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Module Outline
Lecture 1
Historical Background
Location and period
Social characteristics and beliefs
Architectural Characteristics
Buildings and other architectural elements
Building materials, construction and technologies
Architectural Organizing principles
Learning Outcomes
Outline of Lecture
Lecture 1
Historical Background
Location and period
Social characteristics and beliefs
Historical Background
Location
RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
Historical Background
Location
The Early Christian and
Byzantine architecture started
in two prominent locations
centered at Rome and
Byzantium or Constantinople
Early Christian architecture
occurred in Rome and in
areas around Rome
Byzantine architecture was
centered at Byzantium
From the two focal points
Early Christian and Byzantine
Architecture spread to other
areas in the European and
Asian region
Historical Background
Period
The following is a time line of events for
the Early Christian and Byzantine period:
29 A.D.
Passing of Isa (Jesus) and
beginning of Christian Religion
286 A.D.
Emperor Diocletian reorganizes
the Roman Empire splitting it into two; the
Eastern and the Western part
313 A. D.
Emperor Constantine recognizes
the Christian religion and adopts it as a state
religion
Historical Background
Period
324 A.D.
Emperor Constantine reunited
the Roman Empire with a new capital at
Byzantium
364 A. D.
Rome finally splits into two; the
Western and Eastern Empire
476 A. D.
Rome is sacked by Visgoth and
Vandals
632 A. D.
Muslim begin an advance on the
Byzantine empire
1453 A. D. Byzantium falls to Sultan
Muhammad II ending the Byzantine Empire
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
The Roman Empire and the Christian
Religion
The single most important social
phenomenon of the early Christian and
Byzantine period was the spread and
acceptance of the Christian religion
During the period from the first century to the
third century after the death of Jesus,
Christianity was a secret society
It was considered dangerous and subversive
by the government
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
The Roman Empire and the Christian
Religion
Christians met secretly in tombs and
private houses
Gradually, however, it spread and became
widely accepted in Asia minor and in
Rome itself
By the third century, Rome had a
population of 50,000 Christians
The religion was tolerated but it was still
illegal
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
The Roman Empire and the Christian
Religion
The third century was for the Roman Empire a
period of political instability and decline
The Empire was split into a Western and
Eastern Empires
In A.D. 313, the Emperor Constantine issued
the Edict of Milan making Christianity legal
He also adopted it as a state religion and he
became the first Christian emperor
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
The Roman Empire and the Christian
Religion
The acceptance of the religion by the emperor
fueled its expansion
It also led to the early development of places
of worship for the new religion
Constantine was able to unite the Roman
Empire during his reign
He established the capital of the new empire
at Byzantium, renamed Constantinople or the
city of Constantine
After his death, the Empire was again split
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
The Roman Empire and the Christian
Religion
The Western Empire was sacked by Vandals
and Visigoths in 476, leading to its
disintegration
The Eastern Empire with Constantinople as
its capital survived for a thousand years,
Although the Eastern Empire was not yet
"Byzantine" under Constantine, Christianity
would become one of its defining
characteristics
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
The Roman Empire and the Christian
Religion
The empire was a multinational state
Greek became the everyday language as well
as the language of the church and everyday
commerce in this empire
The general identity of the Eastern Roman
Empire was a combination of Roman
statehood, Hellenistic culture and Christian
religion
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Architecture of the Period
With Christianity widely accepted as a state
religion in Rome it was necessary for
architecture to respond to the demands of the
religion for worship space
Mode of worship was the most important
determinant of the form of the church
Requirement for church design was centered
on worship and burial
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Architecture of the Period
The requirements include:
A path for processional entry and exit of the clergy
An altar area, where the clergy celebrate mass
A space for the segregation of the clergy from the
congregation during procession and communion
Burial space
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Architecture of the Period
The focus of both Early Christian and
Byzantine architecture is on the Christian
church
Before the legal recognition of the new faith,
Christian places of worship were of necessity
inconspicuous with no fixed architectural form
Afterward, however, imposing cult edifices
were erected in many parts of the Roman
Empire, especially in its major cities
Early Christian builders adapted structures
that had been used in the Roman world
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Architecture of the Period
The basilica, consisting of a nave flanked by lower
aisles and terminated by an apse, was adopted as the
standard structure in Christian congregational worship
This was not however the only form adopted
More centralized plans which were of round,
polygonal, or cruciform shapes were adopted
occasionally
Martyria were erected on sites connected with certain
events in the life of Jesus and other places held to be
sanctified by the sacrifice of the martyrs
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Architecture of the Period
In such buildings the martyrium structure and basilica
were combined, creating a new formal synthesis of
great significance for Christian religious architecture
Development of the Christian church continued during
the Byzantine era
In the Byzantine period focus shifted from the rituals
or practices of worship to the building as an
embodiment or symbols of the majesty of the faith
Innovative structure was combined with light and
decoration to create fascinating interiors
S. Giovanni in Laterano
S. Giovanni in Laterano
END OF LECTURE - I
Outline of Lecture
Lecture 2
Early Christian Architecture
Alternative church forms
Byzantine Architecture
Introduction
Domes and Domes on Pendentives
Early Prototypes
Hagia Sophia
St Constanza, Rome
Lateran Baptistery
St Stefano Rotondo
Byzantine Architecture
The Architectural style of
Constantinople
Byzantine Architecture
Introduction
By the end of the 5th century AD, Rome had completely
declined
It had been sacked twice and was then under occupation
Its influence was significantly reduced and the impetus
for architectural innovation shifted to the Byzantine
Empire
This shift 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
Introduction
Although it is impossible to identify two similar
Byzantine churches, it is still possible to identify
the basic characteristics of an ideal Byzantine
church
The attributes of the ideal church included:
Byzantine Architecture
Introduction
ICONOCLASM
Iconoclasm, or "image-breaking", is
the deliberate destruction within a
culture of the culture's own religious
icons and other symbols or
monuments, usually for religious or
political motives.
People who engage in or support
iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a
term that has come to be applied
figuratively to any person who breaks
or disdains established conventions.
Byzantine Architecture
Introduction
ICONOCLASM & ITS EFFECT ON
ARCHITECTURE ::
Huge Interiors
Use of Glasses and Windows
Use of openings to cast mysterious
shadows
Symbolism
POST - ICONOCLASM
Byzantine Architecture
Domes and Domes on Pedentives
Byzantine architecture gave us the pedentive domes and
the dome on pedentives
The pendentive dome and the dome on pendentives
provided the Byzantine architects with a unique way of
adjusting the circular form of a dome roof to a square or
polygonal plan
This type of dome was invented by the Romans but was
seldom used by them
It was the Byzantine builders who used it to create
dramatic interiors
In the Pantheon in Rome, the Dome roof had to be
supported by a circular plan
The walls of the plan had to be thick to counterbalance
the forces from the Dome
Byzantine Architecture
Domes and Domes on Pendentives
The pendentive dome is
derived by trimming the sides
of a regular dome over a
square plan as shown in A.
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
This allows the dome roof to be
adapted for a square building
as shown in B
Byzantine Architecture
Domes and Domes on Pedentives
Additionally, the top of the
pendentive dome can be trim to
introduce another dome on top
of it as shown in C
The additional dome can
further be raised to introduce a
cylinder between the
pendentive dome and the
additional dome as in D
Windows can then be
introduced in the cylinder
enabling architects to creating
dazzling interior light effects
Early Prototypes
St Vitale Ravenna
St Vitale Ravenna
Early Prototypes
St Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547
Byzantine architecture has its
early prototypes in two
churches, San Vitale (526-47),
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 later
Early Prototypes
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
The outer wall of the
ambulatory is also octagonal
It has an apse which extends
from the central core to one of
the 8 sides of the outer
octagon
Early Prototypes
St Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547
The domed roof of the church is
raised on a drum allowing it
greater height and lighting
The dome has a diameter of 17
meters and a height of 30 meters
The Byzantine characteristics of
the church include:
Its central planning
The structural arrangement of its
central dome
The use of surrounding isles
And the way structure, lighting and
decoration have been integrated in
the interior of the church
Early Prototypes
St. Sergius and Bacchus, Constantinople
It was built as a palace
church between A.D. 527-536
It is based on the four-lobed
alternative church plan of
early Christian architecture
The church in plan consist of
an octagonal core set in a
very loose rectangular form
The form of the church was
not a perfect square
Early Prototypes
St. Sergius and Bacchus, Constantinople
The central space was covered by
a dome
The octagon of the central dome
has a small but true pendentive
dome
This church was constructed very
shortly before Hagia Sophia and
was believed to be a experiment
The dome, its adaptation to a
squarish form, the use of
pendentive and the lighting and
decoration scheme in the interior
gives it its Byzantine
characteristics
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia or the church of
the holy wisdom is the most
accomplished master piece in
the history of architecture
The church was constructed in
532 A.D. by Emperor Justinian
in Constantinople now Istanbul
Hagia Sophia was the greatest
vaulted space without
intermediate supports that has
ever been built and it remained
so throughout the history of
the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
Its architects were Isidore
of Miletus and Anthemius
of Tralles, professors of
geometry at the University
of Constantinople
The church provides an
expert solution to the
problem of how to place a
dome on a square base
The solution was to use
pendantives
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is covered by a
central dome 102 feet (31 m)
across, 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
The weight of the dome
passes through the
pendentives to four massive
piers at the corners
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
Between them the dome
seems to float upon four great
arches
These four concave triangular
sections of masonry solved
the problem of setting the
circular base of a dome on a
rectangular base
The church form is a
combination of centralized
and longitudinal structure
Longitudinal direction is
defined by domes to the east
and west
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
At Hagia Sophia, two
opposing arches on the
central square open into
semi domes, each pierced
by 3 smaller radial semidomes
At the west (entrance) and
east (liturgical) ends, the
arched openings are
extended and by great half
domes carried on smaller
semi-domed exedras
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
Thus a hierarchy of domeheaded elements build up to
create a vast oblong interior
crowned by the main dome, a
sequence never seen before in
antiquity
Of 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
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
Hagia sophia dominated
church architecture after the
6th century AD
For over 900 years it was the
seat of the Orthodox patriarch
of Constantinople and a
principal setting for imperial
ceremonies
Hagia Sophia was converted to
a mosque at the Fall of
Constantinople to the Ottoman
Turks under Sultan Mohammad
II in 1453
Its rich figurative mosaics were
covered with plaster and
replaced by Islamic motifs
Byzantine Architecture
Hagia Sophia
It was for almost 500 years the
principal mosque of Istanbul
Hagia Sophia served as model
for many of the great Ottoman
mosques of Constantinople
such as the Shehzade Mosque,
the Suleiman Mosque, and the
Rustem Pasha Mosque
After continuing as a mosque
for many years, it was in 1934
turned by Turkish authorities
into the Hagia Sophia Museum
St Marks, Venice
St Marks, Venice
Architectural Features
SUMMARY WITH REFERENCE TO Buildings and other architectural elements
Building materials, construction and
technologies
Architectural Organizing principles
Principles of Arch.
Organization
END OF LECTURE