Byzantine architecture facts for kids
Byzantine architecture is the architectural style of the Byzantine Empire. This is a term used by modern historians to mean the Eastern Roman Empire based in Constantinople. The empire lasted for more than a millennium. It left a lasting influence on Medieval architecture in Europe and the Near East. It also influenced the later Renaissance architecture and Ottoman architecture.
As a distinctive style
Early Byzantine architecture evolved from Early Christian architecture. The early Christian style typically was a basilica with three or five isles. Usually they had wooden roofs. Vaults and domes were rarely used. Byzantine architecture rarely used three isle or five isle basilicas. In this style domes were frequently used. The Semi-dome was also used, especially over an apse. It reached its highest form with the use of the pendentive. These are usually used to support a dome. The Byzantine pendentive is a geometric form using four triangular legs sitting on a square base. It developed during the 6th century reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. This is when Byzantine architecture became a distinctive style. Windowed domes were also a distinctive feature of this style. The intent was to make the dome look like a crown with jewels of light.
Legacy
In the West, Byzantine architecture was replaced by Romanesque and Gothic architecture. In Asia it had an influence on early Islamic architecture. Later Ottoman architecture was also influenced by the Byzantine style.
Images for kids
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Interior of the Basilica of San Vitale from Ravenna (Italy), decorated with elaborate and glamorous mosaics
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Pammakaristos Church, also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos (Greek: Θεοτόκος ἡ Παμμακάριστος, "All-Blessed Mother of God"), is one of the most famous Greek Orthodox Byzantine churches in Istanbul
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Hagia Irene is a Greek Eastern Orthodox Church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. It is one of the few churches in Istanbul that has not been converted into a mosque
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External view of the 11th-century monastery of Hosios Loukas in Greece. It is representative of the Byzantine art during the rule of the Macedonian dynasty (Macedonian art)
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Rear courtyard of Church of St. Sophia, North Macedonia, 9th century
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The geometric conception of the Hagia Sophia is based on mathematical formulas of Heron of Alexandria. It avoids use of irrational numbers for square diagonals and circle circumferences and contrieves thus a highly elaborated mathematical space
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The St. George Rotunda; some remains of Serdica can be seen in the foreground
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Interior of the Hagia Sophia under renovation, showing many features of the grandest Byzantine architecture.
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The apse of the church with cross at Hagia Irene. Nearly all the decorative surfaces in the church have been lost.
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Chora Church medieval Byzantine Greek Orthodox church preserved as the Chora Museum in the Edirnekapı neighborhood of Istanbul
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The 9th century Throne Hall of Dongola in Sudan was heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture.
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Dome of the Pammakaristos Church, Istanbul
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Exterior view of Hagia Irene.
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Exterior view of Hagia Sophia
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Byzantine Ionic column from National Museum of Medieval Art (Korçë, Albania)
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Illustration of a Byzantine Corinthian column
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Byzantine composite column from Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Ravenna, Italy)
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Byzantine basket column from Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey)
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One of the most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey
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Byzantine mosaics in St Mark's Basilica, Venice, Italy
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Mosaic above the entrance portal of the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, Croatia (6th century)
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Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki (8th century)
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Narthex of St. Sophia, Ohrid (9th century)
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Interior of Church of St. George, Sofia, 4th century
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Agkistro Byzantine bath
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See also
In Spanish: Arquitectura bizantina para niños
