Holy Wisdom

 

The power of the church’s profile dominates the skyline, the sheer bulk of the immense structure grows as one approaches by sea.

Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, by Judith Herrin

Hagia Sophia; Holy Wisdom.  The scale and beauty were almost unknown even to visitors from the west in medieval times.  The dome, as form, was known to architects in the west, but at the time of construction virtually unknown in the east.

The art, however, was well known; a continuation of the forms, styles, and materials as known in antiquity: statues, reliefs, and portraits, using precious metals, enamel, and ivory.  Silk cloth from China was unraveled to provide thread for looms – the silk coming from China, at least until silkworms were (allegedly) smuggled from China by some monks and presented to Justinian.

The gradual increase of Christian images: loaves and fishes became Christ on coins became Christ Pantokrator.  This would eventually lead to the iconoclast controversies, which will be covered later.

Returning to the construction.  Those who observed the finished work were at a loss to explain how such a large dome could be supported by a structure pierced with forty windows that allowed light into the vast cavern below.  “Solomon, I have surpassed thee.”  So it is reported that Justinian would remark when he saw the completed work. 

How it (and the many other structures built during Justinian’s reign) was financed was another matter, and that part of the story remains unclear.  There were many battles and negotiations, yet the cost remains unknown and almost incalculable.

An earthquake would damage the dome twenty-one years later.  Isadore the Younger, son of the original architect, would secure the dome by raising it seven meters, making it narrower and steeper.

Conclusion

During his forty-year reign, Justinian would achieve much.  But nothing would compare to the construction of Hagia Sophia. 

Epilogue

Not to be missed during this time was what became known as the Nika Rebellion.  The Greens and the Blues – two groups responsible for Hippodrome entertainment – organized a challenge to the emperor’s power.  Normally rivals, they allied on the basis of antagonism towards Justinian’s financial policies.

They set fire to the center of the city.  Justinian considered fleeing the city, but his wife, Empress Theodora, would have nothing of this:

“Purple makes a fine shroud.  I would prefer to die in this imperial cloth.”

So inspired, Justinian would use force rather than negotiate.  A massacre of unarmed Byzantines followed.  Half the city was burned or destroyed; tens of thousands killed.  It was the burned-out area that gave room for the emperor’s massive construction project.