Mimar Sinan

Chief imperial architect to three Ottoman sultans across half a century, with hundreds of mosques, bridges and aqueducts attributed to him. The Selimiye at Edirne was his answer to Hagia Sophia — a dome he built wider than the Byzantine original, resting on eight piers rather than concealed buttressing, so the interior reads as a single undivided space.

• Lived: 1489 CE – 1588 CE
• Nationality: ottoman
• Roles: architect, engineer