Balyan family

Graves of the Balyan family in the Armenian cemetery on Nuh Kuyusu Caddesi, Bağlarbaşı, Üsküdar, Istanbul.
Recently renovated graves of the Balyan family in the Armenian cemetery in Üsküdar, Istanbul.

The Balyan family (Armenian: Պալեաններ; Turkish: Balyan ailesi) was a prominent Armenian[1] family in the Ottoman Empire of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other 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).

  1. ^ Robinson, Francis (1996). The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World. Cambridge University Press. p.286; "In Istanbul they were propagated in buildings designed for the Ottoman sultans by the Armenian Balyan family of architects..."