BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Byzantine Empire When the Roman Empire was declining, the emperor

decided to divide the empire in half because he thought that it would make it easier to govern. Later on, while civil war ravaged the western half of the Empire, the eastern half of the empire was pretty stable and so Emperor Constantine decided to create a new capital at the former Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).

When the western half of the Roman Empire fell,the Eastern half survived.This Eastern half of the Roman Empire later became known as the Byzantine Empire.

Christianity• Since the Byzantine Empire had once been

part of the Roman Empire its peoples were also Christians. However ,there was a dispute over the worship of icons.

• The Christian authorities in the Byzantine disagreed with Rome and did not believe that it was proper to worship icons. As a result the first split in Christianity occurred

BYZANTINE ARCHITETCURE

Architectural Character

• The character of Byzantine Architecture , which dates from the fifth century up to the present is determined by the novel development of “DOME” to cover polygonal plans for churches , tombs and baptisteries.

Dome•A dome is a structural

element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere

DOME

• The dome which has always been a traditional feature in the East , became prevailing motif of

• Byzantine Architecture. Which was a fusion of domical construction with the classical columnar style. Domes of various types were now placed over a square compartments by means of “PENDETIVES.”

Pendentives• The term applied to the triangular

curved overhanging surface by means of which a circular dome is supported over a square or polygonal compartnent.

Pendentives

Types of Domes• Melon Domes - A hemispherical dome having a circular plan and a ribbed vault. Also called parachute dome, umbrella dome.

• Onion Domes/Bulbous sharp domes - A pointed bulbous domelike roof, used especially in parts of Russia and eastern Europe.

• Saucer Domes - A saucer dome is the architectural term used for a low pitched shallow dome which is described geometrically as having a circular base and a segmental section.

Melon Dome

Onion Domes

Saucer Dome

• Brickwork,moreover lent itself externally to decorative and Byzantine architecture was suitable for covering of marbles , mosaic and fresco decorations internally.

Fresco•A term originally applied to

painting on a wall while the plaster is wet, but is often used for any wall painting not in oil colors.

Centering• A temporary structure upon

which the materials of a vault or arch are supported in position until the work becomes self-supporting

Mosaic and marble walls

Byzantine Architecture

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Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia was built by Justinian 1. It means “Divine Wisdom” The dome of the church was destructed by an earhtquake and it took 5 years to reconstruct.1204 – It was plundered due to the Latin invasion following the Fourth Crusade, though it was restored under Andronicos II during Palaeologan rule.

It was converted to a mosque by Mehmed 11 due to the Ottoman Conquest which put an end in the Byzantine Empire. It was known then as the Ayasofya Mosque.• It remained the Great Mosque of the

Ottoman capital until its secularization under the Turkish Republic. Little was modified during the initial conversion when a mihrab, a minber and a wooden minaret were added to the structure. Mehmed II built a madrasa near the mosque and organized a waqf for its expenses.

Cross-section of Hagia Sophia

Interior of Hagia Sophia

Exterior Façade

St.Marcus Basilica• It is the most famous of the city's churches and

one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies at the eastern end of the Piazza San Marco, adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace. Originally it was the chapel of the Doge, and has only been the city's cathedral since 1807, when it became the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, formerly at San Pietro di Castello.

• The exterior of the basilica is divided in three registers: lower, upper, and domes. In the lower register of the façade five round-arched portals,enveloped by polychrome marble columns,