though it was almost certainly walled in originally 1. The dershane is off-centre, with two cells to its north and three to its south and three cells on each of the other two sides; porticoes front the student cells, and a pool with a fountain stood at the courtyard's centre 2.
For young visitors
The very first 'college' the Ottomans ever built stands in İznik, the city Orhan conquered.
Curatorial notes
- Source read: Freely, A History of Ottoman Architecture (2011), pp. 72–73 (Medrese of Süleyman Pasha).
- Record created in this batch.
People and things also explored
Abu Dulaf Mosque, Samarra· Great Mosque of Adana· Ahi Çelebi Mosque, Istanbul· al-Aqmar Mosque, Cairo· al-Attarine Madrasa, Fez· Great Mosque of Samarra· al-Janad Mosque, Ta'izz· al-Mansur Mosque (Kasbah Mosque), Marrakesh
Sources
- John Freely, A History of Ottoman Architecture (2011) , p.72
- John Freely, A History of Ottoman Architecture (2011) , p.72-73
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Medrese of Süleyman Pasha, İznik”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/building/suleyman-pasha-madrasa-iznik/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.