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Hagia Sophia Istanbul Turkey
Hagia
Sophia Istanbul
Turkey the
most important Byzantine architecture found in Istanbul
consists of churches. The most magnificent of all of the
Byzantine churches is the Hagia Sophia. This church was
designed by the architects Anthemios of Tralles and
Izidorus of Miletus. This construction of the second
Hagia Sophia was started in 532 by the order of the
Emperor Justinian and was built over the ruins of an
earlier structure. Materials were brought from Ephesus,
Athens, Rome, and Delphi and were used in the
construction of this magnificent building. The church
was opened for worship five years later, in 537. The
Hagia Sophia has a diameter of 31-33 meters and a height
of 54 meters and is covered with a large dome. The
church was considerably damaged by the earthquake of 557
and the nephew of the Architect Izidorus supervised the
repair of the structure.
Because Byzantium was strongly under the intluence of
Rome at the time of the construction of the Hagia
Sophia, this structure is an amalgam of the magnificence
of Roman architecture with the standard church
architecture of the Byzantines. The original mosaics of
the church were severely damaged by the Iconoclasts, but
new mosaics replaced the former in the 9th century after
the period of Iconoclasm had disappeared. Besides
the religious subjects of the mosaics used to decorate
the interior surfaces, the emperor was also used as a
subject. One mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary with the
emperors Justinian and Constantine sitting at her sides.
Another mosaic shows Jesus sitting on a throne with the
Emperor Leon 7 kneeling before him. Another mosaic is of
Mary and John the Baptist imploring Jesus for mercy in
the name of the people. All these mosaics bear traces of
Hellenistic influences. There are also several mosaic
"portraits" of other members of the imperial family.
Portrait art was very advanced during the Byzantine
period. After Fatih captured the city this structure was
used for worship by the Moslems. In 1934 Ataturk ordered
that the structure be used as a museum.
Turkey
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