BYZANTINE EMPIRE

When the last Roman Emperor Theodosios I died in the year 395 A.D., Rome was divided into two parts, the East and the West. Anatolia remained in the Eastern Roman Empire . In contrast to the Western Roman Empire, which collapsed before too long, the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire, was remain on the scene until  1453. The history of the Byzantine Empire showed a rise or fall according to the successes or difficulties faced by the ruling emperor.

The Tribal Migration formed a danger for the newly established Byzantine Empire . The Hun Turks proved to be a dangerous enemy for the empire under Theodosios II (408-450 A.D.). However, the Byzantines reached a peaceful settlement with the Huns by means of money. In the meantime, religious struggles shook the empire. The competition for authority between the Roman and Byzantine churches started around this time. One group of Christians supported the divinity of Jesus while another group valued him more as a person than a god.

Marcianus took over the throne from Theodosios II, whom had the high walls built around Byzantium . In 451, Marcianus held a religious council in Kadiköy in an attempt to peacefully resolve ongoing religious strife, but the disputes did not end. The tension escalated rapidly, whereas two Byzantine groups appeared, called the Blues and the Greens. Justinianos I, who was Orthodox, took control of the empire and promptly reached an accord with the Pope, thereby eliminating all dissension between the churches of the west and east. Under the long rule of Justinianos I, the Byzantines experienced their most productive period. In 532 A.D., the Blues and the Greens rebelled against the emperor in the Hippodrome. This rebellion, known as the Nike Revolt, spread through the town rapidly, whereas the town was plundered, houses burned to the ground, and the Hagia Sophia Church was also totally devastated in a massive fire. Justinianos set out immediately to have Byzantium reconstructed, the Hagia Sophia restored, had St.Irene Church and the Underground Cisterns built, and had water brought to Byzantium through a network of aqueducts. Besides Byzantium , he is also known to have the St.John Basilica built in Ephesus . By adding the lands of Sicily and Corsica in Italy and North Africa to the empire, Justinianos had turned the Mediterranean into a Byzantine lake. Following Justinianos I, the Byzantine Empire passed through very difficult times between 565-1025.

In a decree handed down by Emperor Leo III in 726, it was forbidden to worship icons, and all paintings of religious character were destroyed. This ban lasted all the way through the reigns of Constantine V and Leo IV and it was only with Constantine VI that a solution to the ban was presented. Although it was Empress Eirene that had taken his post in state affairs and was the one in 787 that allowed the faithful to offer respect to the icons, it was only in the year 842 when the ban was completely removed. While these religious conflicts dragged on, Arab raids continued to be a thorn in the side of the empire. Also, the Bulgarians made it as far as the outskirts of Byzantium , and plundered the surrounding towns.

In the year 927, hunger and epidemic diseases rampaged through the city. While the Turks were settling down in Anatolia , the plot continued to thicken in Byzantium . Alexius I Comnenus (1180-1183) had the infamous Anamaz dungeons in Ayvansaray erected to imprison those who revolted against him. It was during the reign of this emperor that discontent has risen to an extreme level. It was only with the violent deaths of both Alexius I Comnenus and his successor, Andronikos Comnenus I, that the public riots were quelled.

While internal hostility for the throne persisted, the Fourth Crusade (1201-1204) was diverted to Byzantium by Venetians and claimants to the Byzantine throne from Egypt . The Crusaders pillaged the city, and set up the Latin Empire of Constantinople. They looted all of the beautiful works of art from Byzantium and carried them off to their country, and shared the valuables pillaged from the churches and palaces amongst themselves. The lower hall of the Byzantine Palace was converted into a stable. Bronze reliefs upon the Constantine VII columns were removed to mint money, statues of horses in the Hippodrome, church doors and everything else of value was plundered and carried away.

The Byzantines fled to Iznik and made it the capital. By taking advantage of the French and Venetian rivalry for the throne, they returned 57 years later, in 1261, to chase the Franks from Byzantium . The Byzantine Emperor Mikhail Palaiologos (1282-1328) came to Byzantium to sit on the Byzantine throne, but found the city looted, destitute and in a miserable state. During the reign of Constantinos Palaiologos XI, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror conquered the city in 1453, and renamed it Istanbul.

Byzantine art is an exclusive product of the Eastern Empire . It is totally medieval in form but developed in a peculiarly Byzantine way. In Byzantine art we see Greek and Roman forms exposed to the stylistic influence of ancient Anatolian cultures and eastern art. It reached a totally Byzantine synthesis within the religious framework of the empire. Specific examples of this art, which took its main source from Anatolia may be seen in several places around Anatolia .

The transition phase between the years' 400-500, when Christianity made its biggest impact, is known as the Early Byzantine art. Byzantine art, which is divided into three phases, the First, Middle and Late, lived through its first brilliant period was the Justinianos period (527-565). Without a doubt, the most important work from this period that has survived to this day is the Hagia Sophia Church. The architects Anthemios of Tralles from Aydin and Isidoros of Miletus were commissioned to rebuild the church after the Nike Revolt. It was reopened in 537 with a basilica plan and a central domed roof.

One of the most beautiful examples of Byzantine art in the city of Istanbul are the surrounding walls. The walls were constructed during the reign of Theodosios II (408-450) and conveyed a military purpose as well as aesthetic beauty. Apart from these, there are numerous works of Byzantine art that are scattered around Istanbul. Among these are the Çemberlitas (Hooped Column), Kiztasi (Maiden Column), Dikilitas (Planted Column), Yilanli Sütun (Snaked Column), Gotlar Sütunu (Goths Column), Örmeli Sütun (Knitted Column), Büyük Saray (Grand Palace), Blakernal Sarayi (Blakernal Palace), Tekfur Sarayi (Tekfur Palace), cisterns, aqueducts, and several churches, the majority of which have been converted into mosques.

The well-preserved mosaics found inside both the chapel of Theotochos Pammacharistos (Fethiye Mosque) and the Church of St. Saviour (known today as the Kariye Museum) are important works that represent the Late Byzantine Period. Constantinople was positioned as the art center of the empire. However, the source of its main influences was Anatolia . For this reason, the most widespread and various examples of Byzantine art can be seen in Anatolia . It is possible to come across Byzantine masterpieces in ancient cities outside Istanbul. In particular, several temples in Anatolia had been restored and converted into churches. The fact that there was an archbishop’s palace in Aphrodisias, Byzantine basilicas uncovered in Side, the formation of St. Philip’s Martyrium in Hierapolis (Pamukkale) and other ancient cities like these show us that after the Roman Age, the Byzantine Age was a powerful entity.

Today, examples of small Byzantine handicrafts can be seen in museums. If we take into consideration the many pieces of artwork that were smuggled to Europe during the Latin Crusade of 1204, we may have a better understanding of the high quality of these works. The treasure of masterpieces of the church found in Kordalya near modern day Kumluca gives support to this idea. Some of these are found today in the Antalya Museum . Constantinople was a city of splendid sacred buildings, frescoes, manuscripts, fabric and valuable artifacts and adornments made of precious metals. This was an empire which survived for an astonishing 1100 years, steeped in the mysteries of medieval culture.

Works of art made with a mosaic technique were floor and wall mosaics. The finest examples of wall mosaics are those of the Grand Palace , which date back to the 5th century and can be seen in the Istanbul Museum of Mosaics.

It is regrettable that the Iconoclast Period of 726-842 resulted in the destruction of practically all early Byzantine pictorial art. Figurative impressions were prohibited and symbolism became a major influence. For example, as can be seen in the St. Irene Church, a cross motif symbolizes Jesus Christ. According to the concept of pictorial art, every scene had its own specific place. Almost all of the icons surviving today date from the 12th and 13th centuries, and it is these icons which inspired western art. The Hagia Sophia mosaics do not conform with this system as mosaics made during different periods in various sites around the structure can be seen.

The mosaics located in the south gallery depicting Deisis, Zoe, Comnenus are considered the finest in the world. Fine examples of mosaics from the Late Byzantine Period can be seen in the Kariye Museum . Visitors to the museum are stunned by the exquisite beauty of these mosaics. The most important mosaics belonging to the Early Byzantine Period made using the fresco technique may be seen in Yamaçevler in Ephesus . It is here that animal figures like fish, birds, pigeons and peacocks that expressed concepts seen in Christian art such as heaven, the Holy Spirit and immortality were frequently used.

The most important frescoes representing the Mid-Byzantine Period are found in the Cappadocia region. These belong to the X-XI centuries. The frescoes that adorn the cemetery chapel of the Kariye Museum represent the Late Byzantine Period. Several notable historians and foreign dignitaries that have passed through Istanbul have stated in books they have written that Istanbul is a city rich with incredible masterpieces.

HAGIA SOPHIA

The most important Byzantine architecture found in Istanbul consists of churches. The most magnificent of all of the Byzantine churches is the Hagia Sophia. This church was designed by the architects Anthemios of Tralles and Izidorus of Miletus. This construction of the second Hagia Sophia was started in 532 by the order of the Emperor Justinian and was built over the ruins of an earlier structure. Materials were brought from Ephesus , Athens , Rome , and Delphi and were used in the construction of this magnificent building. The church was opened for worship five years later, in 537. The Hagia Sophia has a diameter of 31-33 meters and a height of 54 meters and is covered with a large dome. The church was considerably damaged by the earthquake of 557 and the nephew of the Architect Izidorus supervised the repair of the structure.

Because Byzantium was strongly under the intluence of Rome at the time of the construction of the Hagia Sophia, this structure is an amalgam of the magnificence of Roman architecture with the standard church architecture of the Byzantines. The original mosaics of the church were severely damaged by the Iconoclasts, but new mosaics replaced the former in the 9th century after the period of Iconoclasm had disappeared.

Besides the religious subjects of the mosaics used to decorate the interior surfaces, the emperor was also used as a subject. One mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary with the emperors Justinian and Constantine sitting at her sides. Another mosaic shows Jesus sitting on a throne with the Emperor Leon 7 kneeling before him. Another mosaic is of Mary and John the Baptist imploring Jesus for mercy in the name of the people. All these mosaics bear traces of Hellenistic influences. There are also several mosaic "portraits" of other members of the imperial family. Portrait art was very advanced during the Byzantine period. After Fatih captured the city this structure was used for worship by the Moslems. In 1934 Ataturk ordered that the structure be used as a museum.

UPPER GALERIES

The first section of the upper floor is a place extending from end to end, and is covered with a cradle vault. This place, which was reserved for women, was formerly called as Gynekoion. This hall, which is considerably illuminated by the light infiltrating from the western windows, resembles the halls of the Byzantine imperial palaces.

The three arches supported by double columns of green breccia and the section looking like a lodge and opening to the middle, of which the floor pavement is limited to colourful stones, indicate that this place was reserved for the empress. At the front of all the upper floor galleries, there are marble railings, of which both the front and hind surfaces are ornamented. On these, it is possible to see scriptures of people visiting Hagia Sophia throughout the centuries. Among these, there are writings by the Vikings, who came to Istanbul during the Byzantine period. The wooden stretching rafters between the arches draw attraction. Sixth Century designs are engraved on these wooden parts. The vault of this gallery is covered with decorations made during the repairs between 1847 and 1849, imitating those of the narthex below.

The door facing this gallery , leads to the rooms, which are called as t rooms for priests. Today these I rooms are used as a warehouse for the collection of icons. As meetings were held under the Patriarch in the adjacent gallery , it is surmised that thes rooms were i reserved for patrIarchs and bishops. These rooms must be the place of big and small Sekraton, referred to in ancient sources. On the walls of these rooms some , designs have survived in a very bad shape. Among these, there are some portraits of the Patriarcs. Here, there are also some mosaIcsof the Virgin and Jesus Christ. These must have been made in the second half of the Ninth Century.

Let us now proceed to the southern gallery, which is adjacent to this closed up room. The southern gallery , which is on top of the southern nave, is divided into two sections by means of a door. This door is an imitation of a bronze door, and it is supposedly accepted that one side is paradise, and the other is hell. One surface of the door is worked out in panels.

There are five panels on each wing. On these panels, the religious subjects are worked out in the form of little compositions. These compositions were erased throughout time, and only symbols as a few fish and some fruit have survived. Inside this gallery, in the interior of the buttress on the right side after the partition, there is a small chapel, in which some fragmentary mosaics are still visible.

On the right wall of this gallery , which is well illuminated through the window on the side, the scene of Deesis attracts a great deal of attention. At the foot of the opposite wall confronting this scene, stands a slab of stone with an inscription, which is believed to mark the burial site of Enrico Dandolo, the Doge of Venice. At the end of the gallery turning to the bema, the mosaics of Comnenus, which are one of the magnificient mosaics in Hagia Sophia, can be seen. After carefully examining these mosaics with satisfaction, and those of the mosaics of zoe, let us now walk to the aisle between the exedra and the wall of the apse, to turn our attention to Virgin Mary on the apse, for a close examination. A big piece of marble standing there, is made into a sort of a cage wall, by an artistic workmanship, creating the efect of a graceful lace.

If we immeadiately turn our back after entering the northern gallery, we can see the mosaics of Alexander. This gallery is very much similar to the southern gallery. Here exists only the above-mentioned mosaics. After seeing the Deesis, Comnenos, zoe, and Alexander mosaics in the upper galleries of Hagia Sophia, let us now conclude our tour of Hagia Sophia.

MOSAICS

Hagia Sophia was constructed between the years 532 and 537 upon the decree of Emperor Justinian (527-565), in the form as we see it today. Later on, all of its surfaces, arches, vaults and domes, except its walls covered with pieces of marble, were ornamented with mosaics, competing in beauty only with each other. Procopius, the historian-writer contemporary of Emperor Justinian, the Great, rhapsodizes with admiration over the incredible beauty of Hagia Sophia, the grandeur of its dimensions and the harmony in its scales.

The fact that the inner decorations were made with the idea of creating only colorful and gilded surfaces, have made it possible for them to survive until now. These decorations are seen in the cross vaults of the inner narthex, and in the interior on the vault on the right, upon entrance from the imperial door, were decorated with golden mosaics at the time of Justinian, the Great. It is not definitely known whether these mosaics with figures of that period have survived or not. If they did, they must be scraped out during the hostile attitude manifested during the period of Iconoclasm between the years 726 and 842.

All the mosaics with figures that . we see today in Hagia Sophia, are those made after the closure of the period of Iconoclasm, that is to- say, starting from the year 867. When the Byzantine Empire got hold of Byzantium once more again in 1261, after the Latin invasion of 1204, the making of mosaics were taken up again. Since these mosaics were made on different dates, there is, therefore, no unity of style and contemporary workmanship.

After the conquest of Istanbul by the Turks and the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, the mosaics in Hagia Sophia were not destroyed, but after some time later they were covered with a thin coat of plaster. The mosaics were in such a covered state until the middle of the Nineteenth Century. G. T. Fossati and his brother Guiseppe Fossati, who came to build the Russian embassy, started to clean these coats of plaster in 1847, upon orders from Sultan Abdulmedjid. With the work continuing up to 1849 these plaster covers were removed, and the designs of the mosaics were sketched to be published. These sketches, however, were not published, but were kept in an archive in Switzerland . The architect W. Salzenberg, who was sent to Istanbul by the German Government in those years for repairs in Hagia Sophia, extracted reliefs and sketched the designs once more and published them in 1854. After the conclusion of the work by the Fossati brothers, Sultan Abdulmedjid has visited Hagia Sophia, and has seen the mosaics. He had them eventually covered again in an easily removable manner, in order to prevent their deterioration by the damp air. In 1932, in the period of the young Turkish Republic , the mosaics were cleaned again in asicientific way by Thomas Whittemore, on behalf of the Byzantine Institute of America. Carrying his work up to 1958, Whittemore uncovered all the mosaics, and published them in detail.

The following words of Whittemore, uttered during his work, are quite meaningful: "Earthquakes and time have deprived the building of many masterpieces of the art of mosaic pictures, but those remaining have been always well preserved by the Turks during the nearly five hundred years that they have used the building. " Aside from the mosaics we have seen, there were other mosaics, which have not survived, but the existence of which we learn from various sources. We would like to mention briefly these mosaics that either the locations are not known, or we can not possibly see, due to the destruction caused by numerous earthquakes, and especially the one taking place in

1894. In the Sixth Century, in the interior of Hagia Sophia there was a huge cross in the middle of the main dome. A portrait of Jesus was made in replacement, after 842. These mosaics were also deteriorated in 889 and the mosaics of Christ Pantocrator were made instread, in a medallion of eleven meters diameter. These mosaics were in existence until the end of the Seventeenth Century. And later on an inscription with a very good caligraphy was made in replamecement. This inscription, which contains Koranic Verses,are the work of Kazasker Mustapha Izzet Effendi. It is not 1 known, however, whether the I mosaics of Christ are still ! underneath, or not.

It is also known that of the great  arches carrying the main dome of Hagia Sophia, the one on the east, I was decorated with mosaics. In I these mosaics, the throne prepared for Jesus Christ was to be seen. On the northern side of the arch, mosaics of Virgin Mary and right opposite of them, there were those of John the Baptist. On the lower tips of the arch, there was a portrait of Emperor John V Palailogos (1341-1391). At the beginning of the arch there were figures of two eagles. It is now known that these decorations were made following the repairs in 1355. On the middle of the western arch, there were portraits of the Virgin, and apostles Peter and Paul in a medallion. In the earthquake taking place in 1894, this arch was highly damaged and destructed. Of the vaults located in the middle of the southern gallery , on the one in the east, there stood a great Pantocrator, and on the one in the west, there was a group of apostles. In the chapels within the southern buttress, there are remains of mosaics, which are badly damaged. The mosaics in the vaults of the northern gallery , the existence of which are known, have not survived. In the lower floor, on the door which was named by Fossati as "the door for the poor" , it is known that mosaics portraying a group of 5 - 6 persons were in existence.

CHORA MONASTERY

The Kariye Museum , in which we regard the mosaics with a deep sense of admiration, is situated in the Edirnekapi quarter of Istanbul . The name of Kariye is derived from the Greek word "Chora ", which means land, country , a suburb or suburban area, as well as countryside. The Monastery of Chora was thus named, as it lied outside of the city walls built by the Emperor Constantine. Although the monastery lied within the walls built by the Emperor Theodosius in 413 A.D., its name still remained unchanged and it was referred to as the Chora. During the reign of Emperor Justinian. The monastery was devastated by an earthquake on October 6, 557 . The Emperor had then rebuilt the monastery as a basilica. The monastery was again in ruins in the VIII. Century and it was restored again in 843 A.D. After that, the history of the Chora Monastery lies in profound darkness until the 11th Century.

During the Kommenos dynasty, the monastery was again in a heap of ruins. We know that it was restored and rebuilt by Maria Dukaena, themother-1n-law of the Emperor Alexios I. Komnenos (1081-1118), the third son of AJexios Komnenos, who was the grandson of Maria Dukaena, has taken part in the restoration activities, and hence he was depicted just beside the Virgin in the panel of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary .

During the 57 years long duration of the occupation of Istanbul by the Latins from 1204 up to 1261,although all the churches in Istanbul were in ruins, this church was not even occupied. The Monastery, which later was in the possession of Orthodox priests, was again in ruins, because of the negligence in maintenance. At that time, the Byzantine Emperor Mikhail Palaiologos VIII. (1259) had formed a government in Nicea. Upon returning to Istanbul , he has tried with other prominent state authorities, to repair and restore churches that were in ruins.

Theodore Metochites, who was a poet and a man of letters, as well as being an auditor of the treasury during the reign of Andronikos II (1282-1328), was living in the same neighbourhood. Metochites restored the monastery in an excellent manner. Theodore was born in Nicea into a poor family. As he was very intelligent ang industrious, he studied political science and literature in Byzantium . He succeeded to provide his children with a very good education. Metochites, being a scholar and a humanitarian, dedicated his intelligence and fortune to the restoration of this monastery and church. Without I touching the dome, he had a narthex built in front of the building and added a chapel in the east, He had the entire structure adorneq with mosaics and frescoes in 1312. The building structure that survived to our era is from that epoch.

Andronikos III, who succeeded Andronikos II, sent Metochites into exile to Didymoteichos in Western Thrace , for the simple reason of his being loyal to the former emperor. Metochites livedthere in exile, for a long time until being pardoned, and he returned to Byzantium a sick and poor man. He then took shelter as a priest in the church he had restored, and died there in 1332. In accordance with his last will and testament, he was buried in front of the inner door of the church and a marble slab was placed over his grave.

After the conquest of Istanbul by the Turks in 1453, the Chora Monastery was converted into a mosque in 1511 by Atik Ali Paþa, the Grand Vizier of Sultan Bayazýt II. No interference was made to the architecture, except the addition of a minaret, and the name of the Chora monastery became Kariye since then, and it became known as the Kariye Mosque.

After the conversion of the mosque into a museum, it was repaired by the American Byzantine Institute from 1948 to 1958.

The plasters and white-wash covering the mosaics and frescoes were removed and cleaned, and its present day outlook was restored through the fulfillment of the necessary restoration work.