Contribution to the Study of the Religious, Cultural and Intellectual Identity of the Grand Vizier Soqollu Mehmed Pasha

A Cultural Aspect of Soqollu’s Waqfiye on the Books

Abstract

The paper presents the vaqfiye of Soqollu Mehmed Pasha son of Gamal al-Din Sinan Beg, with a description of the books donated by the Grand Vizier for learning and education in his mosque at Azaplar Qapısı, in the Tomb of Soqollu in Eyup Sultan, the mosque in Luleburgaz, in the Fethiye madrasa in Istanbul, his haniqah and madrasa in Luleburgaz. The books were described in detail, and the vaqfiya itself was written by following the method of registration and catalog description of books typical for several vaqfiyas of notable persons in the Ottoman society of the mid-16th century. After the presentation of the books described in the waqfiya of Soqollu Mehmed Pasha, the paper is also dealing with the cultural aspect of the document itself. Just as the study and description of donated books in Mehmed Pasha’s madrasas and haniqahs are notable for studying the history of books, libraries, and science in the Ottoman education system in his time, they are also meaningful for understanding the character, spiritual and intellectual habitus of the man who donated books for the common good.