佚名 · CC0
17th century · 1590–1617
Ahmed I
I. Ahmed · Türkiye
Ottoman sultan who built the Blue Mosque
When his father died in 1603, he became sultan at the age of 13 and reigned until 1617. Opposite Hagia Sophia he built the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the 'Blue Mosque' for its blue interior tiles; it was completed in 1616, and he died the following year.
Where the story happened
Places connected with this person
History · Old Istanbul: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar
A 21-year-old conqueror and a 13-year-old sultan
In 1453 the 21-year-old Ottoman sultan Mehmed II besieged Constantinople with a great army and took the city, ending the Byzantine Empire; Hagia Sophia was promptly converted into a mosque. A century and a half later, in 1603, Ahmed I came to the throne aged 13; opposite Hagia Sophia he built the Sultan Ahmed Mosque — the 'Blue Mosque' — completed in 1616; he died the following year.
