It was commissioned by one of Murad III's grand viziers, Mesih Mehmed Pasha, and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan.

The mosque was commissioned in 1584 by the eunuch Mesih Mehmed Pasha while he held the post of third vizier.

[2] Sinan included the mosque in the list of his works in a draft of his autobiography (Tuḥfetü’l-miʿmārīn) but omitted it from a later version (Teẕkiretü’l-ebniye).

To create a level surface the western side of the building rests on a vaulted substructure that accommodates a series of shops.

[4] To the north of the mosque is a rectangular forecourt surrounded on three sides by an arcade with pillars that support small domes.