Byzantine Art and Architecture

Byzantine Art and Architecture, the art of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire. It originated chiefly
in Constantinople (present-day İstanbul), the ancient Greek town of Byzantium, which the Roman
emperor Constantine the Great chose in AD330 as his new capital and named for himself. The Byzantine
Empire continued for almost 1000 years after the collapse of the Western Empire in 476. Byzantine art
eventually spread throughout most of the Mediterranean world and eastward to Armenia. Although the
conquering Ottomans in the 15th century destroyed much in Constantinople itself, sufficient material
survives elsewhere to permit an appreciative understanding of Byzantine art.

Byzantine art and architecture arose in part as a response to the needs of the Eastern, or Orthodox,
church. Unlike the Western church, in which the popular veneration of the relics of the saints continued
unabated from early Christian times throughout the later Middle Ages, the Eastern church preferred a
more contemplative form of popular worship focused on the veneration of icons (see Icon). These were
portraits of sacred personages, often rendered in a strictly frontal view and in a highly conceptual and
stylized manner. Although any type of pictorial representation—a wall painting or a mosaic, for
instance—could serve as an icon, it generally took the form of a small painted panel.

Something of the abstract quality of the icons entered into much of Byzantine art. The artistic
antecedents of the iconic mode can be traced back to Mesopotamia and the hinterlands of Syria and
Egypt, where, since the 3rd century AD, the rigid and hieratic (strictly ritualized) art of the ancient Orient
was revived in the Jewish and pagan murals of the remote Roman outpost of Dura Europos on the
Euphrates and in the Christian frescoes of the early monasteries in Upper Egypt. In the two major cities
of these regions, Antioch and Alexandria, however, the more naturalistic (Hellenistic) phase of Greek
art also survived right through the reign of Constantine. In Italy, Roman painting, as practiced at Pompeii
and in Rome itself, was also imbued with the Hellenistic spirit.

The Hellenistic heritage was never entirely lost to Byzantine art but continued to be a source of
inspiration and renewal. In this process, however, the classical idiom was drastically modified in order
to express the transcendental character of the Orthodox faith. Early Christian art of the 3rd and 4th
centuries had simply taken over the style and forms of classical paganism. The most typical form of
classical art was the freestanding statue, which emphasized a tangible physical presence. With the
triumph of Christianity, artists sought to evoke the spiritual character of sacred figures rather than their
bodily substance. Painters and mosaicists often avoided any modeling of the figures whatsoever in order
to eliminate any suggestion of a tangible human form, and the production of statuary was almost
completely abandoned after the 5th century. Sculpture was largely confined to ivory plaques (called
diptychs) in low relief, which minimized sculpturesque effects.

Mosaics were the favored medium for the interior adornment of Byzantine churches. The small cubes,
or tesserae, that composed mosaics were made of colored glass or enamels or were overlaid with gold
leaf. The luminous effects of the mosaics, spread over the walls and vaults of the interior, were well
adapted to express the mystic character of Orthodox Christianity. At the same time their rich, jewel-like
surfaces were also in keeping with the magnificence of the imperial court, presided over by the emperor,
the de facto head of the Orthodox Church.

Architecture
As in art, a wide diversity characterizes the ecclesiastical architecture of the early Byzantine period. Two
major types of churches, however, can be distinguished: the basilica type, with a long colonnaded nave
covered by a wooden roof and terminating in a semicircular apse; and the vaulted centralized church,
with its separate components gathered under a central dome. The second type was dominant throughout
the Byzantine period.

Hagia Sophia, or the Church of the Holy Wisdom, in Constantinople, built in five years by Justinian and
consecrated in 537, is the supreme example of the centralized type. Although the unadorned exterior
masses of Hagia Sophia build up to an imposing pyramidal complex, as in all Byzantine churches it is
the interior that counts. In Hagia Sophia the architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus
created one of the great interior spaces in the history of architecture. The vast central dome, which rises
some 56 m (185 ft) from the pavement, is dramatically poised over a circle of light radiating from the
cornea of windows at its base. Four curved or spherical triangles, called pendentives, support its rim
and are in turn locked into the corners of a square formed by four huge arches. The transition between
the circular dome and its square base, achieved through the use of pendentives, was a major
contribution of Byzantine builders to the development of architecture. To the east a vast semidome
surmounts the three large vaulted niches of the sanctuary below. Arcades that recall the arcaded naves
of the basilica churches occupy the ground story on the north and south sides of the central square. To
the west is another huge semidome preceding a barrel-vaulted narthex.

The ethereal quality of this “hanging architecture,” in which the supports—visible on the exterior as four
immense buttress towers—of the dome, pendentives, and semidomes are effectively disguised, is
reinforced by the shimmering mosaics and sheets of polished marble that sheathe the interior walls and
arches.

Architecture
In contrast to the artistic experimentations in the Justinian age, the mid-Byzantine period was one of
consolidation. Recurring types of the centralized church were established, and the program of their
mosaic decoration was systematized in order to conform to Orthodox beliefs and practices.

A common type of the mid-Byzantine centralized church was the cross-in-the-square. As at Hagia
Sophia, its most prominent feature was the central dome over a square area, from which now radiated
the four equal arms of a cross. The dome was usually supported, however, not by pendentives but by
squinches (small arches) set diagonally in the corners of the square. The lowest portions of the interior
were confined to the small areas that lay between the arms of the cross and the large square within
which the whole church was contained.

Architecture
The new architectural features had already been foreshadowed under the Comneni. In general, the
vertical lines of the churches were emphasized, and the five-domed church became the norm. The
drums, or circular rings on which the domes rest, often assumed octagonal form and grew taller. The
domes themselves were sometimes reduced to small cupolas. Special attention was also given to
exterior embellishment.
 Europe and the
Byzantine Empire
As the political
authority of Rome
disintegrated, the
bishops of the Roman
Catholic Church stood
firm for what they saw
as the truth and the
ancient order. The only
representative of that
order in Rome was no
longer the emperor or
the senate but the
pope, holder of the
chair of St. Peter. What
remained of Roman
authority became
centered in
Constantinople. The
Roman Empire had
become transformed
into the Byzantine
Empire.

History

According to legend, İstanbul was founded in 667 BC by a Greek colonizer, Byzas the Megarian, from whom
the city’s original name, Byzantium, is derived. Because of Byzantium’s strategic and economic importance,
Athenians, Persians, Spartans, Macedonians, and Romans fought over the city for centuries. In 324 AD
Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated rival emperor Licinius at Chrysopolis (now Üsküdar) and
became the sole Roman emperor. Constantine made Byzantium his capital in 330, expanding the city until
it rested on seven hills, like Rome. The city was soon called Constantinople, meaning “city of Constantine.”

Constantinople became the capital of the Byzantine Empire—the eastern part of the Roman Empire, which
survived the fall of Rome in the 5th century—and subsequently developed into the center of the Greek
Orthodox Christian world. Beginning in the 4th century, Constantinople hosted eight councils of the
Christian church see Constantinople, Councils of.

Constantinople reached its peak during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I (527-565), who is
responsible for some of the city’s greatest architectural monuments, including Hagia Sophia. Following a
plague in 542, the city entered a period of decline. Between the 7th and 11th centuries Persians, Avars,
Arabs, Bulgarians, and Rus (East Slavs) attacked Constantinople. In 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, the
city was seized by the Latin (Roman Catholic) Crusaders, who held it until 1261 when Byzantine rulers
recaptured the city see Crusades.

The Fourth Crusade and its aftermath, which included a long series of family struggles for the title of
emperor, sapped the Byzantine Empire of its resources and wreaked havoc on its capital city. In 1453
Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, who made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire and called it İstanbul.
Under Ottoman rule, the city flourished as a political, commercial, and cultural center, reaching its height
under Sultan Süleyman I (1520-1566). Soon after, however, İstanbul entered a period of slow and steady
decline. The Ottoman Empire grew weaker as the sultans became less effective leaders. İstanbul was the
site of several riots and rebellions, most notably the 1826 revolt of the Janissaries, the elite Ottoman
military corps, which ended in the dissolution of the corps. After this point, İstanbul saw reforms along
Western lines, as European ideas of administration and development were brought into the city by
increasing numbers of foreign visitors.

During World War I (1914-1918) Allied forces defeated the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the war, İstanbul
came under Allied occupation. Following the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922), the nationalist
army of Mustafa Kemal (later known as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk) expelled Allied troops from the city. In 1923
Mustafa Kemal made Turkey a republic and moved the capital from İstanbul to Ankara, which was the
center of the nationalist movement. The city’s name was officially changed to İstanbul in 1930. İstanbul
remains Turkey’s economic center, despite no longer being the capital. Its population has grown steadily,
and in recent years, demands for improved road systems have led to some demolition of historic portions
of the city.
Introduction

İstanbul, formerly Constantinople, city in northwestern Turkey, the only city in the world that sits astride
two continents—Europe and Asia. İstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the country’s chief commercial
and cultural center. With the finest natural harbor in the region, it is also an important trade hub. The city
is the capital of İstanbul Province, which is bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the south and
southwest by the Sea of Marmara, on the east by Kocaeli Province, and on the west by Tekirdağ Province.
The Bosporous, a narrow strait that links the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, separates İstanbul’s
European and Asian sections.

İstanbul has a temperate climate, with warm summers and mild winters, making it a popular vacation spot.
Precipitation varies from an average of 33 mm (1.3 in) in summer to an average of 107 mm (4.2 in) in winter.
The city is prone to earthquakes, some of which have caused severe damage.

İstanbul was founded in the 7th century BC as Byzantium. In the 4th century AD it was renamed
Constantinople by Roman emperor Constantine the Great. The city served as the capital of the Byzantine
Empire until it was captured by the Ottomans in the 15th century and made the capital of the Ottoman
Empire. The Ottomans called the city İstanbul for centuries, but it was not until 1930, seven years after
Turkey gained independence, that İstanbul became its official name. According to some sources, the name
İstanbul is derived from the Greek term stin poli, meaning “to the city” or “in the city.”

-Byzantium, city of antiquity, founded about 660 BC by Greek colonists. It was situated on the European
side of the Bosporus and occupied part of the site of present-day İstanbul. With an excellent harbor, later
called the Golden Horn, a strategic location between the Black and Mediterranean seas, and abundant
fisheries, Byzantium soon became a leading port and distribution center, especially noted for its grain trade.
Troops of the Persian ruler Darius I destroyed Byzantium early in the 5th century BC. In 479 BC it was rebuilt
by the Spartans. During the next 100 years Athens repeatedly disputed Spartan control of the city. The
Athenian general Alcibiades captured it in 409 BC. Four years later the Athenians were expelled by an
expedition under the Spartan general Lysander. Byzantium fell to Athens again in 390 BC, but, in alliance
(357 BC) with the Greek islands of Khíos, Rhodes, and Kos, as well as Kariá, a Persian satrapy, the city waged
a successful struggle for freedom. In 341-340 BC Athens rallied to defend the city, then under siege by Philip
II of Macedonia. During the reign (336-323 BC) of Philip's son Alexander the Great, Byzantium was forced
to recognize Macedonian suzerainty; under his successors the Byzantines regained independence. The city
was subsequently attacked by the Scythians, and in 279 BC the Celts, having overrun neighboring Thrace,
imposed tribute on the city. To secure funds, the Byzantines levied a toll on ships passing through the
Bosporus, provoking war with Rhodes.

The Byzantines supported Rome in the war (191-188 BC) against the Syrian king Antiochus III. In appreciation
of this help and additional aid extended during the Mithridatic Wars (88-65 BC), the Romans recognized
Byzantium as a free confederate city. It was subsequently subjected to Roman imperial control, however,
and required to pay tribute until the reign (AD 41-54) of Emperor Claudius I. In the civil war (194) between
the Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and the military leader Pescennius Niger, Byzantium sided with
Niger. Severus captured Byzantium in 196, revoked its privileges, and razed its walls. The emperor of the
West, Constantine the Great, defeated the Roman emperor Licinius (AD270?-325) near Byzantium in 324
and soon thereafter began rebuilding the city as his new capital, a new Rome (Nova Roma) in 330.
Byzantium was subsequently renamed Constantinople (present-day İstanbul). Capital of the Byzantine
Empire until its fall in 1453, the city, with a population of about 1 million was by far the largest and richest
city in Christendom during the Middle Ages.