Early Christian and

byzantine
architecture
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Early Christian architecture

introduction
 Early Christianity was emerged in Rome during the
period of emperor Constantine.
 By the beginning of the fourth century Christianity
was a growing mystery religion in the cities of the
roman world.
 Christianity was made the Christian religion of the
roman empire by the emperor Constantine in the 4th
century, AD before then, Christians got into trouble
because they refused to worship the emperor as a
god. Some Christians were arrested and put to death.
Early Christian and architecture

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introduction
 re lavishly decorated with mosaics that
depict religious scenes and iconography.
After Christianity is recognized receiving
official approval from roman empire.
Christians begin constructing religious
structured adapted from roman prototype.
 The term early Christian architecture refers
to the architecture of the early Christian
churches of the roman era.
 Early Christian structures are made of
stones and brick with increasingly less use
of concrete.
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St, peters, in Rome 333 AD

 St, peter was the most important of the

basilica churches built by Constantine.
 The basilica had a wooden roof of
interlocking rafters.
 The nave did not lead directly to the apse
but instead ends in a transverse space that
is as high as the nave.
 Early Christian and
architecture

St, peter basilica in Rome 333 AD

1. Propylaeum- the entrance building.

2. Atrium- in early Christian architecture, the
forecourt of a church with a central
fountain enveloped by four colonnaded
porticoes.
3. Narthex- the entrance hall or porch
proceeding the nave of a church.
4. Nave-the great central space in a church.
In longitudinal churches. It extends from
the entrance to the apse and is usually
flanked by the side aisles.
5. Side Aisle-one of the corridors running
parallel to the nave of a church and
separated from it by an arcade or
colonnade.
 Early Christian and
architecture
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6. Crossing- the area in a church where the transept ad

the nave intersect.
7. Transept- the whole arm set at right angles to the nave.
Note that the transept appears infrequently in early
Christian churches. Old st, peter`s is one of the few
example of the basilica with a transept from this period.
The transept would not become a standard component of
a Christian church until the Carolingian period.
8. Apse-a recess sometimes rectangular but usually
semicircular in the wall at the end of a roman basilica. In
the early Christian basilica, the apses contained the
``cathedral`` or throne of a bishop and the altar.
9. Clerestory- a row of windows in the upper part of a
wall. In churches, the clerestory windows above the roofs
of the side aisles permit direct illumination of the nave.
Most of the early Christian churches had clerestory
windows which were developed to give light to the
central part of the interior. The clerestory windows
became a symbol of the transcendence and grace of God.
10. Fountain- which is usually located In the center of
such an atrium; this was used for baptistery.
Early Christian and
architecture

St. Sabina basilica

Saint Sabina was founded by peter of Illyria, a
dalmatian priest, in 425. the church was built
on an ancient Titulus Sabina. That probably
arose in the house of the matron Sabina.
St. Sabina church was constructed in the 4th
century. And stands as a monument to early
Christian architecture. Much of which was
drawn from the ancient roman world.
It’s a very long hall with aisles on all its sides,
the building has a great architectural design
that includes some artistic touches on the
structure's walls, floors. There are semi
circular arches that are believed to have been
influenced by the roman style. It also possesses
an apse and a narthex in addition to the side
Byzantine Architecture
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Introduction
 By the end of the 5th century AD. Rome
had completely declined.
 Its influence was significantly reduced
and the impetus for architectural
innovation shifted to the byzantine
empire.
 This shifts also marks the movement
from early Christian civilization to the
Byzantine civilization.
 Under the byzantine emperor Justinian,
the byzantine style of architecture
evolved.
 His interest in church building led to
the discovery of the groin vault and the
evolution of the byzantine style.
Byzantine Architecture
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Introduction

 The attributes of the ideal church included:

 The use of a centralized church plan.
 The use of surrounding isles.
 The use of pendentives and dome on pendentives.
 And the use of a complex program of interior
structure, lighting and decoration to create
fascinating interiors.
Byzantine Architecture
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Domes and Domes on
pendentives

 Byzantine architecture gave us the

pendentive domes and the dome on
pendentive.
 the pendentive dome enables the
transfer the total load of the dome to
the four corners of a building.
Meaning that only the four corners
need to be reinforced.
 Windows can then be introduced in
the cylinder enabling architects to
creating dazzling interior light
effects.
Byzantine architecture
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Hagia Sophia

 Hagia Sophia church was constructed in 532

A.D. by emperor Justinian in Constantinople
now Istanbul.
 Hagia Sophia or the church of the holy wisdom
is the most accomplished masterpiece in the
history of architecture.
 It was the greatest vaulted space without
intermediate supports that has ever been built
and it remained so throughout the history of the
byzantine empire.
 The church provides an expert solution to the
problem of how to place a dome on a square
base.
 The solution was to use pendentives.
Byzantine architecture

Hagia Sophia
 The dome seems rendered weightless
by the unbroken arched of arched
windows under it, which help flood
the colorful interior with light.
 The dome is carried on pendentives.
 Between them the dome seems to
float upon four great arches.
 The hagia Sophia church is a
combination of centralized and
longitudinal structure.
Byzantine architecture

Hagia Sophia
 At hagia Sophia, two opposing arches on the central
square open into semi domes. Each pierced by 3
smaller radial semi domes.
 Thus, a hierarchy of dome headed elements build up to
create a vast oblong interior crowned by the main
dome. A sequence never seen before in antiquity.
 The great artistic importance was its decorated interior
with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings.
 The combination of interior decoration with lights
flooding from its domes creates a glittering internal
environment.
Byzantine architecture

Hagia Sophia
 hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque at the fall
of Constantinople to the ottoman Turks under
sultan Muhammad || in 1453.
 Its rich figurative mosaics were covered with
plaster and replaced by Islamic motifs.
 It was for almost 500 years the principal mosque
of Istanbul.
 After continuing as a mosque for many years, it
was in 1934 turned by Turkish authorities in to the
hagia Sophia museum.
Byzantine architecture

St. mark
 St mark is also a notable example of
byzantine architecture.
 The church has five domes each toping
a square.
 The church is based on a Greek cross
floor plan, based on part on the hagia
Sophia and the basilica of the apostles,
both in Constantinople.
 Each arm of the cross is of the same
length and is covered by a dome.
 A dome also covers the square space at
the center.
Byzantine architecture

St marks Venice

 While the basic structure of the

building has been little altered, its
decoration changed greatly over
time.
 The front façade is gothic and was
added much latter.
Early prototypes

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St. Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547
 Byzantine architecture has its early prototypes in
two churches, San Vitale(526-547), Ravenna and
in saint sergius and saint Bacchus in
Constantinople.
 Ravenna once served as the seat of the roman
empire.
 The church is among the most important
monument of byzantine architecture.
 It was also the prototype for the hagia Sophia
which was built 10 years latter.
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Byzantine architecture

St Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547

 The church is octagonal in plan.
 It has a domed octagonal core surrounded by
ground level ambulatory, With a gallery above it.
 It has an apse which extends from the central core
to one of the 8 sides of the outer octagon.
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Byza nti ne a rc hi te ct ure

St Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547

 The domed roof of the church is raised on a drum
allowing it greater height and lighting .