Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
Archivision Base to Module 13
Preferred Title:
Hagia Sophia
Alternate Title:
Ayasofya
Image View:
The Turbe (tomb) of Mehmet III, the southeast corner
Creator:
Anthemios of Tralles (Byzantine architect, ca. 474-ca. 534); Isidoros of Meletus, the Elder (Byzantine architect, active ca. 550)
Location:
site: Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey
Date:
532-537 (creation)
Cultural Context:
Byzantine; Greek (ancient); Turkish
Style Period:
Byzantine
Work Type 1:
basilica
Work Type 2:
mosque
Work Type 3:
museum
Classification:
architecture
Material:
wood; stone; glass
Technique:
construction (assembling); stained glass
Subjects:
architectural exteriors; religious
Description:
Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 AD on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50 foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan
Collection:
Archivision Addition Module Three
Identifier:
1A3-B-T-HS-1-G5
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Hagia Sophia