Hagia Sophia
The Church of
the Holy Wisdom, variously known as Hagia Sophia (Άγια Σοφία) in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin or Ayasofya
in Turkish, is a former Greek Orthodox church
converted to a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul,
formerly Constantinople. It is universally acknowledged as one
of the great buildings of the world.
Construction
Nothing remains of the first church that
was built on the same site during the 4th century. Following the destruction of
the first church, a second was built by Constantius, the son of Constantine the Great, but was
burned down during the Nika riots of 532. The building
was rebuilt under the personal supervision of emperor Justinian
I and rededicated on December 26, 536.
For architects Justinian chose Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, professors of geometry
at the University of
Constantinople; Anthemius, however, died within the first year. The
construction is described in Procopius'
On Buildings (De Aedificiis). The Byzantine poet Paulus the Silentiary composed an extant
poetic ekphrasis, probably for the rededication of 563, which
followed the collapse of the main dome.
Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest
surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. Of great artistic
value was its decorated interior with mosaics
and marble
pillars and coverings. The temple itself was so richly and artistically
decorated that Justinian is said to have proclaimed "Solomon,
I have surpassed thee!" (Νενίκηκά σε Σολομών).Justinian's basilica
was at once the culminating architectural achievement of late antiquity
and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Its influence, both
architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Muslim
worlds alike.
Description
Hagia Sophia is covered by a central dome with a
diameter of 31 meters (102 feet), slightly smaller than the Pantheon's. The dome seems rendered weightless by
the unbroken arcade of arched windows under it, which help flood the colorful
interior with light. The dome is carried on pendentives-four
concave triangular sections of masonry which solve the problem of setting the
circular base of a dome on a rectangular base. At Hagia Sophia the weight of
the dome passes through the pendentives to four massive piers at the corners.
Between them the dome seems to float upon four great arches.
At the western (entrance) and eastern
(liturgical) ends, the arched openings are extended by half domes carried on
smaller semidomed exedras. Thus a hierarchy of dome-headed elements builds up to
create a vast oblong interior crowned by the main dome, a sequence unexampled
in antiquity.
The structure has been severely damaged
several times by earthquakes. The dome collapsed after an earthquake in 558; its
replacement fell in 563. There were additional partial collapses in 989 and 1346.
All interior surfaces are sheathed with
polychrome marbles, green and white with purple porphyry and gold mosaics, encrusted upon the
brick. On the exterior, simple stuccoed walls reveal the clarity of massed
vaults and domes.
Later
history
Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople
and a principal setting for imperial ceremonies. During the Latin Occupation
(1204-1261) the church became a Roman Catholic cathedral, and its many
treasures and relics were dispersed. It was converted to a mosque at
the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman
Turks under Sultan Mehmed II in 1453. Since
more conservative factions of Islam
consider the depiction of the human form to be blasphemous, its mosaics were
covered with plaster. (While figurative representation has never been
completely banned in Islamic art, figures of humans in a mosque's decoration is
generally forbidden.) For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul,
Ayasofya served as model for many of the Ottoman mosques of Constantinople such
as the Shehzade Mosque, the Suleiman Mosque, and the Rustem Pasha Mosque.
In 1934, under Turkish
president 1993
UNESCO
mission to Turkey noted falling plaster, dirty marble facings, broken windows,
decorative paintings damaged by moisture, and ill-maintained lead roofing.
Cleaning, roofing and restoration have since been undertaken.
Although Turkey, and Istanbul in
particular, are more secular than most Muslim countries, the status of Hagia
Sophia remains a sensitive subject. The Islamic calligraphic displays suspended
from the main dome remain in place. The Christian iconographic
mosaics are being gradually uncovered.
See also
External
links
Reference