Mimar Davud Ağa

Davud Agha was the chief imperial architect of the Ottoman Empire from 1588, after the death of his predecessor Sinan, until his death in 1598 or 1599. and from there followed a typical path into the Ottoman bureaucracy, studying architecture under the master architect Sinan. He probably participated as a military engineer in the Ottoman campaign against the Safavids in 1583. At the time of Sinan's death, he was a senior official in the imperial department of architects and served as the Master of the Waterways, the second-highest position in the department. but it may be a late work of Sinan or even possibly a work of Sedefkar Mehmed Agha. He probably designed the market (arasta) and primary school that were added to the Selimiye Mosque complex built by Sinan in Edirne. The Cerrahpasha Mosque (for Cerrah Mehmed Pasha) in Istanbul, completed around 1593, is likely attributable to him. Other monuments more securely attributed to him include the Tomb of Koca Sinan Pasha on Divanyolu, the Basketmakers' Kiosk (1591)

Style Davud was Sinan's apprentice and followed the latter's teachings closely. His mosque designs tend to follow the octagonal baldaquin and hexagonal baldquin ideas that Sinan used in his late career. Some scholars have characterized his works as conservative, citing the design of the Yeni Valide Mosque as an example because it follows the design of the Şehzade Mosque, a work from Sinan's early career. He was succeeded as chief architect by Dalgıç Ahmed Agha, who remained in the post until 1605 or 1606 and was in turn succeeded by Sedefkar Mehmed Agha.