What is the Main Byzantine Architecture Characteristics | Examples of Byzantine Architectural Structures
What is the Main Byzantine Architecture Characteristics | Examples of Byzantine Architectural Structures
Byzantine Architecture Characteristics
Byzantine architecture is distinguished by a shift away from the realism of the Classical style and toward the more abstract and universal; there is a clear predilection for two-dimensional depictions, and religiously themed artworks triumph.
The Byzantine Empire reached its zenith in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Architecture, sculpture, painting, and literature flourished during this period of time.
Historians consider the Byzantine Empire as both a political and cultural melting pot that gave birth to the grandeur that defined western civilization for centuries to come.
The empire drew from diverse sources such as ancient Roman ideas, Greek philosophy and Muslim architectural styles.
In addition to this, the empire was also a hotbed of artistic and literary activity. In particular, this was true for architecture.
In 969 AD, Basil II sacked Thessaloniki from the Byzantines and destroyed the city’s fortifications. Very little of the original wall remains today as a testament to a glorious past.
The concept of “Byzantine architecture” is a rather modern scholarly term that describes the architectural style that developed in Constantinople during the thirteenth century.
The period saw a major shift in Byzantine architecture from a primarily church-based style to a secular style that reflected the empire’s aspirations for world domination.
The Byzantine architecture that succeeded this earlier period is often referred to as classical architecture.
This new style brought with it many elements from ancient Greek and Roman sources, but is distinguished by its Christian orientation.
In the thirteenth century, there is a significant expansion in the number of buildings constructed in Constantinople.
The city’s population also increased which led to a demand for many more residences. The building boom that began during this time is attributed to the increase in business and the development of new industries.
The East met West, and Byzantine Architecture became cross-cultural by thirteenth century.
Artistry at the time was principally Christian, but intermingled with influences from Islam which was also present in Constantinople at the time.
Much of the current architecture style in Istanbul today is directly descended from Byzantine architecture, or it is inspired by it.
Examples of Byzantine Architectural Structures
Hagia Irene is a lesser-known Byzantine church. This cathedral was used as a model for the more famous Hagia Sophia.
The church’s construction began in the fourth century. This was Constantinople’s first church, but owing to its position, it was badly damaged by earthquakes and the Nika riots and had to be repaired numerous times.
The Hagia Irene is distinguished by its enormous atrium, which is the last remaining element of the Byzantine Empire.
The most famous example of Byzantine architecture is the Hagia Sophia. Until the Ottoman Empire besieged the Byzantine capital, the Hagia Sophia was the world’s biggest church.
After the fall of Constantinople, the cathedral was used for religious ceremonies by Muslims until 1931, when it was reopened as a museum in 1935.
The name Hagia Sophia translates to “Holy Wisdom” in Greek.
Other examples of Byzantine architecture may still be seen in Ravenna, such as the Basilica di San Vitale, whose style influenced Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel.
Byzantine Architecture FAQS
1. What is Byzantine Architecture?
The architecture of the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, is known as Byzantine architecture.
The Byzantine era is typically defined as beginning in 330 AD, when Constantine the Great relocated the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, and ending in 1453, when the Byzantine Empire fell.
However, there was no clear distinction between the Byzantine and Roman empires at first, and early Byzantine architecture is aesthetically and structurally identical to older Roman architecture.
Modern historians coined this phrase to describe the medieval Roman Empire as it grew as a separate artistic and cultural entity centered on the new capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) rather than the city of Rome and its surrounds.
Its architecture had a significant impact on later medieval architecture across Europe and the Near East, and it was the major parent of the Renaissance and Ottoman architectural traditions that emerged after its demise.
2. What are the characteristics of Byzantine architecture?
Byzantine architecture was a highly standardized and innovative development in classical Greek architectural theory based on the principles of symmetry, proportion and balance.
The earliest examples of Byzantine architecture can be found in the older parts of Constantinople and the seat of the Roman emperors: this style was mostly used to build churches and monasteries.
Other buildings such as palaces, bridges, Lord’s chambers (oratories), wide roads (agoras) were also built during this period.
Byzantine architects were eclectic, leaning largely on Roman temple elements at beginning.
Their combination of the basilica and symmetrical central-plan (circular or polygonal) religious constructions culminated in the distinctive Byzantine Greek-cross-plan church, with a square center mass and four equal-length arms.
3. What is Byzantine art and architecture?
The term “Byzantine” is also used to describe an elaborate artistic and architectural style that originated in the Byzantine Empire and extended to Italy, Russia, and other countries.
The art is typically rich and stylized (as in religious icons), and the building is characterized by many-domed, ornately adorned cathedrals.
4. What did Byzantine art focus on?
Byzantine art was largely focused on the glory of God through the means of religious icons, churches, and tombs.
Artists sought to capture an image that would convey the essence of what they were seeing, while simultaneously fulfilling the needs of patrons.
This is why Byzantine religious art is typically very stylized. Byzantine art is almost completely concerned with religious expression, especially the impersonal translation of tightly regulated ecclesiastical dogma into aesthetic forms.
5. What are the characteristics of Byzantine architecture?
Byzantine architecture was a highly stylized architecture with distinct decorative elements based on ancient Roman tradition.
It was a style invented by the emperor Constantine, and was characteristic of Early Byzantine architecture from the 4th to 6th centuries AD.
Then it developed in the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire from the 6th century until about 1600.
The majority of Byzantine architecture can still be seen in Greece and Turkey today. In fact, Byzantine architecture is what makes Istanbul so famous.
6. What is a very good example of Byzantine architecture?
The most famous example of Byzantine architecture is the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia held the title of the largest church in the world until the Ottoman Empire sieged the Byzantine capital.
7. What is Byzantine architecture known for?
Byzantine architecture is a style of building that flourished under the rule of Roman Emperor Justinian between A.D. 527 and 565.
In addition to extensive use of interior mosaics, its defining characteristic is a heightened dome, the result of the latest sixth-century engineering techniques.
8. Why is Byzantine art important?
Byzantine Art is important because of its influence on Christianity art and architecture over nearly a millennium.
One style of Byzantine Art that was especially influential is the icon painting. Icons are paintings on wood that depict people important to the mythology of the Christian religion.
