Mimar Sinan died on 17 July 1588 in Istanbul, aged about 98. The chief architect of the Ottoman Empire for around fifty years, Sinan was born to a Christian family in Anatolia and taken into the Ottoman service as a youth through the devshirme system. He trained as a military engineer, took part in campaigns with the janissaries, and was named chief imperial architect in 1539. Working for Suleiman the Magnificent and his successors, he designed or supervised hundreds of buildings, including mosques, schools, bridges, aqueducts and baths. His principal works are the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul and the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, which he regarded as his masterpiece. He refined the large central dome supported by half-domes, a form influenced by Hagia Sophia.
Before and after
- from 1587 to 1589War of the Three Henrys
- from 12 April 1587 to 6 July 1587Singeing the King of Spain's Beard
- 5 April 1588Birth of Thomas Hobbes
- from 25 April 1588 to 1 August 1588Spanish Armada
- 17 July 1588Death of Mimar Sinan
- 1589Construction of Harmandir Sahib
- from April 1589 to July 1589English Armada
- 30 April 1589Construction of Apostolic Palace
- from 15 September 1589 to 29 September 1589Battle of Arques
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