Byzantine #mosaic of Virgin Mary holding baby Christ in her lap. There are "The Mother of God" monograms around them. 10th c. CE
South door in the vestibule of #HagiaSophia, Istanbul
#Archaeology
To our right, Constantine the Great as a saint while crowned with the imperial stemma, carries the City that bares his name and offers it to the Virgin Mary.
The inscription reads - Constantine, the Great Emperor amongst the saints. (ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟC Ο ΕΝ ΑΓΙΟΙC ΜΕΓΑC ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥC ).
To our left, Justinian the First; also with a halo and the imperial stemma (crown). Justinian is holding the church of Hagia Sophia and offers it to the Virgin Mary.
The inscription reads - "Justinian Emperor of illustrious memory" ( ΙΟΥΣΤΙΝΙΑΝΟC Ο ΑΟΙΔΙΜOC ΒΑCIΛΕΥC)
The vestibule functioned originally as a passage for processions. Later it also functioned as the main entrance to the Patriarchal Palace and to the cathedral (?).
The regal image of the Mother of God enthroned, reigns over both emperor and the common man; all equal before Christ
Professor Thomas Whittemore, the man who lead the restoration of the 1930's. The mosaic was covered with plaster after the conquest.
On the right is the imperial room and next to it the imperial cupboard, where the crown might have been stored when the Emperor entered the church
The mosaic is thought to have been made to celebrate the victory over the Kievan Rus-Bulgarian alliance (battle of Arcadiopolis ~ Siege of Dorostolon (971 AD) by the Emperor John Tzimiskis I or the victory against the Bulgarian Empire in the battle of Kleidion (Basil II, 1014).
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