Pangasinan State University

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

COLLEGE / DEPARTMENT: CEA / DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

SUBJECT: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 01

TIME SCHEDULE: TUESDAY 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

FRIDAY 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

RESEARCH WORK NO.: FN-02

RESEARCH WORK TITLE: BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

RESEARCH WORK DUE: JANUARY 13, 2023

STUDENTS: CACAYORIN, EDEN JULES M.

MAIQUEZ, SHEENA MAE P.

PARAGAS, LADY JAZEEL F.

SILAROY, MHIA M.

TALINIO, DAN ANGELO F.

BS ARCHITECTURE 1C GROUP 6

INSTRUCTOR: AR. RUTHER E. DAOANA

 Pangasinan State University

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

INFLUENCES

GEOGRAPHICAL

The use of lime concrete started in the Roman amount that continues by the
Byzantines. Also, the factory-made bricks that they used for the development of
domes. In addition, marble was foreign from alternative components and used for
decorative work.

GEOLOGICAL

Byzantine stood on seven hills. It is at the junction of Europe and Asia, which
are divided by a narrow strip of water. This gives the commanding and central
position for government to expand the Roman empire. It was also at the intersection:
of two great highways of commerce- the water highway between black sea and
Mediterranean sea and the trade route between Europe and Asia.

CLIMATIC

Byzantines adopted the system of building to suit their desires. Thus flat roofs
with tiny openings adopted in places
of weather and protected arcades enclosed the open curtilage. Also, these with
the oriental dome as a logo of religion became the chief options of this vogue.

HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL

History

 The Roman Empire was divided into an eastern half and a western half in 285
CE by the Emperor Diocletian.
 Christianity began to flourish after the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313 when Roman
Emperor Constantine announced his own Christianity, which legitimized the
new religion; Christians would no longer be routinely persecuted. Because of
religious freedom, Christians could worship openly and without threat, and
the young religion spread rapidly. The need for places of worship expanded
as did the need for new approaches to building design.
 It was the Emperor Constantine in 330 CE, however, who moved the capital
of the Roman Empire to Byzantium (Constantinople), in the Eastern Roman
Empire.
 Constantinople was the center of Byzantine trade and culture and was
incredibly diverse.
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College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

 Byzantine architecture dominated the eastern half of the Roman Empire

during the reign of Justinian the Great, but the influences spanned centuries,
from 330 until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and on into today's church
architecture.
 Hagia Irene (also known as Haghia Eirene or Aya İrini Kilisesi) in Istanbul, Turkey
is the site of the first Christian church ordered built by Constantine in the 4th
Century. Many of these early churches were destroyed but rebuilt atop their
rubble by Emperor Justinian.
 Under Emperor Justinian, regained control of lost lands of the Western Roman
Empire, such as Northwest Africa,Italy and Spain
 Attacks from Slav Barbarians and Bulgars from the northwest were constantly
being repelled
 The East-West Schism in 1054 divided the Christian world into the Orthodox
Church—now the Eastern Orthodox Church—the Catholic Church—now the
Roman Catholic Church.
 The Byzantine Empire had an important cultural legacy, both on the Orthodox
Church and on the revival of Greek and Roman studies, which influenced the
Renaissance.
 Ottoman Turks captured the city in 1453 and killed Constantine XI the last
emperor
 In fifteenth century, Byzantine territory barely exceeded Constantinople. In
1453—when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul—
the Byzantine Empire came to an end.

Social Influence

People living under the early Byzantine Empire saw themselves as Romans,
but the culture of the empire changed over the centuries. As it incorporated Greek
and Christian culture, it transformed into a unique Byzantine culture. Additionally, the
Byzantine Empire was influenced by Latin, Coptic, Armenian, and Persian cultures.
Later on, it was influenced by Islamic cultures as well. A central feature of Byzantine
culture was Orthodox Christianity. Byzantine society was very religious, and it held
certain values in high esteem, including a respect for order and traditional
hierarchies. Family was at the center of society, and marriage, chastity, and
celibacy were celebrated and respected.
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College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

RELIGIOUS

The Byzantine Empire embraced Christianity as its official religion. The shift
from traditional Roman religion to Christianity began with the conversion of the
emperor Constantine on his deathbed. Constantine was the first Roman emperor to
become a Christian. Before this event, Christians were widely persecuted throughout
the Roman Empire; however, by the end of the 4th century AD, Christianity - which
had been gradually spreading throughout the Mediterranean world since the death
of Christ in the early 1st century AD - had become the official religion of Rome.

At first, the Byzantines were Catholic. However, as the centuries progressed,

religious and political differences between the Byzantines and the Catholic Church
led to the Great Schism of 1054. This event marked the birth of a new branch of
Christianity: the Eastern Orthodox faith.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Byzantine Architecture was a highly standardized and innovative

development in Classical Greek Architectural Theory based on the principles of
symmetry, proportion and balance. The earliest examples of Byzantine Architecture
can be found in the older parts of Constantinople (capital of the Roman Empire)
and the seat of the Roman Emperors: this style was mostly used to build churches
and monasteries. Other buildings such as palaces, bridges, lord’s chambers
(oratories), wide roads (agoras) were also built during this period.

Materials

 The Romans' concrete and masonry construction method was adopted by

the Byzantines, who founded the American state.
 The initial carcass of concrete and masonry was left to settle before the
additional surface overlay of unbending marble slabs was applied.
Furthermore, byzantine construction is characterized by this elemental
component independence.
 Additionally, brickwork was suitable for covering with marble, mosaic, and
fresco decoration, and it lent itself externally to ornamental patterns and
stripes.
 The typical brick that has an in, similar to the Roman. and a total of 0.5, as
well as being laid out on brick beds of mortar.
 Mortar making required special care for brickwork. This was a mixture of lime,
sand, and crushed pottery tiles or brick, and the majority of it is still as
 Pangasinan State University

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

laborious as it was in the best buildings of Rome. However, the core of the
wall was typically made of concrete, just like it was in the roman amount.
 The arrangement of the bricks is largely responsible for the ornamental quality
of exterior facades.
 Stone bands and ornamental arches were also used to decorate the rough
brick exteriors of the entryway.
 Internally, marble covered the walls, and colored glass mosaics on a golden
background decorated the vaults and domes.

Columns

These were taken from

ancient structures in the earlier
buildings, which were not so
different in the East because the
provision was earlier exhausted in
the area around Rome; As a result,
there was an incentive to style
them in a contemporary way. The
Roman Ionic or Corinthian types
were commonly used for capital.

Walls

Bricks are used to make walls in

Byzantine. Likewise, all the oriental love
of greatness was created, marble
packaging and mosaic being applied to
the walls. As a result, the treatment was
flat and there were no moldings. The
buildings left were fairly plain from the
outside. Despite the fact that variously
colored rows of stone and brick
mitigated the façade in most cases.

Openings

Semicircular-headed doors and

windows are common, but segmental,
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horseshoe, and arched openings are also common. Additionally, parts of the
windows frequently contain thin slabs of clear marble, and the windows themselves
are small and classified.

Mouldings and Ornaments

Their place being

taken by broad flat
expanses of wall surfaces,
Internally, the decorative
lining of marble and
mosaic in panels was
sometimes framed in
mouldings, but generally
flat ornamentation were
used Externally, the simple
treatment of the
elevations in flat expanses
of brickwork, with
occasional stone banded
courses, did not leave the
same scope for mouldings
as in other styles.

The walls being lined with costly marbles to form pattems, and the vaults and
upper part of walls with glass mosaic having symbolic figures. Mosaic was used in a
broad way as a complete lining to a rough structure, and architectural lines were
replaced by decorative bands in the mosaic. The gold surfaces being continued as
a background to the figures, unity of surface is always maintained

EXAMPLES

Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, Turkey

The Hagia Sophia is an enormous

architectural marvel in Istanbul, Turkey, that
was originally built as a Christian basilica
nearly 1,500 years ago. In its 1,400 year life-
span it has served as a cathedral, mosque
and now a museum. When it was first
constructed, Constantinople was the capital
 Pangasinan State University

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

of the Byzantine Empire. This state, officially Christian, originally formed the eastern
half of the Roman Empire and carried on after the fall of Rome.

Basilica of San Vitale

Ravenna, Italy

The Basilica of San Vitale was constructed

by the Ostrogoths (though the Byzantines
finished it), and like the Basilica of Sant'
Apollinare Nuovo, it is adorned with
magnificent mosaics, which are regarded
as the greatest and most exquisitely
preserved examples of Byzantine mosaic
work outside Constantinople. The basilica,
also known as Vitalis of Milan, was
dedicated in 547. It was constructed on
what is thought to be the location of Saint Vitalis' martyrdom.

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Ravenna, Italy

The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare

Nuovo was erected in eastern part of
Ravenna, Italy by the Ostrogothic king
Theodoric the Great as his palace
chapel during the first quarter of the 6th
century. It was originally an Arian
cathedral but became a Catholic
church in 570. The church contains
magnificent mosaics depicting the
teachings, miracles, Passion, and
Resurrection of Christ. Both the exterior and the interior of the basilica graphically
illustrate the fusion between the Western and eastern styles characteristic of the late
5th-early 6th century. The basilica, which is also home to magnificent early Byzantine
mosaics, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1996 as a component
of the site known as "Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna."
 Pangasinan State University

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

References:

Craven, Jackie. (2021, February 9). Introduction to Byzantine Architecture.

Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-byzantine-architecture-4122211

Craven, J. (2019, July 23) Byzantine buildings and early christian churches,
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byzantine-architecture-
4122211#:~:text=Byzantine%20architecture%20is%20a%20style,latest%20sixth%2Dcent
ury%20engineering%20techniques.

Archi_com. (2022, December 23). Byzantine architecture ⋆ archi-monarch. Archi.

from https://archi-monarch.com/byzantine-architecture/

Shah, N. (2021, September 2). Byzantine Architecture - archEstudy Organized

Architectural Case studies! archEstudy. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from
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https://study.com/learn/lesson/byzantine-empire-religion-characteristics-
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