The First Capital of the Ottoman Empire

Bursa, in North-eastern Anatolia, became the first major capital city of the early Ottoman Empire following its capture from the Byzantines in 1326. As a result, the city witnessed a considerable amount of urban growth throughout the 14th century - where it became a trading center and a social hub at the heart of the Middle Eastern world. After conquering Edirne (Adrianople) in East Thrace, the Ottomans turned Adrianople into the new capital city in 1363, but Bursa retained its spiritual and commercial importance in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I built the Bayezid Külliyesi in Bursa between 1390 and 1395, and the Ulu Cami (Grand Mosque) between 1396 and 1400. In fact, Bursa remained the most important administrative and commercial centre in the empire until Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453.

Specializing in Byzantine and Ottoman archaeology, Suna Çagaptay tells the story of the transition from a Byzantine Christian city, to an Islamic Ottoman one. The book posits that Bursa was a multi-faith capital, and that in the records of Bursa we can see the religious plurality and modernity of the Ottoman world in miniature. Thus the book uncovers evidence about construction practices and materials used, the involvement of Greek masons and builders from Bithynia in Bursa's rise and the stories and impact of individual builders themselves. Rooted in the author's archaeological experience the book will be an important scholarly contribution to the literature on Bursa and the early empire.