Hagia Sophia Architecture and History Essay Answer

Introduction

The Hagia Sophia is very much well known as one of the most famous architectural marbles in Istanbul, Turkey. It was majorly developed as a Christian Basilica around 1500 years ago. Like the other world in places, such as the Eiffel tower in Paris along with the Parthenon in Greece, this Hagia Sophia is very much well known as the symbol of long enduring cosmopolitan City. The structure and history of this famous architecture are very much significant which touches different matters related to the religion, architecture, politics and art in a particular environment. The structure and the role of these architecture is one of the major roles in all over Istanbul which provides a huge amount of support to the architecture religion, international politics and art that provides a huge amount of support to the if then go to get a good image in front of the other people in all over the world. In this essay, the overall history and architectural design of this famous Hagia Sophia are going to be discussed.

Thesis Statement

The famous history and the architectural design of this Hagia Sophia help Istanbul to have a better brand image all over the world.

Main Body

Hagia Sophia is very much well known for its major anchoring of Istanbul and served for more centuries as a landmark for both Muslims and orthodox Christians. It also has the major significance of the dominant culture all over the Turkish cities. Its significance is also shifted to other dominant cultures of Turkey City (Matniyazov and Eshnazarova, 2021). This country is majorly known as the waterway which serves as a geographical border between Asia and Europe. Its total of around 15 million residents is depending upon this continent in a particular environment to manage different types of activities.

History

Hagia Sophia, also known as AyoSophia was primarily developed as a Basilica for the Greek Orthodox Church. However the overall function of this charge has changed several times in a large number of centuries which created a huge amount of changes for this factor. The emperor of Byzantine clearly commissioned the first construction of this Sophia in 360 A.D. At the time of first church construction, it was majorly developed and well known as Constantinople. It majorly takes the name from the father of Constantius Constantine 1. He is the first ruler of the overall Byzantine Empire all over the world. At the free beginning these architecture only developed through the application of wooden roofs and the structure was proudly bound in the year of 404 A.D. due to the different periods occurring in Constantinople which occurred due to the various types of political concrete within the family starting from the year of 395 to 408 A.D (Özcan, 2023). The successor of Arcadia, Emperor Theodosios II, totally redeveloped the Hagia Sophia; a total of new structures was completed in the year of 415 AD. The second architecture includes a total of different types of monumental entrance and five naves that were also covered by the overall wooden roof in the environment. However, within the one century, it has been identified for the important Basilica of Greek orthodox faith. Structure was also again bound for the second time during the Nika Revolts against the Justinian, who ruled for 527 to 565.

Unable to do the repair of this damage caused by the overall fire, Justinian totally ordered the overall demolition process of Hagia Sophia in the year of 532 AD. He also commissioned the overall renowned architects including Anthemius and Isidoros to develop a better new Basilica in the overall environment. At that particular time of restarting the project of the Hagia Sophia, Justinian thanked the god for giving the chance to create such a kind of worshipping place in a particular area. As opined by Jamaleddine (2020), at the very beginning stage of the Hagia Sophia, the third stage has a better remarkable structure which provides a huge amount of support in the environment. It included the overall traditional design element of the orthodox Basilica that includes don't and large roof along with the altar of two narthex.

The supporting arches of the dome were totally covered with a large number of mosaics which include the six winged angels known as hexapterigyon. In this proper effort of developing the grand Basilica for representing the Byzantine Empire, the emperor clearly decreed all kinds of different provinces under the overall architectural please and rule for the uses of their construction project. Analysing the marble used in the ceiling and the floor was totally produced in the area of Anatolia that is known as Eastern Turkey and Syria. On the other hand, as opined by Ahmed and Ahmed (2021), the primary bricks used as a part of the floor and walls come from far away from North Africa. Marble slabs have been used for lining the interior of Hagia Sophia which have been designed to provide a clear idea about the emitted moving water in a particular environment. A total of 104 columns were being imported from the Artemis temple from Egypt. These types of famous architecture inside are being collected for managing different activities.

Analysing the measurement of the building it is seen that in length it is around 259 feet and with it is around 240 feet. It is the highest point where the overall roof of this room stretches to around 1858 in all over the year (Sullivan, 2021). The first dome supported a partial collapse in the year of 557 that was replaced and designed by Isidore who was the younger nephew of the original architect. With the application of a large number of structural ribs, this structure remains in place today which provides a huge amount of support and attracts a large number of customers from different domains.

The central dome of this architecture is totally dependent on a particular ring of windows which is also supported by 2 semi domes along with the two arched openings for creating a good amount of nave. Different types of materials including Byzantine mosaic which is made from Terracotta glass, silver, gold and other colorful stones are being used to portray the wall dome scenes and figures of Christian gospels. Due to that reason, it is one of the major attractions of Istanbul.

Architecture

This architecture is very much well known as one of the significant architectural masterpieces that is located in Turkey. This construction was totally commissioned by the emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Originally, this type of architecture is totally developed as a major architectural factor as a Christian cathedral. It also served as one of the imperial mosques that is also known as a museum of a particular domain. The architecture design presents the unique blend of Ottoman and Byzantine that influences a lot in developing the functionalities. Some major features of the architectural design are described below.

Dome

The most important architecture of this Hagia Sophia is very much known for their enormous dome which has a large diameter of 31 m that is equivalent to 102 feet. As illustrated by Panchetva (2021), this type of architectural design is totally dependent upon the various which are curved in different types of triangular sections and support the overall weight of Dom and transfer it as per various square bases. It is the most significant factors of this overall architectural design that provide the significant impact and positive effect on attracting a lot number of consumers and tourist from different destinations

Central plan

Central plan is also known as one of the crucial stages of work which has central planned design. This type of design includes a large central room and square base raising above it that is also designed by allowing an open and spacious interior. This type of interior is very much helpful for this famous architecture to get a good amount of results. This functionality of the Central plan offers a huge benefit that manages all their work in getting better results.

Minaret

The application of different minarets is very much helpful which provide proper support to the overall architectural dimension stand alone with having proper support. Evaluating the overall minarets of the architectures,a total of 4 minarets were added with the Hagia Sophia during the period of Ottoman. The slender towers and tall architecture worked as visual markers that were also traditionally used for different calls to a particular prayer.

Atrium

The proper entrance of the Hagia Sophia total includes a proper atrium or courtyard with various types of colonnaded porticoes. This type of space is totally used for the transition between the interior and exterior of the building which provides a huge amount of beauty for the employees to get a better support (Byzantine, 2020). Management of interior and exterior transition can be one of the most effective ways which can help the organisation to get a good amount of results and attract a large number of people today due to the wonderful designs and various architects.

Buttresses

For maintaining the contract with the lateral thrust of a particular dome in the Hagia Sophia, buttresses added to the overall exterior of the building. This type of architectural design can be helpful for supporting the structure. These architectures are also beneficial for stabilising the door and distributing their weight into different areas. Therefore, the architects used these architectural factors to divide the weight and spread it between different areas.

Mosaics

The interior of this overall architecture was totally developed with exquisite mosaics that totally debit various types of religious scenes and figures in a particular media. Meaning of these mosaics totally forward and destroyed during the overall conversion of the buildings. These mosaics totally help the buildings into mosques that provide proper support to attract the tourists in a particular location. Some of the places of the mosque were uncovered due to the higher rate of oldness and older materials being used for developing these architectures.

Byzantine Elements

The architectural style of Hagia Sophia reflects Byzantine influences, particularly in its use of domes, arches, and intricate ornamentation. The building showcases the advanced engineering and architectural techniques of the Byzantine Empire.Marble slabs have been used for lining the interior of Hagia Sophia which have been designed to provide a clear idea about the emitted moving water in a particular environment (Aykaç, 2018). A total of 104 columns were being imported from the Artemis temple from Egypt. These types of famous architecture inside are being collected for managing different activities.

Ottoman Additions

When the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque in the 15th century, several modifications were made to adapt it to Islamic worship. As illustrated by Kinde et al. (2020), these included the addition of minarets, the removal of Christian iconography, and the construction of a mihrab (prayer niche) and a minbar (pulpit).This type of new designings were effective for the organisation to get a good amount of support in developing the architecture. Due to the inclusion of the major additions, it had been found that he included a large range of resources which offered a good amount of results in defining the overall functionalities.

Conclusion

The Hagia Sophia is very much well known as one of the most famous architectural marbles in Istanbul, Turkey. It was majorly developed as a Christian Basilica around 1500 years ago.The supporting arches of the dome were totally covered with a large number of mosaics which include the six winged angels known as hexapterigyon. In this proper effort of developing the grand Basilica for representing the Byzantine Empire, the emperor clearly decreed all kinds of different provinces under the overall architectural please and rule for the uses of their construction project. Evaluating the overall history of this architecture, a total of three times developers changed the architecture which created a huge amount of benefits for managing various activities. Similarly, analysing the architecture, various materials such as Byzantine elements, buttresses, minarets and others are being used to complete the architecture in a better way.

References

Ahmed, A. and Ahmad, M., 2021. Hagia Sophia: A Study of its Historical Perspectives, Architectural Structure and Geographical Importance.

Aykaç, P., 2018. Contesting the Byzantine Past: Four Hagia Sophias as Ideological Battlegrounds of Architectural Conservation in Turkey. Heritage & Society, 11(2), pp.151-178.

Byzantine, O. and Imperial Chruch, H.S., Hagia Sophia: A Study of its Historical Perspectives, Architectural Structure and Geographical Importance.

Coruhlu, Y.E., Uzun, B. and Yildiz, O., 2020. Conflict over the Use of Hagia Sophia: The Legal Case. Land, 9(10), p.350.

Jamaleddine, Z., 2020. Hagia Sophia Past and Future. Places Journal.

Kinde, A., 2020. Mosque or Museum? Secularizing or Desecularizing Effect of Politics on Architecture: Hagia Sophia.

Matniyazov, Z.E. and Eshnazarova, S.Z., 2021. Hagia sophia as a synthesis of the types of Byzantine temple architecture and an example of the Byzantine building culture of the IV-VI centuries. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research, 10(8), pp.294-297.

Özcan, S., 2023. The Architectural Changes of Hagia Sophia During Different Era’s: The conversion of Hagia Sophia, from church to mosque during the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire.

Pentcheva, B.V., 2021. Hagia Sophia: Byzantine Alterity in the Core of Ottoman Identity. Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association, 8(1), pp.223-233.

Sullivan, A.I., 2021. Hagia Sophia Through the Ages. Phronema, 36(1).

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