The East, the West, and the Appropriation of the Past in Early Ottoman Architecture

Abstract

As the Ottoman state emerged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it encountered the contemporary, medieval cultures of Western Europe and Byzantium, as well as the past, classical cultures of northwest Asia Minor. An examination of early Ottoman architecture, including the construction of new works, adaptation of existing buildings, and attitudes expressed toward older monuments, helps to clarify the nature of the encounter. The Ottoman appropriation of the past may be understood as a part of their symbolic control of the land and as an attempt to position themselves within the larger context of world history as the rightful heirs of the Roman/Byzantine Empire.