Hagia Sophia, Ayasofya, St Sophia, Hagia Sophia Museum, Museum, Tour
What is the History of Hagia Sophia ?
The Hagia Sophia, the largest church constructed by means of the East Roman Empire in Istanbul, has been constructed thrice in the identical region. When it was once first developed, it used to be named Megale Ekklesia (gigantic Church); nonetheless, after the fifth century, it was once known as the Hagia Sophia (Holy knowledge). The church used to be the location where rulers have been topped, and it was once also the most important operational cathedral within the city during the Byzantine interval.
The primary church was developed via Emperor Konstantios (337-361) in 360. The primary church was protected with a wooden roof and improved vertically (basilica) but was once burned down after the public rebel that took location in 404 for this reason of the disagreements between Emperor Arkadios’ (395-408) wife empress Eudoksia and Istanbul’s patriarch Ioannes Chrysostomos, who used to be exiled. The patriarch’s mosaic portrait can nonetheless be seen on the tymphanon wall located within the northern a part of the church. No remains have been recovered from the first church; nevertheless, the bricks discovered in the museum storage branded ‘Megale Ekklesia’ are expected to belong to the primary development.
The 2nd church was once reconstructed via Emperor Theodosios II (408-450) in 415. This basilical constitution is known to contain 5 naves and a enormous entrance; it's also covered by a picket roof.
The church used to be demolished in January 13, 532, after the public revolt (Nika revolts) that took location during the fifth 12 months of Emperor Justinianos’ reign (527-565), when the ‘blues’ who represented the aristocrats, and the ‘vegetables’ who represented the tradesman and retailers within the society, collaborated against the Empire.
Stays found during the excavations led through A. M Scheinder of the Istanbul German Archeology Institute, 2 meters under floor level, comprise steps belonging to the Propylon (enormous door), column bases and portions with lamb embossings that characterize the 12 apostles. In addition, other architectural portions that belong to the enormous entrance can also be noticeable in the west backyard.
The current constitution was once built by using Isidoros (Milet) and Anthemios (Tralles), who had been renowned architects of their time, by using Emperor Justinianos’s (527-565) orders. Know-how from historian Prokopios states that the development that started on February 23, 532, was accomplished in a brief interval of 5 years and the church used to be opened to worship with a ceremony on December 27, 537. Resources exhibit that on the outlet day of the Hagia Sophia, Emperor Justinianos entered the temple and mentioned, “My Lord, thank you for giving me chance to create any such worshipping location,” and adopted with the phrases “Süleyman, I beat you,” regarding Süleyman’s temple in Jerusalem.
The 0.33 Hagia Sophia construction mixed the three common basilical plans with the critical dome plan in design. The structure has three nefi, one apsi, and two narthex, inner and outside. The length from the apsis to the outer narthex is 100 m, and the width is sixty nine.5 m. The height of the dome from the bottom degree is fifty five.60 m and the radius is 31.87 m within the North to South direction and 30.86 within the East to West direction.
Emperor Justinianos ordered all provinces below his reign to ship the first-rate architectural pieces for use in the construction in order that the Hagia Sophia would be better and grander. The columns and marbles used in the structure had been taken from historical cities in and around Anatolia and Syria, equivalent to, Aspendus Ephessus, Baalbeek and Tarsa.
The white marbles used in the constitution came from the Marmara Island, the green porphyry from Eğriboz Island, the red marbles from Afyon and the yellow from North Africa. The ornamental interior wall coatings have been based through dividing single marble blocks into two and combining them with the intention to create symmetrical shapes.
In addition, the structure involves columns brought in from the Temple of Artemis in Ephessus for use in the naves, as good as eight columns introduced from Egypt that help the domes. The constitution has a complete of 104 columns, forty within the shrink and 64 within the upper gallery.
All of the walls of the Hagia Sophia except the ones covered by using marble were embellished with specially attractive mosaics. Gold, silver, glass, terra cotta and colourful stones had been used to make the mosaics. The plant-headquartered and geometric mosaics are from the sixth century, whereas the figured mosaics date back to the Iconoclast interval.
During the East Roman period, the Hagia Sophia was once the Empire Church and, consequently, was the location in which the emperors had been topped. The discipline that's on the correct of the naos, where the floor is included with colourful stones creating an intertwining circular design (omphalion), is the part wherein the jap Roman Emperors were topped.
Istanbul was once occupied with the aid of Latins between 1204 and 1261, during the Holy Crusades, when both the town and the church were damaged. The Hagia Sophia was once identified to be in unhealthy in 1261, when japanese Rome took over the city once more.
Following Fatih Sultan Mehmed’s (1451-1481) overcome in 1453, Hagia Sophia was once renovated right into a mosque. The constitution used to be fortified and used to be well blanketed after this interval, and remained as a mosque. Extra supporting pillars had been hooked up for the duration of the East Roman and Ottoman intervals as a consequence of the damage that the structure experienced because of earthquakes in the region. The minarets designed and applied by means of Mimar Sinan have additionally served to this purpose.
A madrasah was built in the direction of the North or Hagia Sophia throughout Fatih Sultan Mehmed’s reign. This construction used to be abolished within the 17. Century. For the period of Sultan Abdülmecid’s (1839-1861) reign, renovations were carried out through Fossati and a madrasah was rebuilt within the equal position. The stays were learned for the period of the excavations in 1982.
During the 16th and seventeenth century Ottoman period, mihrabs, minbar, maksoorahs, a preachment stand and a muezzin mahfili (a precise raised platform in a mosque, opposite the minbar where a muezzin kneels and chants in accordance with the imam’s prayers) had been introduced to the constitution.
The bronze lamps on two aspects of the mihrab were given as presents to the mosque by using Kanuni Sultan Süleyman (1520-1566) after his return from Budin.
The 2 marble cubes dating again to the Hellenistic interval (3 - four B.C.) on either side of the predominant entrance have been particularly brought from Bergama and were given via Sultan Murad III (1574-1595) as presents.
During the Sultan Abdülmecid period between 1847 and 1849, an vast renovation within the Hagia Sophia was once conducted with the aid of the Swiss Fossati brothers, where the Hünkâr Mahfili (a separate compartment where the emperors pray) placed in a niche in the Northern part was eliminated and one more one in the direction of the left of the mihrab used to be built.
The 8- 7.5 m diameter calligraphy panels that were written via Caligrapher Kadıasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi have been placed in the primary partitions of the structure. The panels that learn “Allah, Hz. Muhammed, Hz. Ebubekir, Hz. Ömer, Hz. Osman, Hz. Ali, Hz. Hasan ve Hz. Hüseyin” are recognized to be the largest calligraphy panels within the Islamic world.
The Hagia Sophia was transformed right into a museum by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s orders and has been functioning as one seeing that February 1, 1935, welcoming each regional and international viewers. In keeping with a deed dated 1936, the Hagia Sophia is registered as “Ayasofya-i Kebir Camii Şerifi on behalf of the Fatih Sultan Mehmed groundwork for maoseleum, akaret, muvakkithane and madrasah on 57 pafta, fifty seven island and seventh parcel.”
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