Abstract
The interest of the Ottoman sultans in the holy lands goes back to the reign of Sultan Bayezid I, long before the Ḥijāz was included in the Ottoman lands. These lands were included in the Ottoman Empire in 1517 during the reign of Sultan Selim I (1512-1520). Ottoman sultans dealt with many issues, especially the reconstruction of these holy cities, after the Ḥijāz joined the Ottoman Empire. The Magnificent Süleyman had done important public works in Mecca, mainly the repair of the Kaʿba during his reign. Suleymaniye madrasas built in Mecca are one of them. Suleymaniye madrasas are the projects of Sinan, the great architect of the Ḳānūnī period. The most important feature of these madrasas is that they are made as Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī madrasas. It is also seen that the professor who teach here had taken important positions in public services such as judge, muftī and shaikh al-Ḥaram. Some important scholars of the period also gave lectures here. However, these madrasas lost their essential functions in the 13th/19th century. Some changes had been made in the buildings of the madrasas. In this article, the changes that Suleymaniye madrasas had undergone since the construction process and the professors whose biographies can be accessed are discussed. Considering the fact that important scholars gave lectures here in parallel with the periodic changes, it is understood that an institutional structure that made significant contributions to the intellectual and scientific life of Mecca and preserves the existence of an intellectual-academic environment.