The Sultan Darüşşifas in the XVth and XVIth centuries

As a reflection of the philantropy, darüşşifas were usually built by the high income owners such as sultans and princess-mothers. These type of buildings which were tried to stay alive by dedicating huge amount of money are generally a part of the wakf-hospice system. Just like the mosques, schools (medreses) and hospices, darüşşifas, which has growth in Turkish architecture style, are one of the buildings in külliyes (complex of buildings) that were planned to satisfy the needs of a region. The personnel of darüşşifas were strictly selected to ensure the best service to patients and the amount of the personnel and their salaries were determined in the vakfiyes. As a perfect health organization, darüşşifas kept serving in health sector until the formation of the modern hospitals (Modern Memleket Hastahaneleri) in the XIXth century. After the formation of the modern hospitals, some of the darüşşifas served as mental hospitals and some used in a way that were not connected with the health sector. Some of these darüşşifas, which kept serving in health sector in the Ottoman Empire for centuries, still remains and some were annihilated. (Fatih Darüşşifası) In this work, otoman darussifas were tried to be investigated in terms of their founders, physical structures, income and outcome, staff quality and health service.Key Words:1. Darüşşifa2. Wakf3. Külliye4. Health5. Ottoman Empire