Byzantine Architecture

HISTORIC CONTEXT

 By the time Constantine became the Caesar of the Roman empire, the Empire had
split in half:
a. EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE of Byzantium, today Istanbul
b. WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE centered in Rome, speaking Latin

 Byzantium, “New Rome”, was later renamed CONSTANTINOPLE and now

Istanbul. The empire endured for more than a millennium, influencing Medieval
and Renaissance era architecture in Europe. Following capture of Constantinople by
the Ottoman Turks in 1453, leading directly to the architecture of the Ottoman
empire.
HISTORIC CONTEXT

 Byzantine Empire became strong and stable in the century under Emperor Justinian:

 Lasted for 1000 years; has great cultural history

 Fell to the Turks in 1453

 Its boarders were breached and the Emperor was forced to abandon Rome, moving
the center northward, first to Milan then to Ravenna

 Barbarians spilled over the rest of the Roman Empire

 Dozens of barbarian kingdoms replaced the central authority of the Roman Empire
by the end of the 6th
Byzantine Architecture
 Characterized by massive domes with squares based
and rounded arches and spires and extensive use of
glass mosaics

 Early Byzantine architecture as built as a continuation

of Roman architecture
Spires
Glass
Mosaics
Rounded
Arches
 Greek cross plan in church architecture – a cross with
four equal arms at right angles
PURPOSE

 Buildings increased in geometric complexity, brick

and plaster were used in addition to stones in the
decoration of important public structures, classic
orders were more freely

 Mosaics replaced carved decoration, complex domes

rested upon massive piers, and windows filtered light
through thin sheets of alabaster to softly illuminate
interiors.
Byzantine Dome
 Domed roof – most distinctive feature

 The dome, which had always been a traditional feature

in the East, became the prevailing motif of Byzantine
architecture which was a fusion of the domical
construction with the Classical columnar style
Byzantine Dome
 To allow a dome to rest a square base, either of the
two devices was used: the squinch (an arch in each of
the corners of a square base that transforms it into an
octagon) or the pendentive.

 Domes of various types were now placed over squares

compartments by means of “pendentives”, whereas
in Roman architecture domes were only used over
circular or polygonal structures
Byzantine Dome
 These domes were frequently constructed of bricks or
of some light porous stones, such as pumice, or even
of pottery

 Byzantine domes and vaults were believed constructed

without temporary support or centering by the simple
use of large flat bricks and this is quite a distinct
system probably derived from Eastern methods
Features of Byzantine Architecture
Greek Roman and Oriental elements in architecture
and its decoration

 Greco-Roman columns , arches, vaults, domes over

square bases
 Oriental (Eastern) rich ornamentation, rich use of color,
mosaics poly chromes marble and stone work Play of
light indoors
HAGIA SOPHIA
 “Church of Holy Wisdom” chief church in
Constantinople

 Rebuilt by Justinian between AD 532-537 after

Constantine’s original was burned down in a riot

 Means “holy wisdom” in Latin

 Former Orthodox patriarchal basilica later a mosque,

now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey
HAGIA SOPHIA
 From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it
served as the cathedral of Constantinople, except
between 1204 to 1261, when it was converted to a
Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The
building was a mosque from May 29 1453 until 1934,
when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum
on February 1 1935
HAGIA SOPHIA
 Central dome 101 feet in diameter
ISIDORE OF MILETUS &
ANTHEMIUS OF TRALLES
 Architects of Hagia Sophia
STYLE OF HAGIA SOPHIA
 Large dome in center of the structure

 Four massive pillars arranged on square - unique feature of the Hagia

Sophia

 The dome was the main focus of the Byzantine Church for the remainder of
the empire
MANILA CATHEDRAL
 Neo-Romanesque-Byzantine cathedral
THANK YOU.