How Did Hagia Sophia Influence Architecture
Kaustuvi Thapa
The Hagia Sophia
&
Its History, Structure, and Influence on Architecture
Arch 2003
Figure 1: The Hagia Sophia as it stands today.
Known today for its beautiful architecture, the Hagia Sophia stands as a popular Tourist attraction in Istanbul, Turkey. In order to preserve and convert the ____, several modifications have been added as it was passed from group to group. This paper will analyze the history behind the building, its architectural structure and engineering flaws, and finally the significance of the Hagia Sophia’s influence on architecture after it.
A common misconception of the Hagia Sophia is that it is the Church of Saint Sophia. Although some scholarly books continue to refer to the building as such, they are …show more content…
mistaken to do so. Although it is unclear whether the church was called “the name ‘Sophia’ or merely as ‘the Great Church’ – ‘Megale Ecclesia’ when it was first dedicated, we know that the name ‘Megale Ecclesia’ continued to be used throughout the Byzantine period and that the further name ‘Sophia’ (initially without the prefix Hagia) had come into use by the early 5th century. It is also known it referred to Christ and not to any saint of that name because several of the Later fuller forms of the name show that that the reference was to Christ as the “Wisdom or Word of God made flesh”. This is further confirmed by the fact that patronal feast (the annual celebration held in honor of the saint of virgin the church was dedicated to) was celebrated at Christmas” . Therefore, the Hagia Sophia should actually be referred to as the Church of Holy Wisdom.
In order to truly appreciate the building, one must start from the very beginning and look at the buildings that directly preceded it. The very first basilica that had been built on the site was completed in 360. Built on the same site as another demolished basilica, it fell into ruins after it was burned down during a riot.
The second building was built in404 to 415. Dispute lies upon whether this “second building” was another building or merely renovations of the first, as no description of the original form exists. Brief records refer to it as “circus-like” and “oblong”; however, these were written too late after it was destroyed to be credible. According to M134, “The silence of the earliest sources on this topic…may, however, imply that there was nothing special to record – in other words, that the church was indeed a simple basilica like most others at the time” . This building was also destroyed in the Nika riot of 532.
Interestingly enough, this riot had little to do with political motivations.
During this time period, a common past time of the people was to go watch chariot racing at the Hippodrome (SEE IMAGE). By tradition, each Byzantine emperor chose among the Blue and Green team to bestow support upon; with one party sated, the chance of a riot against the imperial government versus the Blues and the Greens combined was on the down low. Despite favoring the Blues prior to taking the throne,, Emperor Justinian decided not to throw his support behind either team after taking the throne to put on a show of impartiality. This decision ended up backfiring on him as it caused both teams to resent him more than they resented each other. Circumstances lead their distaste for him to develop on a grand scale and eventually commence the Nika riots. Both factions took to the streets and starting setting the headquarters of Constantinople's police department, the Hagia Sophia, and several other important buildings on fire. Soon the aristocracy became involved as they realized it was the perfect time to stage a political coup and to get rid of the unpopular emperor. With the riots getting out of hand, Justinian and his counselors considered plans to leave the capital; however, the Empress Theodora is said to have talked them of out of it. According to legend, she declared, “My opinion then is that the present time, above all others, is inopportune for flight, even though it brings safety … or one …show more content…
who has been an emperor it is unendurable to be a fugitive. May I never be separated from this purple, and may I not live that day on which those who meet me shall not address me as mistress.” . After listening to her words, the emperor sent his best general to squash the riot (by locking the doors to hippodrome and killing over 30,000 people in the process). This key event is important to discuss as it leads to us to Emperor Justinian’s reasons towards building the present-day Hagia Sophia.
After the rebellion was taken care of, Emperor Justinian started erecting copious buildings in all quarters of his empire. By constructing each building, the emperor likely had the continuous future of his empire in mind. By having all of these built, he displayed how he had never lost power in the region in the first place. In particular, the original Hagia Sophia, that had been burned down during the riot became his passion project. However, in his haste to have the Hagia Sophia built, he allowed the Master builders to take shortcuts while building it, which unfortunately is what ultimately compromised the structural integrity of the building. It is a miracle the building stands today. The “shortcuts” and their effects on building will be discussed later in the paper.
Despite having the capability of designing and constructing a majority of buildings in Justinian’s empire, he saw his master builders unfit to engage in the planning of the next Hagia Sophia. Instead Justinian selected “two men who stood on a different lane both in training and social status: Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus” . Neither man had the pleasure of experience as the master builders, but they were both “what their contemporaries would have called accomplished mechanopoioi”. Each were skilled in statics, kinetics, and mathematics; Isidorus being a professor on stereometry (the measurement of solid bodies) and physics, whereas Anthemius took expertise in projected geometry, and even authored his own work in conical sections.
The process of construction was described by Procopius, in his book “On Buildings” and where much of what we know about this building comes from. “Columns and marbles were brought from all over the Aegean lands and from as far as the Atlantic Coast of France. The marble workshops of the Proconnesian islands were kept busy furnishing capitals, cornices, and huge pavement plaques” As time went on, people mistakenly came to believe rumours that these columns were actually spoils from Rome, Ephesus, and Cyzicus.
The original plan of Justinian’s Hagia Sophia included an atrium, outer Narthex, Inner Narthex, Nave, Side Aisle, Gallery, and Apse. (SEE IMAGE). Although the atrium no longer survives today, it served as courtyard outside of the main entrance of the Hagia Sophia. The outer Narthex is a long transfer space that is as long as it is wide. It is mostly devoid of decoration and features 9 domical cross vaults.” A long ramp from the northern part of the outer narthex leads up to the upper gallery. The inner Narthex is a much more impressive space” M32Although the inner Narthex seems to be the same size as the outer Narthex, it is actually much taller and wider. It is a much more impressive space as its walls and vaults are richly decorated. “The walls are sheathed in colored marbles almost up to cornice level and the vaults are covered in gold-ground mosaic decorated with crosses, stars, and other geometrical motif.” The inner Narthex also features 3 groups of doorways with three doors in each group. (SEE IMAGE) in contrast to the lack of differentiation between the doors from the outer narthex the central group of these doors is taller than the others and the one in the middle of this group known as the Imperial door is tallest and widest of them all. The mosaic above this door features “this shows of prostrate ever at the feet of an in Throne Christ to either side of Homer bus of the Virgin and the Archangel Gabriel set in circular frames” The upper gallery is laid out in a horseshoe shape that encloses the nave until the apse.
Justinian was determined to build something thing unique and more majestic than its predecessors.
Instead of building a traditional basilica, he wanted a basilica with centralized plan of sorts. A traditional basilica has a longitudinal format while a centralized plan is based on a geometric shape that has a center. In this case, a round dome. When the Romans created buildings with high domes, for example the Pantheon in Rome, they kept things simple by placing a round dome directly on top of a round barrel. The Hagia Sophia, however, was a completely different picture. The building has a square base, from which two half domes emerge to form a rectangle of space resembles a basilica. (SEE IMAGE) So how exactly were they able to place 107 feet diameter dome on such a
base?
The architects took great care to ensure that the necessary supports did not intrude on the internal space. This created the impression that the dome was able to “float effortlessly above the billowing interior”. In actuality, quite a bit of effort was taking place . If you take a closer look at the base of the dome, you see that it comes down on a series of four arches. We know that the dome must weigh and enormous amount and yet it seems to come down on the slenderest of points. In the spaces between the arches and the base of the dome, there are triangular figures called the pendentives. (SEE IMAGE). Part of the work of supporting the dome is also being done by the half domes on either side and on the east end, three smaller half domes below that.
Although the bricks were made of relatively light construction materials (to quicken the pace at which the Hagia Sophia was built, the master builders were instructed to use more mortar than bricks) and the vaults were thin to minimize both thrust and weight, the size of the building meant that the gravity forces were very large. To counteract this a bit, The forty windows at the base of the dome were set between buttresses that that stabilize the junction of dome and pendentives. From this point, the load is transferred to four great stone piers, which are further buttressed by being extended above the gallery vaults to join great barrel vaults along the sides of the church [see fig 6.14 on pg 142]. In reality, the semi domes which appear to brace the narthex and apse ends probably contribute little to the structure’s integrity.”
As beautiful as it looked from the inside, the lack of structural integrity was obvious even to Procopius as stated in “his later reference to the terrifying insecurity of the eastern semidome which ‘seems somehow to rise on no firm basis, but to soar aloft to the peril of those below’, . As a result of their ambitious designs, the dome collapsed several times. This first dome, quite low and possibly continuing the curves of the pendentives, collapsed in 558. Its base had been deformed by the thrust of the first dome - which caused the piers and buttresses to tip backwards, the east and west arches to expand and the lateral arches north and south to bend outwards” It was replaced by a steeper pitch and ribbed construction in 563 (this construction added 30 feet to the dome’s height which put it at its current height of 182 feet), but the western half of the rebuilt dome fell again in 989. Following repairs, repaired by an Armenian architect, Trdst; the eastern half collapsed in 1346; the replacement dome is the one on the building today.” (SEE IMAGE [Hagia Sophia dome looking up, with half domes at left &right])
As mentioned earlier
The Hagia Sophia
&
Its History, Structure, and Influence on Architecture
Arch 2003
Figure 1: The Hagia Sophia as it stands today.
Known today for its beautiful architecture, the Hagia Sophia stands as a popular Tourist attraction in Istanbul, Turkey. In order to preserve and convert the ____, several modifications have been added as it was passed from group to group. This paper will analyze the history behind the building, its architectural structure and engineering flaws, and finally the significance of the Hagia Sophia’s influence on architecture after it.
A common misconception of the Hagia Sophia is that it is the Church of Saint Sophia. Although some scholarly books continue to refer to the building as such, they are …show more content…
mistaken to do so. Although it is unclear whether the church was called “the name ‘Sophia’ or merely as ‘the Great Church’ – ‘Megale Ecclesia’ when it was first dedicated, we know that the name ‘Megale Ecclesia’ continued to be used throughout the Byzantine period and that the further name ‘Sophia’ (initially without the prefix Hagia) had come into use by the early 5th century. It is also known it referred to Christ and not to any saint of that name because several of the Later fuller forms of the name show that that the reference was to Christ as the “Wisdom or Word of God made flesh”. This is further confirmed by the fact that patronal feast (the annual celebration held in honor of the saint of virgin the church was dedicated to) was celebrated at Christmas” . Therefore, the Hagia Sophia should actually be referred to as the Church of Holy Wisdom.
In order to truly appreciate the building, one must start from the very beginning and look at the buildings that directly preceded it. The very first basilica that had been built on the site was completed in 360. Built on the same site as another demolished basilica, it fell into ruins after it was burned down during a riot.
The second building was built in404 to 415. Dispute lies upon whether this “second building” was another building or merely renovations of the first, as no description of the original form exists. Brief records refer to it as “circus-like” and “oblong”; however, these were written too late after it was destroyed to be credible. According to M134, “The silence of the earliest sources on this topic…may, however, imply that there was nothing special to record – in other words, that the church was indeed a simple basilica like most others at the time” . This building was also destroyed in the Nika riot of 532.
Interestingly enough, this riot had little to do with political motivations.
During this time period, a common past time of the people was to go watch chariot racing at the Hippodrome (SEE IMAGE). By tradition, each Byzantine emperor chose among the Blue and Green team to bestow support upon; with one party sated, the chance of a riot against the imperial government versus the Blues and the Greens combined was on the down low. Despite favoring the Blues prior to taking the throne,, Emperor Justinian decided not to throw his support behind either team after taking the throne to put on a show of impartiality. This decision ended up backfiring on him as it caused both teams to resent him more than they resented each other. Circumstances lead their distaste for him to develop on a grand scale and eventually commence the Nika riots. Both factions took to the streets and starting setting the headquarters of Constantinople's police department, the Hagia Sophia, and several other important buildings on fire. Soon the aristocracy became involved as they realized it was the perfect time to stage a political coup and to get rid of the unpopular emperor. With the riots getting out of hand, Justinian and his counselors considered plans to leave the capital; however, the Empress Theodora is said to have talked them of out of it. According to legend, she declared, “My opinion then is that the present time, above all others, is inopportune for flight, even though it brings safety … or one …show more content…
who has been an emperor it is unendurable to be a fugitive. May I never be separated from this purple, and may I not live that day on which those who meet me shall not address me as mistress.” . After listening to her words, the emperor sent his best general to squash the riot (by locking the doors to hippodrome and killing over 30,000 people in the process). This key event is important to discuss as it leads to us to Emperor Justinian’s reasons towards building the present-day Hagia Sophia.
After the rebellion was taken care of, Emperor Justinian started erecting copious buildings in all quarters of his empire. By constructing each building, the emperor likely had the continuous future of his empire in mind. By having all of these built, he displayed how he had never lost power in the region in the first place. In particular, the original Hagia Sophia, that had been burned down during the riot became his passion project. However, in his haste to have the Hagia Sophia built, he allowed the Master builders to take shortcuts while building it, which unfortunately is what ultimately compromised the structural integrity of the building. It is a miracle the building stands today. The “shortcuts” and their effects on building will be discussed later in the paper.
Despite having the capability of designing and constructing a majority of buildings in Justinian’s empire, he saw his master builders unfit to engage in the planning of the next Hagia Sophia. Instead Justinian selected “two men who stood on a different lane both in training and social status: Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus” . Neither man had the pleasure of experience as the master builders, but they were both “what their contemporaries would have called accomplished mechanopoioi”. Each were skilled in statics, kinetics, and mathematics; Isidorus being a professor on stereometry (the measurement of solid bodies) and physics, whereas Anthemius took expertise in projected geometry, and even authored his own work in conical sections.
The process of construction was described by Procopius, in his book “On Buildings” and where much of what we know about this building comes from. “Columns and marbles were brought from all over the Aegean lands and from as far as the Atlantic Coast of France. The marble workshops of the Proconnesian islands were kept busy furnishing capitals, cornices, and huge pavement plaques” As time went on, people mistakenly came to believe rumours that these columns were actually spoils from Rome, Ephesus, and Cyzicus.
The original plan of Justinian’s Hagia Sophia included an atrium, outer Narthex, Inner Narthex, Nave, Side Aisle, Gallery, and Apse. (SEE IMAGE). Although the atrium no longer survives today, it served as courtyard outside of the main entrance of the Hagia Sophia. The outer Narthex is a long transfer space that is as long as it is wide. It is mostly devoid of decoration and features 9 domical cross vaults.” A long ramp from the northern part of the outer narthex leads up to the upper gallery. The inner Narthex is a much more impressive space” M32Although the inner Narthex seems to be the same size as the outer Narthex, it is actually much taller and wider. It is a much more impressive space as its walls and vaults are richly decorated. “The walls are sheathed in colored marbles almost up to cornice level and the vaults are covered in gold-ground mosaic decorated with crosses, stars, and other geometrical motif.” The inner Narthex also features 3 groups of doorways with three doors in each group. (SEE IMAGE) in contrast to the lack of differentiation between the doors from the outer narthex the central group of these doors is taller than the others and the one in the middle of this group known as the Imperial door is tallest and widest of them all. The mosaic above this door features “this shows of prostrate ever at the feet of an in Throne Christ to either side of Homer bus of the Virgin and the Archangel Gabriel set in circular frames” The upper gallery is laid out in a horseshoe shape that encloses the nave until the apse.
Justinian was determined to build something thing unique and more majestic than its predecessors.
Instead of building a traditional basilica, he wanted a basilica with centralized plan of sorts. A traditional basilica has a longitudinal format while a centralized plan is based on a geometric shape that has a center. In this case, a round dome. When the Romans created buildings with high domes, for example the Pantheon in Rome, they kept things simple by placing a round dome directly on top of a round barrel. The Hagia Sophia, however, was a completely different picture. The building has a square base, from which two half domes emerge to form a rectangle of space resembles a basilica. (SEE IMAGE) So how exactly were they able to place 107 feet diameter dome on such a
base?
The architects took great care to ensure that the necessary supports did not intrude on the internal space. This created the impression that the dome was able to “float effortlessly above the billowing interior”. In actuality, quite a bit of effort was taking place . If you take a closer look at the base of the dome, you see that it comes down on a series of four arches. We know that the dome must weigh and enormous amount and yet it seems to come down on the slenderest of points. In the spaces between the arches and the base of the dome, there are triangular figures called the pendentives. (SEE IMAGE). Part of the work of supporting the dome is also being done by the half domes on either side and on the east end, three smaller half domes below that.
Although the bricks were made of relatively light construction materials (to quicken the pace at which the Hagia Sophia was built, the master builders were instructed to use more mortar than bricks) and the vaults were thin to minimize both thrust and weight, the size of the building meant that the gravity forces were very large. To counteract this a bit, The forty windows at the base of the dome were set between buttresses that that stabilize the junction of dome and pendentives. From this point, the load is transferred to four great stone piers, which are further buttressed by being extended above the gallery vaults to join great barrel vaults along the sides of the church [see fig 6.14 on pg 142]. In reality, the semi domes which appear to brace the narthex and apse ends probably contribute little to the structure’s integrity.”
As beautiful as it looked from the inside, the lack of structural integrity was obvious even to Procopius as stated in “his later reference to the terrifying insecurity of the eastern semidome which ‘seems somehow to rise on no firm basis, but to soar aloft to the peril of those below’, . As a result of their ambitious designs, the dome collapsed several times. This first dome, quite low and possibly continuing the curves of the pendentives, collapsed in 558. Its base had been deformed by the thrust of the first dome - which caused the piers and buttresses to tip backwards, the east and west arches to expand and the lateral arches north and south to bend outwards” It was replaced by a steeper pitch and ribbed construction in 563 (this construction added 30 feet to the dome’s height which put it at its current height of 182 feet), but the western half of the rebuilt dome fell again in 989. Following repairs, repaired by an Armenian architect, Trdst; the eastern half collapsed in 1346; the replacement dome is the one on the building today.” (SEE IMAGE [Hagia Sophia dome looking up, with half domes at left &right])
As mentioned earlier