Hagop Balyan

The Balyan family (Western Armenian: Պալեաններ; Turkish: Balyan ailesi or Palyan ailesi) was a prominent Armenian family of Ottoman court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and members of the Ottoman dynasty during the 18th and 19th centuries. For five generations, they designed and constructed numerous major buildings in the Ottoman Empire, including palaces, mansions, konaks, kiosks, yalis, mosques, churches, and various public buildings, mostly in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). The nine well-known members of the family served six sultans in the course of almost a century and played an important role in the Westernization of Ottoman architecture during the Tanzimat period.

Mason Bali (Mason Balen, Turkish: Meremmetçi Bali Kalfa or Meremmetçi Balen Kalfa), a masonry craftsman from the Belen village of Karaman in central Anatolia, was the founder of the dynasty. He moved to Constantinople, where he learned of an Armenian palace architect of Sultan Mehmed IV (1648–1687), whom he replaced. When Bali died in 1725, his son Magar took his place as architect at the sultan’s court.

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