Roman Greek And Persian Empires

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Hagia Sophia translated is hagia or holy and sophia is wisdom translated holy wisdom. Hagia Sophia originated as the Church of Holy Wisdom. It is a monumental structure because of its massive size, original architectural engineering, longevity, and history. As recorded by the historian Prokopios, Justinian I declared that the building surpassed Solomon’s Temple (McGough, 2012).

Where

Hagia Sophia is located in present day Istanbul Turkey. This monumental building shares one thousand five hundred years of epic history with its city. The city sits on two continents, Europe and Asia. The waterway that defines this continental divide also effectively joins the Mediterranean Sea (European) with the Black Sea (Asian). The culture of the ancient Roman, Greek, and Persian Empires meet here. This intermingling push and pull of place and purpose, steeps the city and its prize monument Hagia Sophia in historic antiquity.

The city was founded as Byzantine around 660 BC. A thousand years later, in 330 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine begin to establish the city as a New Rome. Byzantine became the renowned Constantinople, as some still refer to it today. To compete and replace ancient Rome as the place of power, worship and government the emperors had their work cut out for them. Constantinople’s communal buildings would need to exceed the Senate, Forum, Coliseum, and Churches of Rome in size and grandeur to gain the veneration of the citizens. It is during this time that the Hagia Sophia has its beginnings.

Church

The first Hagia Sophia church instituted in 360 AD was burned down during a riot in 404 AD, stemming from a conflict between the concurrent Patriarch of Constantinople and the Empress. A riot ensued when the patriarch was exiled.

The second church instituted in 415 AD was also burned in the infamous Nika Revolt in 532 AD. Emperor Justinian I and Coregent Empress Theodora rescued their seat of authority by choosing not to run from this riot. In order to break the riot 30,000 people were killed in the Hippodrome. Responding to this victory, "Emperor Justinian I elected to build a third and entirely different basilica, larger and more majestic than its predecessors" ("CHURCH PERIOD - Hagia Sophia (Saint Sophia)," 2011).

A top physicist and mathematician were chosen. The boldest of domes would crown this engineering and architectural feat. Hellenistic columns and quality marbles and stones were chosen from Greece, Egypt, and Syria. Ten thousand people were employed. Within six years the building was inaugurated. "Justinian's basilica was at once the culminating architectural achievement of late antiquity and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture" ("ARCHITECTURE - Hagia Sophia (Saint Sophia)," 2011). 

Placing a massive dome over such an expansive space was unprecedented. Pendentives were the engineering and architectural marvels invented to help achieve this purpose. Two half domes adjoin the larger center dome contributing to the overall covering of the immense nave. The project changed the history of Byzantine architecture (Simons, 1993). For almost a thousand years this cathedral with its massive dome and enormous nave was the largest in the world.

Human error, earthquakes, and fires have sifted the structure. During the original construction of the walls, bricklayers used more mortar than brick and failed to properly dry and cure the mortar. The walls sagged outward when the dome was placed atop the building. Within twenty years a series of earthquakes cracked and collapsed the original dome. Isidorus the Younger corrected the walls and rebuilt the dome. He added ribs to the dome. In the several centuries that followed, numerous earthquakes continued to shake and damage the building. Repairs, restorations, and reopenings were forthcoming each time. It has survived. It still stands today.

Liturgically the structure was the eminent church of the Byzantium Empire. It was the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith and its Patriarch. Imperial coronations and ceremonies befell here. It was an asylum for repentive lawbreakers. For nearly a thousand years it was a Christian church and witnessed some of her greatest controversies. The infamous and contentious iconoclastic tug-of-war, of the Christians, affected the ornamentation and art of the great church. The Great Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox patriarchs was staged at the alters of this cathedral. The church was ransacked and desecrated by Latin Christians in the Fourth Crusade. It was even a Roman Catholic Church for almost sixty years because of the success of this crusade in Constantinople.

Mosque

In 1453 the city and its church fell to a new empire, the Ottomans. Again the church was desecrated and looted as one empire fell and another began. Renamed Aya Sofya it became the first imperial mosque of Istanbul and so began a five hundred year period of the Islamic faith.

The Turks have been dedicated in the repairs, restorations and decorative renovations of the building. The famous Christian mosaics were covered with plaster but not destroyed. Ottoman princes have tombs within the complex. Minarets were added. They decorated with beautiful Islamic design. The use of mosaic material, which is so disappointing in Western portrait art, excels in the Islamic design.

Museum

The World Wars changed the face of power and politics in the ancient city. The first Turkish President transformed the mosque into a museum in 1935. The enormous building, roof, and complex compound require a lot of maintenance. In 1996 Hagia Sophia was placed on the World Monuments Watch. Funding for repairs and restorations come from varied sources and is a continual function. Use of the complex as a place of worship is strictly prohibited.

Summary

A great many centuries, earthquakes, fires, wars, and politics have passed under the domes of Hagia Sophia. It stands today as a memorial of endurance. Placed squarly in the midst of the epic icon controversy the dressing of the walls and interior has been diverse. In artistic appeal the Islamic doctrine of no image seems better to serve the mosaic talents. This city of crossroads reflects its conflicted history in this legendary monument of wisdom and faith.