The Great Transition

Sultan Mehmed II Waqfiyya

(Endowment Charter, 1462 CE)

Following the conquest, Sultan Mehmed II established a perpetual Waqf (charitable endowment) to secure Hagia Sophia’s maintenance and operation as the city’s primary imperial mosque. The Waqfiyya (Endowment Charter) of 1462 CE formally codified this legal status, endowing extensive revenues from real estate and bazaars

across the empire to fund its preservation. The document famously invokes a solemn warning against altering its dedicated status as an Islamic house of worship. This charter remains a foundational legal reference cited in modern Turkish administrative law regarding the monument›s historical status.