HAGIA SOPHIA

Presented by: M. Yudistira S.

Foreword
Hagia Sophia is a great architectural beauty and an
important monument both for Byzantine and for
Ottoman Empires.
Hagia Sophia also known as Ayasofya, Cami-i Kebir, or
Sancta Sophia.
Hagia Sophia is located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is at the
European part of the city in Sultanahmet area (old
town), nearby Topkapi palace in Istanbul.
Hagia Sophia was choosen a world heritage site by
UNESCO in 1985.
History
The Hagia Sophia was built in the remarkably short time of
about six years, being completed in 537 AD.
To build his cathedral, Justinian turned to two men named
Anthemius and Isidore the Elder.
The original church on the site of the Hagia Sophia is said to
have been built by Constantine I in 325.
The structure now standing is essentially the 6th-century
edifice558 (restored 562) and there were two further partial
coll, although an earthquake caused a partial collapse of the
dome in apses, after which it was rebuilt to a smaller scale
and the whole church reinforced from the outside.
History
After the Turkish conquest of
Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed II had it
repurposed as a mosque, with the
addition of minarets, a great chandelier,
a mihrab, a minbar, and disks bearing
Islamic calligraphy.
The Alter, the bells, sacrificial vessels and
iconostasis were all removed when the
church was converted into a mosque.
Kemal Atatrk secularized the building in
1934, and in 1935 it was made into a
museum.
Architecture
Justinians Hagia Sophia is the one that
stands today. It is an architectural
intelligence and the first masterpiece in
Byzantine architecture. It has been the
largest cathedral for 1000 years until
the Seville Cathedral was built.
The church has a rectangular shape,
and the square vast square nave
measuring 31m (102ft) is covered with
a central dome that is carried on four
pendentives.
Architecture
Excluding the two narthexes and the large
atrium, the basilica measures 70 x 75 m
(229 x 245 ft) . The atrium measures 48 x
32 m (157 x 106 ft) and the total length of
the construction measures 135 m (442 ft).
Hagia Sophia dome sits at the centre of the
church. It is between two half domes which
together equals to the diameters of the
dome. The dome is built by brick and
mortar, it is 31, 24 mt (102 ft 6 in)
diameters and is 55, 6 mt (182 ft 5 in) high.
Architecture
Hagia Sophia Dome is carried on
four pendentives and these
pendentives enable its transition
into the square shape of its piers
below. These pendentives
distribute the weight of the
dome to the walls under it.

Outside the church, four minarets were added and each

are more than 200 feet (60 meters) tall. Kleiner, 2010.
Sources
http://www.hagiasophia.com/
http://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Hagia-Sophia
Thank You