Isom-Verhaaren|157existence is without limit. My felicitous sultan, I am the dust under your foot,
in God’s name instantly that day, I offered to felicity [you] such [news] as there
was, I had absolutely no news, later I heard it from Humashah, that lady said.This translation is quite literal to show how Mihrimah expressed herself when
writing to her father. This letter indicates that although she knew she was beloved
by him and his favorite, she still emphasized the gulf that existed between the
sultan and all others, even his daughter. This letter continues with more state-
ments by Mihrimah that she sent news from Selim and a letter. She stressed both
her reliability and her obedience to the sultan’s orders. She apparently forwarded
letters between Süleyman and her brothers, Selim and Bayezid, during the final
bitter struggle between them that ended with Bayezid’s execution.
Mihrimah as Architectural Patron
The elite of the empire during Süleyman’s reign, primarily formed from his fa-
vorites, competed with one another in the arena of architectural patronage. Sta-
tus was indicated by the number, location, and design of the structures that were
commissioned by patrons. Mihrimah commissioned two mosque complexes,
one at Üsküdar and another at Edirnekapı. In addition, she supervised the con-
struction of the mosques commissioned for her husband Rüstem and his brother
Sinan. The lavish nature of her commissions, which her father supported with
his approval and perhaps also with funds, testifies to her exalted status. These
complexes were in prime locations, where the wording of inscriptions and en-
dowment deeds continues to proclaim her unique status and the fashioning of
her imperial identity. I review here briefly the history of the construction of each
of these complexes in the order in which they were built: Üsküdar, Beşiktaş,
Tahtakale, and Edirnekapı.
Mihrimah’s first complex was built at Üsküdar between 1543 or 1544 and
- During this period Süleyman ordered Mimar Sinan to construct a mosque
in memory of Mihrimah’s dead elder brother, Mehmed. Both the mosque for
Mehmed and Mihrimah’s at Üsküdar proclaimed their special status because
they each had two minarets, which until Süleyman’s reign had been reserved for
mosques of rulers. Mihrimah was the first princess to commission a monumental
mosque complex in Istanbul, and although it was located in what was then the
remote neighborhood of Üsküdar where she owned a palace, it was highly visible
from across the Bosphorus.
The endowment deed of Mihrimah’s mosque, registered in 1550, refers to her
as “the sultan’s favored daughter ‘Mihrümah Sultan Hanım,’ a ‘Fatima in inno-
cence, a Khadija in chastity, an ɇAɆisha in intelligence, a Bilqis (Queen of Sheba)
in natural disposition’ and the ‘Rabiɇa of the epoch.’” This document identifies
her as her father’s favorite and associates her character with the most celebrated