Hagia Sophia
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/01/02/01/035 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Hagia Sophia Istanbul |
| Dates | 1910/11? |
| Scope and Content | Part of elevation. This is a preliminary drawing. It is annotated in pencil. Created by George, W. S.? |
| Further information | The first church on the site was an early Christian basilica of two building phases: one in 360 and another one in 415. The skeuophylakion at the northeast corner of the present church and a colonnaded porch, probably the entranceway to the atrium, belong to the old church. The new cathedral was inaugurated in 27 December 537. It replaced the second basilica which had been destroyed during the ‘Nika’ uprising and was the work of the mathematician Anthremios of Tralles and the physicist Isidore of Miletos. Justinian’s Hagia Sophia is a nearly square domed basilica with galleries over the lateral aisles and narthex. The original dome (31m) collapsed in 558 and was rebuilt (higher) by Isidore the Younger. A colonnaded atrium with a fountain to the west, a skeuophylakion and a baptistery at the north side and the patriarchal palace at the south side surround the church. Additions and repairs were made to the original structure after the earthquake of 869, in 989, 1317, 1346 and in 1353. In 1453 it was converted into the Ayasofya Mosque, underwent further repairs in 1573 and, finally, in 1847-49 the Fossati brothers, Swiss architects Gaspar and Giuseppe Fossati, at the invitation of the Sultan, carried out a major restoration project. Equally impressive as the exterior –Hagia Sophia is the largest vaulted church in Antiquity and the Middle Ages remaining still a puzzle for modern engineering- is the interior of the building decorated with lavish marble and opus sectile. The mosaics in Justinian’s church appear to have been rather non-figural while after iconoclasm figural compositions, including narrative scenes, of significant importance decorated the tympana, the gallery vaults, walls, arches and the vestibules. Hagia Sophia was for centuries the religious and liturgical centre of Byzantium. Historically, the importance of the monument was and still is immense. Local replicas of it decorated almost all major centres of the Byzantine empire. Over the centuries, the building formed the subject of encomiums by poets, praise by historians and hard archaeological/art-historical analysis. |