Bab-i Mesihat; the Shaikh al-Islam institution in 19th century

In this study, I addressed one of the most important political and religious institutions of the Ottoman Empire which is that of Shaikh al-Islam, in terms of political and architectural context; beginning from the institution's history and historical progress until the Ottoman Empire, to its structure and position in the Ottoman times, and lastly its 19th century version which has been influenced by the modernization process in which it has a fixed location and got more institutionalized. This study consists of four parts. In the first section, the goal of the study, the scope of the study and the method has been examined, like as a preperation part for the thesis' subject. The second section is for the historical narrative of the change and development of the Shaikh al-Islamate. From the first muslim state which was established by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the first years of Islam, until Ottoman Empire, the state-religion relationship was so intertwined. The importance of the caliphship which is the leadership for muslim countries is obvious. With the expansion of the muslim territories, the societal need for a Shaikh al-Islam has emerged. As the religious and spiritual representative of the Caliph, Shaikh al-Islam's position was also very crucial. Beginning from the early years of Islam; the emergence of the institutions of mufti-qadi-kazasker and lastly the Shaikh al-Islamate has been addressed by looking at its emergence and institutionalization and by focussing on key historical points in the grand narrative. Then, the place of the Shaikh al-Islam in the state protocol has been examined. And to continue, I looked into its change as the political culture of the Ottoman state evolving for a more centralist and modernist state; and assigning a permanent building for the office Shaikh al-Islam. Thus, the relationship of modernization and centralization, and the Shaikh al-Islamate has been tried to explored. In the third section of my thesis I have written about the structure of Shaikh al-Islamate, its units, entities and fundamental offices by relating the attendants and officers of that institution and by using the written findings. And lastly in the forth section, the structure of Bab-ı Mesihat building has been analyzed in architectural terms. The building which was formerly Agakapısı, was assigned as for the Office of Shaikh al-Islam in the 19th century. I addressed it through the last years of the Ottoman Empire and the first years of the republican period of Turkey and then connected it with today. The Old and new maps, the old gravures, the photos and drawings helped a lot in highligting my subject and expounding it. The entwined structure of the religious and political affairs in the Ottoman Empire, the effect of the Ottoman modernization on the state institutions and their relation with the architectural style is the main subject of this thesis