Edirne

Mimar Sinan (1489-1588) was chief architect of the Ottoman imperial household for half a century, from 1538 until his death. Trained as a military engineer, he built the Şehzade, Süleymaniye and Selimiye complexes, and the inventories of his own period record hundreds of buildings in his name.

Murad I (1326-1389) ruled the Ottoman state for some twenty-seven years, moving its capital to Edirne in Europe, reducing the Balkan principalities to vassalage, and developing the institutions of Ottoman government. He was killed at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.

Murad II (1404-1451) completed the recovery of the Ottoman state after its collapse at Ankara in 1402. He reigned twice, abdicating in 1444 and returning to win the Battle of Varna, and left his son Mehmed II an empire capable of taking Constantinople.