This grand architectural structure on the banks of the Bosphorus attracts many tourists and pilgrims from many countries and from different continents every year. They are driven by the realization that the simple description of the Temple of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople from the school history textbook does not give a complete picture of this outstanding monument of culture of the ancient world. It is necessary to see it with your own eyes at least once in your life.
From the history of the ancient world
Even the most detailed description of the Temple of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople will not provide the full completeness of the idea of this architectural phenomenon. Without a consistent review of the series of historical eras through which he went through, it is unlikely that he will realize the importance of this place. Before he appeared before our eyes in the state in which modern tourists can see him, a lot of water flowed.
This cathedral was originally built as the highest spiritual symbol of Byzantium, a new Christian power that arose on the ruins of ancient Rome in the fourth century AD. But the history of the Temple of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople began even before the collapse of the Roman Empire into the western and eastern parts. This city itself, located on a strategically important border between Europe and Asia, needed a vivid symbol of spiritual and civilizational greatness. Emperor Constantine I the Great understood this like no other. And it was only in the power of the monarch to begin the construction of this grandiose structure, which had no analogues in the ancient world.
The date of foundation of the temple is forever associated with the name and period of the reign of this emperor. Even though the actual authors of the cathedral were other people who lived much later, during the reign of Emperor Justinian. From historical sources, we know two names of these largest architects of their era. These are the Greek architects Anthimius of Thrall and Isidore of Miletus. They own the authorship of both the civil engineering and the artistic parts of a single architectural project.
How the temple was built
Description of the Temple of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the study of its architectural features and stages of construction inevitably leads to the idea that the original plan for its construction changed significantly under the influence of various political and economic circumstances. There was no similar scale of constructions in the Roman Empire before.
Historical sources claim that the date of foundation of the cathedral is 324 years from the birth of Christ. But what we see today began to be built about two centuries after this date. From the constructions of the fourth century, the founder of which was Constantine I the Great, at present only the foundations and individual architectural fragments are preserved. What stood on the site of the modern Hagia Sophia was called the Basilica of Constantine and the Basilica of Theodosius. Emperor Justinian, who ruled in the middle of the sixth century, was faced with the task of erecting something new and hitherto unprecedented.
The fact that the grandiose construction of the cathedral lasted only five years, from 532 to 537, is truly amazing. More than ten thousand workers, mobilized from all over the empire, simultaneously worked in construction. For this purpose, the best varieties of marble from Greece were delivered in necessary quantities to this end. Emperor Justinian did not spare funds for the construction, since not only a symbol of the state greatness of the Eastern Roman Empire was erected, but also a Temple to the glory of the Lord. He was to bring the light of Christian doctrine to the whole world.
From historical sources
The description of the Temple of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople can be found in the early historical chronicles of the court Byzantine chroniclers. From them it is clear that contemporaries were impressed by the grandeur and grandeur of this building.
Many believed that it was absolutely impossible to build such a cathedral without the direct intervention of divine powers. The main dome of the greatest Christian temple of the ancient world was visible from afar to all sailors in the Sea of Marmara, approaching the Bosphorus. It served as a kind of lighthouse, and this also had a spiritual and symbolic meaning. This was originally conceived: Byzantine temples were supposed to eclipse with their grandeur everything that was built before them.
Cathedral Interior
The general composition of the temple space is subject to the laws of symmetry. This principle was most important in ancient temple architecture. But in terms of volume and level of interior design, the Temple of Sofia in Constantinople significantly exceeds everything that was built before it. It was precisely this task that the emperor Justinian posed for architects and builders. By his will, from many cities of the empire, finished columns and other architectural elements taken from previously existing ancient structures were delivered to the temple for decoration. Of particular difficulty was the dome completion.
The grandiose main dome was supported by an arched colonnade with forty window openings that provided overhead lighting for the entire temple space. The altar part of the cathedral was finished with special care, a significant amount of gold, silver and ivory took to decorate it. According to Byzantine historiographers and contemporary experts, the emperor Justinian spent several annual budgets of his country only on the interior of the cathedral. In his ambitions, he wanted to surpass the Old Testament king Solomon, who built the Temple in Jerusalem. These words of the emperor were recorded by the court chroniclers. And there is every reason to believe that Emperor Justinian managed to fulfill his intention.
Byzantine style
St. Sophia Cathedral, a photo of which is currently adorned with the advertising products of many travel agencies, is a classic embodiment of imperial Byzantine style in architecture. This style is easily recognizable. His monumental grandeur, he certainly goes back to the best traditions of imperial Rome and Greek antiquity, but to mix this architecture with something else is simply impossible.
Byzantine temples can easily be found at a considerable distance from historical Byzantium. This area of temple architecture today is the predominant architectural style throughout the territory, where the Orthodox branch of world Christianity historically dominated.
These structures are characterized by massive domed completion above the central part of the building and arched colonnades under them. The architectural features of this style have been developed for centuries and have become an integral part of Russian temple architecture. Today, not everyone even knows that its source is on the shores of the Bosphorus.
Unique mosaics
Icons and mosaic frescoes from the walls of Hagia Sophia have become world-recognized classics of fine art. In their compositional constructions, the Roman and Greek canons of monumental painting are easily visible.
The frescoes of Hagia Sophia were created over two centuries. Several generations of masters and many icon-painting schools worked on them. The mosaic technique itself has a much more sophisticated technology compared to traditionally tempera painted on wet plaster. All elements of mosaic frescoes were created by masters according to only one known to them rules, into which the uninitiated were not allowed. It was both slow and very expensive, but the Byzantine emperors did not spare funds for the interior of the Temple of Hagia Sophia. The masters had nowhere to hurry, because what they created had to survive for many centuries. Of particular difficulty in creating mosaic frescoes was the height of the walls and roofing elements of the cathedral.
The viewer was forced to see the figures of the saints in a complex perspective reduction. Byzantine icon painters were the first in the history of world art who had to take this factor into account. Before them, no one had such an experience. And they coped with the task with dignity, today many thousands of tourists and pilgrims who annually visit the St. Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul can attest to this.
During the long period of Ottoman rule, Byzantine mosaics on the walls of the temple were covered with a layer of plaster. But after restoration work carried out in the thirties of the twentieth century, they appeared in almost original form. And today, visitors to the Temple of Hagia Sophia can observe Byzantine frescoes depicting Christ and the Virgin Mary, interspersed with calligraphic quotes of suras from the Koran.
Restorers also respected the legacy of the Islamic period in the history of the cathedral. It is also interesting to note that for some Orthodox saints in mosaic frescoes, icon painters gave portrait resemblance to the ruling monarchs and other influential people of their era. In subsequent centuries, this practice will become commonplace in the construction of Catholic cathedrals in the largest cities of medieval Europe.
Vaults of the cathedral
St. Sophia Cathedral, a photo of which tourists are taking from the shores of the Bosphorus, acquired its characteristic silhouette not least due to the grandiose dome completion. The dome itself has a relatively small height with an impressive diameter. This ratio of proportions will go down into the architectural canon of the Byzantine style. Its height from the foundation level is 51 meters. It will be surpassed in size only in the Renaissance, during the construction of the famous St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome.
Two domed hemispheres located from the west and from the east from the main dome give special expressiveness to the vault of St. Sophia Cathedral. With their outlines and architectural elements, they repeat it and, on the whole, create a single composition of the vault of the cathedral.
All these architectural discoveries of ancient Byzantium were subsequently used many times in temple architecture, in the construction of cathedrals in the cities of medieval Europe, and then around the world. In the Russian
Empire, the Byzantine dome of Hagia Sophia was very clearly reflected in the architectural appearance of the
Naval Nikolsky Cathedral in Kronstadt. Like the famous temple on the shores of the Bosphorus, it was supposed to be visible from the sea to all sailors approaching the capital, thereby symbolizing the greatness of the empire.
The end of Byzantium
As you know, any empire reaches its peak, and then move towards degradation and sunset. This fate did not pass byzantium. The Eastern Roman Empire collapsed in the middle of the fifteenth century under the weight of its own internal contradictions and under the growing onslaught of external enemies. The last Christian service at the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople took place on May 29, 1453. This day was the last for the capital of Byzantium itself. The empire, which had existed for almost a thousand years, was defeated that day under the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks. Constantinople ceased to exist. Now it is the city of Istanbul, for several centuries it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The conquerors of the city broke into the temple at the time of worship, brutally cracked down on those who were there, and ruthlessly plundered the treasures of the cathedral. But the Ottoman Turks were not going to destroy the building itself - the Christian church was destined to become a mosque. And this fact could not but affect the appearance of the Byzantine cathedral.
Dome and minarets
During the Ottoman Empire, the appearance of the Temple of Hagia Sophia underwent significant changes. The city of Istanbul was supposed to have a cathedral mosque corresponding to the capital status. The temple building that existed in the fifteenth century was far from ideal for this purpose. Prayers in the mosque should be held in the direction of Mecca, while the Orthodox church is oriented to the east by the altar. The Ottoman Turks reconstructed the temple they had inherited - they attached crude buttresses to the historic building to strengthen the load-bearing walls and built four large minarets in accordance with the canons of Islam. St. Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul became known as the Hagia Sophia Mosque. A mihrab was built in the southeastern part of the interior, so the praying Muslims should be positioned at an angle to the axis of the building, leaving the altar of the temple on the left.
In addition, the walls of the cathedral with icons were plastered. But it was precisely this that made it possible to restore authentic murals of the temple walls in the nineteenth century. They are well preserved under a layer of medieval stucco. St. Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul is also unique in that in its external appearance and in its internal content, the heritage of two great cultures and two world religions - Orthodox Christianity and Islam - is intricately intertwined.
Hagia Sophia Museum
In 1935, the building of the Hagia Sophia mosque was removed from the category of cults. For this, a special decree of the President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was needed. This progressive step made it possible to put an end to the claims to the historical building of representatives of different religions and faiths. The Turkish leader was also able to indicate his remoteness from all sorts of clerical circles.
The state budget financed and carried out the restoration of the historic building and the area around it. The necessary infrastructure has been equipped to receive a large flow of tourists from different countries. Currently, St. Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul is one of the most important cultural and historical sights of Turkey. In 1985, the temple was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the most significant material objects in the history of the development of human civilization. Getting to this attraction in Istanbul is very easy - it is located in the prestigious Sultanahmet district and is visible from afar.