The Largest Hall of the Great Palace of Constantinople

Hall of the 19 Couches was one of the oldest buildings of the Imperial palace

It was used for ceremonial dining, where guests reclined on couches in the ancient Roman manner

Let’s explore how it looked: Perhaps the first mention of the great hall comes from historian Eusebius

It was used for a banquet on occasion of Constantine’s 20th year in power

Guests reclined at the 18 tables, while the most distinguished ones dined at Constantine’s own one in the centre

Hagia Sophia's original interior, Part II

What did Hagia Sophia’s altar and sanctuary originally look like?

This is a continuation of my examination of Justinian’s Great Church

Let us start with the chancel screen:

Sadly, the original altar was destroyed during the collapse of the first dome in 558

However, it is plausible to assume it would have been similar to its reconstructed version, described by Paul the Silentiary around 563

How did Hagia Sophia’s interior look originally?

The current building was erected between 532-537AD by the Roman emperor Justinian I

Calamity struck soon after however, with the great dome collapsing in 558AD

So let’s take a look at the pre-558 version of Megale Ekklesia:

First of all, all the windows would’ve been unblocked, permitting a lot more light into the interior

The exterior buttresses that support the structure today are later additions, mostly late Byzantine and Ottoman

Where are the relics of the 12 Apostles now?

St Andrew

Prior to the fourth crusade his relics were in Constantinople, but were then translated to Amalfi in Italy

A part of the relics was brought back, and is now housed in Hagios Andreas cathedral in Patras, Greece

St Peter

His remains are in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican

An early Christian burial was found in the 20th century underneath the basilica, which could be St Peter’s tomb

The oldest part of Hagia Sophia

The treasury room, or Skeuophylakion, is a 5th century structure that actually predates the Justinianic Hagia Sophia

It is located just outside on the north-eastern corner The structure was most likely part of a Theodosian Hagia Sophia, rebuilt in 415AD

It is possible that parts of Skeuophylakion date from the original Hagia Sophia of Constantius from 360AD, which is said to have miraculously survive the fire of 404AD

Hagia Sophia in Monemvasia, Greece

This church presumably dates from 1150s, and had quite a turbulent history It started as an Orthodox church, dedicated to Virgin Hodegetria

When the Venetians came to rule in Monemvasia (1463-1540), the church was converted into Catholicism

Venetians eventually surrendered the city to Ottoman turks in 1540, and the church became a mosque

Menologion of Basil II

This is a 10-11th century list of saints and their feast days, complete with 430 beautiful illustrations

Since today is All Saints' Day in the West, here are some of my favourite saints miniatures from the Menologion

1. Luke the Stylite 2. Romanos the Melodist, one of the most important figures in Byzantine music

‘Industrial’ Hagia Sophia

This is Saint-Espirit church in Paris, probably the most unique take on the domed basilica design

Built with reinforced concrete, Saint-Espirit was completed 1935

The main dome has a diameter of 22 meters, compared to ~32 meters in Hagia Sophia

6 most important churches in Thessaloniki, Greece

1. Rotunda of Galerius, built in the early 4th century

2. Basilica of St Demetrios, reconstructed around 620s

The last basilica on the Roman Forum

Basilica of Maxentius was the last great public building to be erected in the ceremonial heart of Rome Its design was however quite unusual, as it features a cross vault instead of a timber roof. This could’ve been done to increase the basilica’s fire resistance

Hagia Sophia’s optical illusions

Can you spot these paintings that imitate portal openings?

Naturally these aren’t original, and actually form part of an extensive group of paintings masquerading as something else Hagia Sophia, built in 537AD, underwent many changes throughout its history

One of the more recent, as well as influential restorations occurred in the 19th century, carried out by Swiss architects - the Fossati brothers

Their work tackled both structural and artistic issues

5 great Byzantine structures that have now disappeared

1. Chalke gate

This was a monumental gatehouse for the Great Palace of Constantinople, rebuilt by emperor Justinian

It housed an important icon of Jesus Christ atop its bronze door in a lunette It had two entrances, a central ceremonial bronze door and a small iron gate, which allowed private passage to Hagia Sophia

Its location has been confirmed archaeologically relatively recently, however its exact shape is debated

Where do round churches come from?

Constantine popularised a domed rotunda or octagon as a church plan to house Christian relics

This design however was not new, but was inspired by these buildings… More than simply having a ‘modernist’ utilitarian function, churches profess deep symbolism, merging Christianity with already present architectural forms

Round churches were largely based on Roman imperial and aristocratic mausolea, and so their function followed their form

Why did Romans abandon the classical temple forms?

The obvious answer is that after emperor Constantine, Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, adopting basilicas as the basis for church structures

But was it that simple? Prior to Christianity, basilicas were usually spacious multi-purpose public buildings divided internally by columns, and had a timber roof

Classical temples were grand on the outside, but featured smaller interior rooms reserved for priests

5 facts about Hagia Sophia you may not know:

1. The altar offered legal protection

Any man who broke the law could seek sanctuary in Hagia Sophia. As long as he was touching the altar, he could not be removed from the premises 2. There are extensive tunnels underneath Hagia Sophia

They are estimated to be at least 1000 meters in length, presumed to have provided water supply for the wells in and around the church