Embark on a Medieval odyssey through the corridors of Byzantine history, art and culture with our compelling new collection in the Student Research Rooms!
An intersection of faiths, ideologies and arts, Constantinople, or modern-day Istanbul, lying at the heart of the medieval world, is in itself a testament to the longstanding cultural and economic position it held for centuries in the global world.
The influence of the Byzantine Empire can be witnessed through the numerous monuments of architecture scattered across Russia, Greece and Romania, as well as inspiring medieval craftsmanship in Western Europe, from Renaissance to Gothic art. The UNESCO World Heritage site Sucevița Monastery in Romania, is a playful, gold-laced, and colourful work of Byzantine architecture, regardless of its creation two centuries after the fall of Constantinople, showcasing the imprint the Byzantine Empire left on Eastern Europe and Orthodox Christianity.
However, the zenith of Byzantine architecture, and its most striking projects, stand on the earths of Istanbul, where the fading ghost of Constantinople resides. The city walls of Istanbul, the preserved artefacts in the Istanbul Archeology Museum as well as the underground Basilica Cistern are a few of many Byzantine creations that enrich the landscape of Istanbul.
Perhaps the most celebrated and recognisable spatial conception of the Eastern Empire was the Hagia Sophia (‘Holy Wisdom’), an Orthodox Church which in 2020, was turned into a mosque for a second time. This cultural icon’s uniqueness and impressive quality, comes not only from its aesthetic value, but also as the marker of a shift in the development of construction. From composition, to size, the Greek builders mastered techniques of their own creation, which were seen in the complex interior structures to the great domes.
Sitting atop the North Anatolia Fault-line, Ottoman Istanbul was victim to earthquakes as well as fires, consequently destroying much of the medieval city. Nonetheless, works such as the Hagia Sophia, stood the test of time, as the Ottomans, feeling the grandeur of the space, transformed it into a mosque, changing the silhouette of the medieval city through the addition of four minarets. Ottoman photographers, capturing Istanbul through the framework of its Byzantine legacy, immortalise the change and continuity of the city in the 19th century, blending Islamic and Ottoman motifs, with Byzantine design and detail. Photographs of the faded ceilings and walls of the previous Church create a backdrop for the calligraphic panes, perhaps symbolising the foundation of the city, and its eventual conquest and ‘evolution’.
The unmissable footprints of the Byzantine blends with the overwhelming Ottoman landscape, becomes a bedrock for the modern city of Istanbul.
Bibliography
Ögel, Zeynep., Tanman, Gürlu. Sur, Kemer, Kubbe: Osmanlı Fotoğrafçıların Gözüyle Bizans Istanbulu (2007).
Stewart, Cecil. “Constantinople” Byzantine Legacy (1959): 94-115.
(Books available in the Byzantine Collection, 2.25/44 1-6)
