HAGIA SOPHIA

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest and most beautiful buildings in history.

The name comes from the Greek name Agia Sophia. It means “Holly Wisdom “. It is located in Istanbul, ancient Constantinople, Turkey. Constantinople was a capital of Byzantine Empire. Byzantine Empire was an eastern part of Roman Empire. Constantinople was founded by Emperor Constantine the Great, who was the first Christian emperor.

Two churches were built on the same site as Hagia Sophia. Constantius, son of the Emperor Constantine, built the first church. It was built in the 4 th century. It served as cathedral or bishop′s seat of the city. That church was known as the Great church, because of its large dimensions. During the riots it was burned down. Unfortunately nothing remains of that church today.

The second church was built by Emperor Theodosius the Great. It was built in the 5th century. Political parties were rebelling against Emperor Justinian (527 – 565) in 532. This was known as Nika riots. Riots caused destruction and death through the city. Constantinople and the second church were destroyed in fire. Today, some marble blocks from this second church are represented at the courtyard of the Ayasofya Museum.

1

This fire created opportunities for some sort of reshaping for a city and to Justinian′s image. Justinian wanted to revive the glory of empire. He was extending Byzantine′s rule over most of the Mediterranean and he was building churches. Center of his grand ambition would be Hagia Sophia. Immediately after the riots, Emperor Justinian ordered reconstruction of the church. He wanted cathedral that would be most advanced, most beautiful and most magnificent in the whole empire. Justinian has to build this cathedral fast because he wanted to restore a faith in his empire.

He chose the physicist, Isidore of Miletus and the mathematician, Anthemius of Tralles as architects. Hagia Sophia was constructed in almost six years, from January 532 to December 537. Church was built under the personal supervision of emperor Justinian. It was larger and more majestic than its predecessors and other churches in Byzantine Empire. Material had brought from all over the empire, from Egypt, Thessaly, Bospours region and from Syria. Eight Corinthian columns were disassembled from the antic Temples and shipped to Constantinople for the construction of the Hagia Sophia. Emperor Justinian inaugurated the new basilica with much pomp.

During the Latin Occupation (1204 – 1261) the church became a Roman Catholic cathedral. The Turks invaded Constantinople in 1453, Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque and then four minarets were added to it. Hagia Sophia was turned into the Ayasofya Museum in 1935, during the time of President Kemal Ataturk.

The vast interior has a complex structure. The main ground plan of building is a rectangle 82 m in length and 73 m in width. This area is covered by a central dome, semi-domes and small semi-domes. Hagia Sophia is world famous because of its central dome.

Central dome has 55 m height from floor level. The dome is built of brick and mortar. The dome is carried on four concave triangular pendentives. It was the first time that pendentives had been used. Pendentives served to transition from the circular base of the dome to its rectangular base.

2

The dome is shaped like the inside of an umbrella with ribs. Ribs extend from the top of the dome down to the base. These ribs allow the weight of the dome to flow down the pendentives to four massive piers and to the foundation. 40 windows were placed between ribs at the base of the dome. These windows help to flood the interior with light.

Interior surfaces are sheathed with porphyry and gold mosaics. Interior looked much simpler in the Justinian′s original cathedral then it looks today. Most of the mosaics were simple cross on the field of the gold. Reason for this simple decoration is that Justinian wanted faster completion of his church. Imperial portraits, images of imperial family have been added during the centuries. Many of the earliest mosaics were destroyed or covered during Iconoclasm. It is destruction of own culture, religious and other symbols because of religious or political reasons. During Latin occupation many mosaics were removed and shipped to Venice. After 1453, when Hagia Sophia was converted to mosque, many of its mosaics were covered with plaster because of Islam′s ban on representation imagery. In Islam, interior of mosque was decorated with calligraphy. Uncovering of mosaics had begun after 1934, when Hagia Sophia was turned into Ayasofya museum. White plasters were pulled out of the mosaics and carpets on the floor were removed.

The structure has been severely damaged several times by earthquakes. The dome collapsed after an earthquake in 558. The Emperor Justinian entrusted restoration to Isidor the Younger, nephew of Isidore of Miletus. Isidore the Younger used lighter materials and elevated the dome by 6.25 m. This restoration was completed in 562.

Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral for 1000 years until the completion of the cathedral in Seville in Spain.

- Aleksandra Markovic (S2)

3