Muzaffer Özgüleş
Synopsis:
This talk explores the building activities of an overlooked Ottoman royal woman, Gülnuş Sultan (d. 1715). She was the favourite wife of Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687); no other Ottoman royal woman accompanied her husband during military campaigns and on hunting expeditions as she did. Later on, as Queen Mother of his sons Mustafa II (r. 1695–1703) and Ahmed III (r. 1703–1730), she played an active role in politics as well. As a result, the patronage of Gülnuş Sultan encompasses a long and turbulent period, from the late 17th century to the early 18th century. Along with their remarkable geographic spread, the buildings and projects she undertook showcase innovative architectural forms and types. Additionally, they reflect the architectural transition from Classical Ottoman to the Ottoman Baroque style.
Worksheet:
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Selected References:
İpşirli-Argıt, Betül. Rabia Gülnuş Emetullah Sultan, 1640–1715. Istanbul: Kitap Yayınevi, 2014. 
Özgüleş, Muzaffer. The Women Who Built the Ottoman World: Female Patronage and the Architectural Legacy of Gülnuş Sultan. London: I.B. Tauris, 2017.
Özgüleş, Muzaffer. “A Missing Royal Mosque in Istanbul that Islamized a Catholic Space: The Galata New Mosque,” Muqarnas 34 (2017): 157–196.
Peirce, Leslie. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Sakaoğlu, Necdet. Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları. Istanbul: Oğlak Yayınları, 2008.
Thys-Şenocak, Lucienne. Ottoman Women Builders: The Architectural Patronage of Hadice Turhan Sultan. Burlington: Ashgate, 2006.
Citation:
Muzaffer Özgüleş, “Gülnuş Valide Sultan as an Architectural Patron,” Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online, published 18 September 2025.
Muzaffer Özgüleş (PhD, Istanbul Technical University, 2013) is currently an Assistant Professor at Alanya University. Prior to this position, he was Assistant Professor at Gaziantep University’s Faculty of Architecture (2016-21) as well as Barakat Trust Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Khalili Research Centre at the University of Oxford (2014-15). Between 2017-19, while at Oxford he coordinated the EU project “Timeline Travel: An Alternative Tool for Architectural History Learning and Teaching.” His publications include his major monograph entitled The Women Who Built the Ottoman World: Female Patronage and the Architectural Legacy of Gülnuş Sultan published by I.B. Tauris in 2017.