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Lecture I
Byzantine Architecture

Ar. Shabna S
Historic context

Constantine became the Caesar of the Roman empire

in 306 AD . By the time, the Empire had split in half:

• The Western Roman Empire centred in Rome;

speaking Latin
• The Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium;
speaking Greek

Christianity was officially recognized as the state

religion of Rome in 326 A.D. by the Roman Emperor
Constantine, who became the first emperor to convert
to Christianity.

He established Constantinople (Earlier Byzantium,

‘New Rome’ and now Istanbul, Turkey) as the new
capital of the eastern empire in 330 AD.

The Eastern Empire, or Byzantine Empire became

strong and stable in the sixth century under Emperor
Justinian.
By the end of the sixth c. there were dozens of
barbarian kingdoms which replaced the central
authority of the Roman Emperor.

The borders were breached and the Emperor was

forced to abandon Rome, moving the center
northward, first to Milan then to Ravenna.

Sea trade ceased, great cities were abandoned,

and Rome shrunk. Just about every institution of
the Government ceased, except one - The
Church.

The empire endured for more than a millennium,

dramatically influencing Medieval and
Renaissance era architecture in Europe.

Constantinople was later captured by the

Ottoman Turks in 1453, leading directly to the
architecture of the Ottoman Empire.
Byzantine Architecture

Early Byzantine architecture was built as a continuation of Roman architecture.

Stylistic drift, technological advancement and political and territorial changes lead to gradual emergence of a distinct style which imbued
certain influences from the Near East.

Characteristics

• Buildings increased in geometric complexity

• Greek cross plan in church architecture - A cross with four equal arms at right angles
• Massive complex domes with square bases
• Rounded arches and spires
• Extensive use of glass mosaics which replaced carved decoration
• Classical orders were used more freely
• Brick and plaster were used in addition to stone in the decoration of important public structures
• Softly illuminated interiors - windows filtered light through thin sheets of alabaster.
Greek Cross Plan

A square plan in which the nave, chancel and transept arms are of equal length forming a Greek cross.

The crossing is generally surmounted by a dome which became the common form in the Orthodox Church, with many churches throughout
Eastern Europe and Russia being built in this way.

Churches of the Greek Cross form often have a narthex or vestibule which stretches across the front of the church.

This type of plan later played a

part in the development of
church architecture in Western Chancel
Europe, most notably in
Bramante's plan for St. Peter's
Basilica. Dome

Transept

Nave

The Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles, Athens, Narthex or Vestibule

shows a Greek Cross plan with central dome and the axis
marked by the narthex (transverse vestibule).
Domes with square base

The most distinctive feature was the domed roof.

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.

To allow a dome to rest above a square base, either of

two devices was used:

• The squinch (an arch in each of the corners of a

square base that transforms it into an octagon)

• The pendentives (a curved triangle of vaulting formed

by the intersection of a dome with its supporting
arches)

Dome supported on Dome supported on Pendentives

Squinches
Byzantine domes and vaults were, it is 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.

Windows were formed in the lower portion of the

dome which, in the later period, was hoisted upon a
high "drum" - a feature which was still further
embellished in the Renaissance period by the addition
of an external peristyle.

The grouping of small domes or semi-domes round

the large central dome was effective.

One of the most remarkable peculiarities of Byzantine

churches was that the forms of the vaults and domes
were visible externally, undisguised by any timber
roof; thus in the Byzantine style the exterior closely
corresponds with the interior.
Light

The mystical quality of the light that

floods the interior has fascinated visitors
for centuries.

Light is the mystic element that glitters in

the mosaics, shines from the marbles, and
pervades spaces that cannot be defined. It
seems to dissolve material substance and
transform it into an abstract spiritual
vision.

The canopy-like dome that also

dominates the inside of the church rides
on a halo of light from windows in the
dome's base.

The windows create the illusion that the

dome is resting on the light that comes
through them--like a "floating dome of
heaven."
Materials used in construction

The system of construction in concrete and brickwork

introduced by the Romans was adopted by the
Byzantines.

The carcase (skeleton) of concrete and brickwork was

first completed and allowed to settle before the surface
sheathing of unyielding marble slabs was added, and
this independence of the component parts is
characteristic of Byzantine construction.

Brickwork, moreover add itself externally to decorative

caprices in patterns and banding, and internally it was
suitable for covering with marble, mosaic, and fresco
decoration.

Brickwork necessitated special care in making mortar,

which was composed of lime and sand with crushed
pottery, tiles, or bricks, and much of it remains as hard
as that in the best buildings of Rome, while the core of
the wall was sometimes of concrete, as in the Roman
period.
The ordinary bricks were like the Roman, about an inch
and a half in depth, and were laid on thick beds of
mortar.

The decorative character of external facades depended

largely on the arrangement of the facing bricks, which
were not always laid horizontally, but sometimes
obliquely, sometimes in the form of the meander fret,
sometimes in the chevron or herringbone pattern, and
in many other similar designs, giving great variety to
the facades.

An attempt was also made to ornament the rough brick

exteriors by the use of stone bands and decorative
arches.

Walls were sheeted internally with marble and vaults

and domes with coloured glass mosaics on a golden
background.
Hagia Sophia

In Latin ‘Hagia Sophia’ is “Holy Wisdom“

“Church of Holy Wisdom,” is the chief church in Constantinople built by 360 AD.

Rebuilt by Justinian between A.D. 532-537 after

Constantine’s original was burned down in a riot.

Architects were Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius

of Tralles.

From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it

served as the cathedral of Constantinople, except
between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a
Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch
of Constantinople of the Western Crusader
established Latin Empire.

The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453

under Ottoman Turks until 1934, when it was
secularized. It was opened as a museum on 1
February 1935.
Features

Large dome in center of the structure

which is 101 feet in diameter

The dome sits on a row of windows.

In early morning and late afternoon,
light filters through windows so the
dome rests on light.

Pendentives thus made dome appear

“suspended by a chain from heaven”.

The dome was the main focus of the

Byzantine Church for the remainder of
the empire

Four massive pillars arranged in a

square. This was a unique feature to
the Hagia Sophia.
Exterior
Section Dome

Semi dome

Gallery

Piers (resist the outward

thrust of the dome to
north and south) Gallery above Aisle
Piers N

Inner Narthex

Outer Narthex
Semi domes
Square (100
Projecting apse byzantine feet Nave
(east) 31.2m), dome over
Rectangular
on pendentives
body 75mX70m
Exedra

Gallery above Aisle Atrium (now

Plan destroyed)
Hagia Sophia, in many ways is
similar to the Pantheon

• It is large, domed

• In the Pantheon, everything was

clear, understandable whereas in
Hagia Sophia architectural form
becomes blurred, softened,
mosaics covered upper parts of
the wall, the lower parts are
richly patterned marble. Where
there are no marble or mosaic,
there are windows, hundreds.

• Where the Pantheon was solid,

massive, Hagia Sophia is
insubstantial, shell like. The
walls disappear.
Interior – Domes and light
Interior – Galleries along aisles
Interior – Columns and Capital
Wind blown acanthus leaves
Fresco – Mosaics
Belong to different period
 Fresco – Mosaics
Belong to different period
How to recognize a Byzantine church ?

• Ground plan could be cruciform, circular or polygonal

• Main entrance from the west
• Altar at the eastern end of the church
• Principal building material was brick, arranged in decorative patterns or covered in plaster
• Roofs were either tiled or covered by sheets of lead
• Dome – structural feature (over a square opening – important consequence in Renaissance Architecture )
• Domes supported on Pendentives or Squinches
• Columns and capitals – classical prototypes
• Carvings of the capitals – deeply incised lines and drilled holes- strong black and white effect
• No human figures in Byzantine decoration
• Decorative features – scrolls, circles and other geometric forms or by depicting leaves and flowers
• Wind blown acanthus leaves were a popular subject
• Exterior – rather plain, with austere entrances flanked by blind arcades
• Brilliant mosaic work in the interiors (most recognizable feature)
• Few columns – unrestricted view of the interior mosaic art
• Subject depicted – scenes from the holy Bible or the imperial court
• Predominant colours of mosaics – blue and gold
• Magical impression of light and depth conveyed by mosaics – heavenly ambience
• Mosaics – made up of small cubes of marble or glass set in cement. Cement placed in layers, final layer fresco on the damp cement –
cubes placed in the cement following the outlines of the design, last layer of cement applied unevenly, so that when the cubes were set
in, the faces of the different cubes were at angle to each other and reflected light from one cube to another.
Thank you