Byzantine Architecture

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire (it was divided into two; east and west)
BYZANTINE EMPIRE

 the continuation of the Roman Empire in the Greek-speaking, eastern part of the Mediterranean. Christian in
nature, it was perennially at war with the Muslims
 flourishing during the reign of the Macedonian emperors, its demise was the consequence of attacks by Seljuk
Turks, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks
BYZANTIUM

 the name of a small, but important town at the Bosphorus, the strait which connects the Sea of Marmara and the
Aegean to the Black Sea, and separates the continents of Europe and Asia. In Greek times the town was at the
frontier between the Greek and the Persian world. In the 4th century CE, Alexander the Great made both worlds
part of his Hellenistic universe, and later Byzantium became a town of growing importance within the Roman
Empire
 By the 3rd century CE, the Romans had many thousands of miles of border to defend. Growing pressure caused a
crisis, especially in the Danube/Balkan area, where the Goths violated the borders. In the East, the Sasanian
Persians transgressed the frontiers along the Euphrates and Tigris. The Emperor Constantine the Great (reign
306-337 CE) was one of the first to realize the impossibly of managing the empire's problems from distant Rome
CONSTANTINOPLE

 in 330 CE, Constantine decided to make Byzantium, which he had re-founded a couple of years before and named
after himself, his new residence. Constantinople lay halfway between the Balkan and the Euphrates, and not too
far from the immense wealth and manpower of Asia Minor, the vital part of the Empire
 "Byzantium" was to become the name for the East-Roman Empire. After the death of Constantine, in an attempt
to overcome the growing military and administrative problem, the Roman Empire was divided into an Eastern and
a Western part. The western part is considered as definitely finished by the year 476 CE, when its last ruler was
dethroned and a military leader, Odoacer, took power
CHRISTIANITY

 in the course of the 4th century, the Roman world became increasingly Christian, and the Byzantine Empire was
certainly a Christian state. It was the first empire in the world to be founded not only on worldly power, but also
on the authority of the Church. Paganism, however, stayed an important source of inspiration for many people
during the first centuries of the Byzantine Empire
 when Christianity became organized, the Church was led by 5 patriarchs, who resided in Alexandria, Jerusalem,
Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome. The Council of Chalcedon (451 CE) decided that the patriarch of
Constantinople was to be the second in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Only the pope in Rome was his superior.
After the Great Schism of 1054 CE, the eastern (Orthodox) church was separated from the western (Roman
Catholic) church. The center of influence of the orthodox churches later shifted to Moscow
JUSTINIAN

 Byzantine history goes from the founding of Constantinople as imperial residence on 11th of May 330 CE until
Tuesday, 29th of May 1453 CE, when the Ottoman sultan Mehmet II conquered the city. Most times the history
of the Empire is divided in three periods
 the first of these, from 330 till 867 CE, saw the creation and survival of a powerful empire. During the reign of
Justinian (527-565 CE), a last attempt was made to reunite the whole Roman Empire under one ruler, the one in
Constantinople. This plan largely succeeded; the wealthy provinces in Italy and Africa were reconquered, Libya
was rejuvenated, and money bought sufficient diplomatic influence in the realms of the Frankish rulers in Gaul
and the Visigoth dynasty in Spain
  The re-found unity was celebrated with the construction of the church of Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia, in
Constantinople. The price for the reunion, however, was high. Justinian had to pay off the Sasanian Persians, and
had to deal with firm resistance, for instance in Italy
 Under Justinian, the lawyer Tribonian (500-547 CE) created the famous Corpus Iuris. The Code of Justinian, a
compilation of all the imperial laws, was published in 529 CE, soon the institutions (a handbook) and the Digests
(fifty books of jurisprudence) were added. The project was completed with some additional laws, the Novellae.
Tribonian was temporarily relieved of his function during the Nika riots of 532 CE, which in the end weakened
the position of patricians and senators in the government, and strengthened the position of the emperor and his
wife
 After Justinian, the Byzantine and Sasanian empires suffered heavily losses in a terrible war. The troops of the
Persian king Khusrau II captured Antioch and Damascus, stole the True Cross from Jerusalem, occupied
Alexandria, and even reached the Bosphorus. In the end, the Byzantine armies were victorious under the Emperor
Heraclius (reign 610-642 CE)
 The empire was weakened and soon lost Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica, and Africa to the Islamic Arabs. For
a moment, Syracuse in Sicily served as imperial residence. At the same time, parts of Italy were conquered by the
Lombards, while Bulgars settled South of the Danube. The ultimate humiliation took place in 800 CE, when the
leader of the Frankish barbarians in the West, Charlemagne, preposterously claimed that he, and not the ruler in
Constantinople, was the Christian Emperor
MACEDONIAN DYNASTY

 the second period in Byzantine history consists of its apogee. It fell during the Macedonian dynasty (867-1057
CE). After an age of contraction, the empire expanded again and in the end, almost every Christian city in the
East was within the empire's borders. On the other hand, wealthy Egypt and large parts of Syria were forever lost,
and Jerusalem was not re-conquered
 In 1014 CE the mighty Bulgarian empire, which had once been a very serious threat to the Byzantine state, was
finally overcome after a bloody war, and became part of the Byzantine Empire. The victorious emperor, Basilius
II, was surnamed Boulgaroktonos, "slayer of Bulgars". The northern border now was finally secured and the
empire flourished
 throughout this whole period the Byzantine currency, the nomisma, was the leading currency in the
Mediterranean world. It was a Stabil currency ever since the founding of Constantinople. Its importance shows
how important Byzantium was in economics and finance
 Constantinople was city where people of every religion and nationality lived next to one another, all in their own
quarters and with their own social structures. Taxes for foreign traders were just the same as for the inhabitants.
This was unique in the world of the middle ages
CRISIS

 trade in the Byzantine world was no longer the monopoly of the Byzantines themselves. Fuel was added to these
beginning trade conflicts when the pope and patriarch of Constantinople went separate ways in 1054 CE (the
Great Schism)
 decay became inevitable after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 CE. The Byzantine army under the emperor
Romanus IV Diogenes was beaten by an army of the Seljuk Turks, commanded by Alp Arslan (the Lion).
Romanus was betrayed by his own general Joseph Tarchaniotes, and by his nephew Andronicus Ducas
 after the battle, the Byzantine Empire lost Antioch, Aleppo, and Manzikert, and within years, the whole of Asia
Minor was overrun by Turks. A new dynasty, the Comnenes, came to power. Emperor Alexus sent a request for
help to Pope Urban II, who responded by summoning the western world for the Crusaders. The western warriors
swore loyalty to the emperor, reconquered parts of Anatolia, but kept from Antioch, Edessa, and the Holy Land
for themselves
DECLINE AND FALL

 for the Byzantines, it was increasingly difficult to contain the westerners. They were not only fanatic warriors, but
also shrewd traders. In the 12th century, the Byzantines created a system of diplomacy in which deals were
concluded with towns like Venice that secured trade by offering favorable positions to merchants of friendly cities
 soon, the Italians were everywhere, and they were not always willing to accept that the Byzantines had a different
faith. In the age of the Crusaders, the Greek Orthodox Church became a target of violence. The Crusaders
plundered the Constantinople in 1204 CE. Much of the loot can still be seen in the church of San Marco in Venice
 for more than half a century, the empire was ruled by monarchs from the West, but they never succeeded in
gaining full control. Local rulers continued the Byzantine traditions, like the grandiloquently named emperors of
the Anatolian mini-states surrounding Trapezius, where the Comnenes continued to rule, and Nicaea, which was
ruled by the Palaiologan dynasty
 the Seljuk Turks, who are also known as the Sultanate of Rum, benefited greatly of the division of the Byzantine
Empire, and initially strengthened their positions. Their defeat, in 1243 CE, in a war against the Mongols,
prevented them from adding Nicaea and Trapezius as well. Consequently, the two Byzantine mini-states managed
to survive
 The Palaiologans even managed to capture Constantinople in 1261 CE, but the Byzantine Empire was now in
decline. It kept losing territory, until finally the Ottoman Empire (which had replaced the Sultanate of Rum) under
Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453 CE and took over government. Trapezius surrendered eight years
later
ARCHITECTURE

 the Golden Age of Byzantine Architecture was under the rule of Justinian in 527-565 BC. It was during this
period that the most famous examples of all Byzantine Architecture was built, the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia
Sophia was rebuilt from 532-537 after the previous church was destroyed by riots. This church has some unique
features which became patterns for Byzantine Architecture for years after
 the style of the Hagia Sophia or Church of Divine Wisdom, was to have a large dome in the middle of the
structure. The dome has a unique form in that it rest on 4 massive pillars which are arranged in a square
 the dome remained the main focus of the Byzantine Church for the remainder of the empire. The Eastern
Orthodox preferred a low light, somber, and almost mysterious mood in their services. The clergy worked often
behind the scenes with their brief appearances. They did not embrace the loud organs and congregational worship
which is seen in the western Catholic Church. So the Hagia Sophia became the model for the Byzantine church
because it was an architectural style that fit the type of worship the Orthodox church wanted to emphasize

CHARACTERISTICS OF BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

 Byzantine construction can be categorized into two types. The first is Ashlar masonry, found in Syria-Palestine,
most of Asia Minor, and the border regions of Armenia and Georgia. Ashlar masonry is considered the most
basic and least expensive of building techniques, where regularly cut stones are bounded in mortar. It provided a
strong and suitable means of building walls, but was less ideal for roofing because of its weight. Small spans
could be covered in stone, but larger areas had to be roofed in timber or some other lightweights material
ASHLAR MASONRY

 The other standard Byzantine construction technique was brick and rubble, found in Constantinople, the western
coast of Asia Minor, the Balkans, and Italy. The most common use of brick-laying technique consisted of
alternating layers of rubble stone and layers of brick. The builder constructed two faces of a wall with stone to a
certain height, then filled it with mortar and rubble. The size, hue, and relatively light weight of the bricks made
them ideal material for the construction of domes, vaults, and arches. Brick was also used for ornamental
purposes, highlighting the outline of certain parts of the building – window frames, door frames, fascia, etc.
MUDBRICK

 Byzantine mortar consisted of lime and sand typically contained in admixture of inert matter, like crushed brick
or pebbles. It was used very liberally, almost excessively during the Byzantine period. Because of such abundant
use, buildings tended to settle and warp as the mortar dried out. Nearly all Byzantine buildings show
irregularities and deformations that are connected with the large quantity of mortar they contain
BYZANTINE MORTAR

 another structural component that remained relatively consistent over the Byzantine period was vaulting.
Byzantine vaulting can generally be categorized into three types; the barrel vault, the domical vault, and the
cross-groined vault.
 The barrel vault was the simplest form, consisting of a continuous surface of semi-circular or pointed section.
The result resembles a barrel which has been cut in half lengthwise both the domical vault and the cross-groined
vault were built over bases delimited by four pillars, each of which are connected by arches
 in the domical vault, bricks were laid at a gradually increasing inclination from the horizontal, first to form the
pendentives, constructive devices which allowed a circular dome to be placed over a square room or an elliptical
dome over a rectangular room, and then to provide a circular base for the vault which would form of a dome
 in the cross-groined, bricks were laid parallel to the outer curve of the arch, so that when they met at the corners,
they naturally formed a ridge. Regardless of which type, there was a great deal of irregularity and improvisation
found in vaulted construction, as engineering protocol had not yet been standardized
 the most prominent of all Byzantine architecture was the dome. Where domes had traditionally been placed over
circular or polygonal structures, in the Byzantine period, the dome was constructed much like the domical vaults,
resting on pendentives
 the shell of the dome was often ribbed or textured on the inside so as to create numerous tapering segments.
These ridges helped bolster the dome, serving as another example of advancements in engineering. The domes
were often constructed of bricks or a light porous stone such as pumice
 during the Byzantine period, the exterior of buildings was generally left plain. The interiors, however, stood in
stark contrast, covered with ornamental brick, patterns, marble, stucco, painting, mosaics, and other decoration.
The use of such rich design ultimately resulted in the rounding of angles and in the absence of moldings and
cornices, which allowed the designs to continue uninterrupted over wall, arches, and domes. One surface melted
into the next, giving the interior a smooth, harmonious sense of unity
 in terms of structural elements, the use of marble was limited to columns, cornices, and architraves, and
occasionally used for subsidiary features like doors jambs, lintels, window grilles, parapet slabs, pulpits,
pavements and mural revetment. From the time exotic colored marble as a mark of status continued throughout
the Byzantine period, being used to a large extent in a lavish, opulent manner
 Byzantine art extended over an extremely long period of time, and was created over a vast area of space. And
while there was naturally a wide variation of both style and character, the aforementioned techniques, materials,
and structural elements remained relevant and even prominent within the Byzantine architectural system

Definition of Terms/additional info:

1. CODE OF JUSTINIAN.

 Committees of jurists provided two reference works containing collections of past laws and extracts of the
opinions of the great Roman jurists. Also included were an elementary outline of the law and a collection of
Justinian's own new laws. The code consists of 4 books; Codex Constitutionum, Digesta or Pandectae,
Institutiones, and Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem
2. SLAYER OF BULGARS.

 Aka Basil II; a Byzantine emperor who extended imperial rule in the Balkans, Mesopotamia, Georgia, and
Armenia and increased his domestic authority by attacking the powerful landed interests of the military
aristocracy and of the church
3. HAGIA SOPHIA.

 It was built as a Christian church in the 6th century CE under the direction of Justinian I. In subsequent centuries
it became a mosque, a museum, and then a mosque again. The building reflects the religious changes that have
played out in the region over the centuries, with the minarets and inscriptions of Islam as well as lavish mosaics of
Christianity
4. ASHLAR MASONRY.

 A type of stone masonry which is formed by using finely dressed stones of the same size, shape and texture laid
together in cement or lime mortar of equal size joints at right angles to each other
5. MORTAR.

 A material used in masonry construction to fill the gaps between the bricks and blocks
6. PENDENTIVES.

 A construction element that allows a dome to be placed over a square or rectangular spaces
7. HAGIA IRENE.

 Became the model for the church of Hagia Sophia. Construction of the church began in the 4th century at the
request of Emperor Constantine; it was the first church built in Constantinople. When Nika revolt in 532, the
church was burned and Emperor Justinian I repaired the church in 548