Impressions Of Manisa During Turkish Period

In Manisa, nicknamed as the “City of the Princes” in the Ottoman Era, we can see a combination of architectural monuments from both Saruhanlı Principality and Ottoman periods. Manisa was founded on the north slopes of the Spil mountain formerly known as Sipylos; at the edge of the plain of the Gediz River. At the South of the City, there is an inner castle from pre-islamic period; and at a lower level outer walls running parallel to Spil mountain. The exact foundation date can not be known as the city's oldest name is "Magnesia". Byzantine period, Manisa was an important military base, and after that it became a bishopric city. After the conquest by Saruhan Bey in the early 14th century, Manisa became the center of Saruhanoglu Principality. Saruhanoglus had dominated in and around Manisa (1300-1410) until Bayezid 1st and later his son Mehmed 1st conquered the area and add to the lands of Otoman Principality. Then the region is referred as Saruhanlı County (sanjac); and its capital Manisa becomes a second “city of princes” after Amasya. Except for İshak Çelebi and his complex, it can be easly said that the city was shaped by women since the period of Saruhanli and such tradition was started by İshak Çelebi's wife Gülgün Hatun. However, the social positions of the other art employers expose a priority difference between the two “City of the Princes” as Amasya and Manisa. In this context, our goal is to determine how Manisa was developed as an urban center, from the beginning of the reign of Saruhanoglu era; and to evaluate people who have an arbiter of the development of the city by building various structures. Architectural analyzes constitute the next phase of this work, so they are not included in the scope of our text.

Keywords

Manisa, City of the Princes, Saruhanlı Principality, Woman Patrons