The mosque complex includes a mausoleum marking the spot where Ebu Eyüp el-Ansari (Abu Ayyub al-Ansari), the standard-bearer and companion of the prophet Muhammad, is said to have been buried.

Because of its particular sanctity, the mosque played a role in the coronation ceremony for new Ottoman Sultans, who came here - processing along the grand Cülus Yolu (Accession Way) - to be girded with the Sword of Osman at the start of their reigns.

The mosque is named after Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Eyüp Sultan in Turkish), a companion and trusted friend of Muhammad, who is believed to have died here during the first Arab siege of Constantinople in the 670s.

[6] By the end of the 18th century the mosque was in a ruinous state, perhaps as a result of earthquake damage, and in 1798 sultan Selim III ordered the whole structure other than the minarets to be pulled down and rebuilt.

[12][13] They include Sokollu Mehmet Paşa,[5] an Ottoman vizier, or chief minister, who served under sultans Süleyman the Magnificent and Selim II.

[18] Despite the relatively late date of its reconstruction, the Eyüp Sultan Mosque is still faithful to the Classical style of Ottoman architecture popularised by Mimar Sinan in the 16th century.

In particular it has been compared to Sinan's Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque in the Azapkapı neighbourhood, as it follows the same "octagonal baldaquin" design with a central dome surrounded by semi-domes.

[1] The wall of the mausoleum facing the portico is covered with panels of Iznik tiles dating from different periods and brought together during the reconstruction of the mosque in 1798–1799.

[31][32] In 2022 a man with a hammer damaged the tiles on either side of the dua penceresi (prayer window) in the courtyard of the mosque, claiming that devil's horns were incorporated into their design.

The medrese was most likely demolished during the present mosque's reconstruction, but most of the hamam has been preserved and remains in use (although its original changing room has been replaced by a more recent wooden construction).

One of the closest structures is the well-preserved imaret and tomb complex of Mihrişah Sultan (Selim III's mother), also in Baroque style.