Endowment of the Sokolović Family From the Balkans to the Middle East

Abstract

The Balkans and the Middle East are the two regions with shared history of more than four centuries, permeated by the Ottoman rule and its influences. The Ottoman administrators of the Balkans and the Arab provinces left a unique mark on the cultural and urban landscapes of the former Ottoman provinces in both regions. Members of the Sokolović family take a prominent place among them. The most important members of this family, viziers, beglerbeys, sanjakbeys, acting on their own or under direct instructions by the Porte, built their endowments (waqf) at strategically selected locations, busy trading or pilgrimage routes from Central Europe all the way to the Muslim pilgrimage at Hijaz. The construction of endowment-related facilities was a form of transregional investment, so that distant areas of the Ottoman time were linked by edifices sharing the specific elements of the Ottoman-style Islamic culture. This paper offers information on the endowment, as well as a map that shows the different parts of their endowment, in order to present visually the impact of this segment of activity of these personalities.