Hagia Irene
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/01/02/01/005 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Hagia Irene Istanbul |
| Dates | Dec.1909/March1910 |
| Donor/Creator |
George, Mr Walter Sykes |
| Scope and Content | Monograms on the capitals. The drawing is labelled: 'South Aisle - South Side of Nave', 'North Aisle - North Side of Nave'. The monograms are numbered in Greek/Arabic characters. |
| Further information | Hagia Eirene, the largest surviving church in Constantinople after Hagia Sophia, was built by Justinian simultaneously with it on the ruins of the earlier buildings which had perished during the fire of 532. A second phase dates to 564 when a fire destroyed the narthex and atrium while the building was restored again after the disastrous earthquake of 740. It consists of a nave with aisles on either side and galleries above the aisles, a two-storey narthex which was slightly altered during the restorations of the second phase and a (two-storey?) atrium with an inner (Turkish) and an outer Byzantine portico. Doors on the north and south sides allowed direct entrance to the central bay. The synthronon is the only surviving part of the arrangement in the tripartite sanctuary. The three principal kinds of masonry evident in the building mark the three different building phases of the church. The dome, which is -after that of the neighbouring Hagia Sophia- the largest in Byzantine architecture, has been modified by the Turks. Recent excavations in the surrounding area revealed a series of corridors, a courtyard and the original stair ramp leading to the gallery on the south side as well as a round building to the northeast which must have very likely functioned as the skeuophylakion. Evidence of a north stair ramp came to light very recently. |