Topkapı Palace Museum

Topkapı Palace Museum (Topkapı Sarayı Müzesı), palace in İstanbul, Turkey. From 1465 to 1853 it served as the main residence of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire and the headquarters of their government.

Construction of the palace began in 1459 on the order of Sultan Muhammad II, who had conquered Constantinople (now İstanbul) six years before. Muhammad installed his court in the palace in 1465. After numerous expansions and occasional fires, the court was moved to the Dolmabahçe Palace in 1853. The Topkapı Palace served as a residence for the harems (multiple wives) of former sultans until 1909. It became a museum in 1924, after the founding of the Republic of Turkey.

Topkapı’s buildings, separated by gates between four large courtyards and several gardens, include the divan, in which the grand viziers (chief ministers) and other government officials worked; a school for the Ottoman civil service; and private quarters, such as the palace kitchens, the imperial wardrobe, and the harem’s living quarters. The museum’s exhibits, displayed in these and other buildings, include selections from the sultans’ collections of clocks, armor, and weapons; Chinese and European ceramics and glassware; imperial costumes; and diamonds and other jewels. The museum also houses relics of the prophet Muhammad.