File:Iznik Suleymanpasha Medresesi 1713.jpg

English: This is the Süleymanpaşa medresesi, where one can now visit shops with ceramics.

This college of law and theology was built in the mid-14th century by a son of Orhan I Bey. This Süleyman Paşa was the first ‘paşa’ and a great soldier (1316-1359). The college replaced a Byzantine monastery that had been installed in a former Seljuk medrese of the late 11th century. It was restored in the late 19th century, and once again - to its present state - around 2000. On the picture: The plan is typical of the U-shaped early Ottoman colleges (up to the late 15th century), with study halls, cells and porticoes on three sides of a court.

Paşa was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals and other dignitaries. There were three ranks of paşa: the first (highest) class, had the privilege of bearing a standard of three horse-tails, the second of two, and the third of one. (Only the Sultan himself was entitled to four tails, as sovereign commander in chief). Within the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Sultan had the exclusive rights to bestow the title of Paşa. The title appears originally to have applied only to military commanders, but subsequently it could distinguish any high official, and also unofficial individuals whom the court wanted to honour.