Blessing, Patricia. Architecture and Material Politics in the Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Empire.

Patricia Blessing’s Architecture and Material Politics in the Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Empire explores fifteenth-century Ottoman architecture in Anatolia and the Balkans. Focusing on the architects, patrons, architecture, and ornamentation of several monuments in different cities from Amasya to Skopje, her inquiry attempts to map the networks of patrons, architects, and artisans and to portray the architectural and decorative styles in the lands of Rum within this era. The book argues that fifteenth-century Ottoman architecture was nourished by Saljuqid, Timurid, Mamluk, and Byzantine architectural cultures, and it was shaped by multiple actors with diverse backgrounds within an environment where cross-cultural contacts played a crucial role.