Hagia+Sophia

__ **Hagia Sophia** __

The Hagia Sophia, or "Church of the Holy Wisdom," was originally built as a church by the Byzantine Empire but was converted to a mosque when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans. Eventually it was transformed into a musuem by the Turks.

How the Hagia Sophia was made
The Hagia Sophia was made by creating support structures for the massive dome to go on top. Why was this done? Well, the dome of the Hagia Sophia (H.G.) is really heavy and the normal walls could not hold the weight of the thing so the builders came up with the idea of taking the weight off of the walls and put it on pillars inside the buildings itself. This idea created lots of unused wall space that had no purpose now that the responsibility of holding the ceiling was taken off of them so the architects put a lot more windows in the building then most other churches at the time. This was unheard of at the time and that is what made this church a revolutionary point and the fact that it was built in only about five years. The time it took the Hagia Sophia to be built is also one of the things that is amazing. The church of noterdam took 182 years to be built and this was in the renaissance era. This is a sight that can not be over looked. Anthemius arrived at a revolutionary solution. He built four massive columns at the corner of each square. On top of the columns, he built four arches. He then filled the spaces between the arches with masonry to create curved triangular shapes called pendentives. The pendentives and the tops of the arches combine to form a strong base for the dome. But it was the dome that made Hagia Sophia the most complex building of antiquity. The shallow dome was made from 40 equally spaced ribs. Forty windows were then set at the dome's base, creating the sensation that the dome actually floated over the church.



What is the Hagia Sophia made of?

Materials: Masony, plaster, and masaics (walls); lead

Byzantine Empire's Influence on the Hagia Sophia
The Byzantine Empire had an enormous effect on the Hagia Sophia. It was Byzantine architects and masons who constructed all three of the buildings and whose influence inspired the architecture and design. The Hagia Sophia was one of the first great architectural achievements of the Byzantine Empire. Its architectural influence was far-reaching through the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as the Muslim world. The original mosaics were of holy figures such as Jesus and the Virgin Mary, as well as the occasional Byzantine Emperor. All these mosaics were created by Byzantine artists, although they were eventually plastered over by the Ottomans.

Ottoman Influence on Hagia Sophia
When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople the immediate changes were relatively small. The mosaics were covered up and plastered over due to the ban on "figurative imagery." They also added a mihrib (or prayer niche), a minbar or pulpit and a minaret. When they added prayer rugs over the marble floor, the transformation from church to mosque was complete. While Constantinople was in the control of the Ottomans they were continually renovating, restoring and adding on to the Hagia Sophia. Sultan Mehmed II built a religious school, Mimar Sinan built the mausoleum in 1577, and Mahmud I added a fountain, Koranic school, soup kitchen and library in 1739. The Ottomans added eight calligraphic discs into the interior while major renovations were going on from 1847-1849.