Mahmud II

Refers to the style of architecture that coincided with the reign of Mahmud II, who ruled from 1808 to 1839. Mahmud broke the power of the janissaries, whose reactionary views were in part responsible for the Ottoman military decline. In the arts, he was a major force in Europeanizing Ottoman art and architecture, building structures in the Baroque and Rococo styles, as well as the Neo-classicism of Napoleonic France. His Nusretiye or Divine Victory mosque was built in the late Baroque style with undulating, curving walls and large open courtyards. Under Mahmud II, court artists were sent to France to learn scientific methods of painting and drawing and rules of linear perspective.