THE BUILDING OF ST. SOPHIA: THE ARCHITECTURAL WORK OF JUSTINIAN
Whilst it is evident that the distinctive character of Justinian
impelled him to be incessantly active in every branch of the monarchical
profession, the devastation wrought at Constantinople by the Nika
rebellion might have awakened a passion for building in the breast of
the most phlegmatic Emperor.[459] A mass of sightless ruins had taken
the place of those architectural adornments which are the essential
feature of a capital and the foundations of the dignity of a throne.
The restoration of the precincts of the Palace was the most pressing
necessity, and Justinian applied himself to the task without a moment's
delay. At the same time he determined that the new buildings should
surpass in beauty those which had been destroyed, and he devoted himself
to the restoration of the great metropolitan church with especial zeal.
More fortunate than Constantine, he had not to complain that architects
of reputation were undiscoverable; and in Anthemius of Tralles and
Isidorus of Miletus,[460] he found men who were capable of conceiving
and executing great designs. Neither history nor modern research enables
us to explain with fullness the origin and evolution of that variety of
ecclesiastical building which is recognized as typically Byzantine, and
of which the church of St. Sophia, erected by Justinian, remains to the
present day as the only decided prototype. The accounts which have come
down to us of the construction of this edifice indicate clearly that the
architects engaged in the work were attempting to do something which had
not been done before; or, at least, that their design, if not original,
had never to their knowledge been put into practice on so large a scale.
Failure, therefore, was a contingency with which they had to reckon,
and, until their scheme was completed, they had to be prepared to modify
or even to abandon their plan.[461]
The Emperor had resolved that the proportions of the new church should
be much greater than those of the old one, and therefore the extension
of the site was the first requirement of his undertaking. On the south
side the ground was clear, but the open space of the Augusteum barred
any encroachment in that direction. On the other three sides, however,
the area was hemmed in by various buildings, and several of these were
private property. Some of the difficulties encountered at the outset,
therefore, arose from the obstinacy of adjacent owners, who refused to
sell their lots at a reasonable price or to part with them on any terms
whatever. Obstacles of this class were the origin of a crop of stories
which obtained currency among the populace, who were amused by hearing
of the ruses adopted to defeat the wilfulness of certain occupants.
Their truth cannot now be tested, and in general they may be
disbelieved; but there seems to be some foundation for the anecdote
related of a widow named Anna, who stubbornly declined to negotiate for
the sale of her house. Nobles waited on her without result, and at
length the Emperor came in person and begged of her to name her terms.
Upon this she fell on her knees and declared that she would accept no
money for her freehold, but entreated him to take it as a gift to St.
Sophia on condition that she should be buried in the corner of the
church whereon her dwelling had stood. Her proposal was agreed to, and
in after ages the area in question continued to be pointed out as the
"widow Anna's lot."[462] That trouble of this kind might be real enough
may be inferred from the absence of any legislation providing for the
compulsory sale of property required for public purposes in accordance
with the decision of a board of expert arbitrators.
As soon as the architects had matured their design for the construction
of the great edifice, the collection of the materials required to bring
their conceptions into substantial existence was in itself an arduous
task. The church was to be built of brick, but its richness was to be
derived from the liberal use of pillars and slabs of polished marble in
every available situation. An Imperial rescript was despatched to the
Rectors throughout the provinces, desiring them to search their
districts, and transmit to the capital any relics of ruined and deserted
temples which might be suitable for the Emperor's purpose. In response
to this appeal it is particularized that eight porphyry columns, the
remains of a temple of the Sun, were sent from Rome, and eight of green
marble from Ephesus;[463] and we may assume that a large quantity of
such mementoes of polytheism were amassed at Constantinople about this
time, which, if not used for St. Sophia, were employed in the
restoration of other parts of the disfigured city.[464] Much new marble
was, however, quarried in various localities widely distant in order to
obtain the variety of tints and variegated patterns needed to make a
brilliant display when placed in position throughout the building. From
Carystus came a light green, and from the Phrygian mountains a
rose-coloured marble diversified with streaks of deep red and silver.
Sparta supplied an emerald green, and the Iassian hills a blood-red
species veined with a livid white. Much porphyry was floated down the
Nile; in Lydia was found a bright-tinted marble seamed with lines of
red, and in Numidia a crocus-stained variety which shone like gold.
Atrax yielded a green and blue marble resembling grass sprinkled with
cornflowers; and lastly there was an abundant supply of the coarse white
kind in the adjacent Isle of Proconnesus.[465]
Having cleared and surveyed the site, the architects drew out the plans
of the church and fixed the interior measurements at 270 × 230 feet. The
central portion of this area was to be covered by a dome having a
diameter of 107 feet, which should overhang the pavement at a height of
160 feet. No roof of any magnitude, elevated in this manner, was known
to them, of which the dome was not upheld by frequent supports, so that
free movement from end to end of the building was obstructed by their
presence. Anthemius and Isidorus, however, determined that the nave of
their church should lie open for its full width in a clear sweep from
the main entry to the apse, in which stood the Patriarch's throne.[466]
In the central area, therefore, at the corners of a quadrangular space,
they raised four piers of massive proportions to uphold an equal number
of arches, each of which was to have a span of 100 feet. Blocks of stone
were used for the construction of these piers, and, instead of mortar,
melted lead was poured into the interstices to knit them more firmly
together.[467] At each corner, the triangular intervals left above the
junctions of the arches were filled up with brickwork, and thus were
formed four pendentives to sustain the base of the dome.[468] To resist
the thrust of the great arches, four lesser ones, two on each side,
crossed the aisles of the church to the external walls, which in that
position were provided with heavy masses of masonry to receive
them.[469] Forty windows ranged in a great circle perforated the base of
the dome, which was divided by an equal number of ribs converging from
the circumference to its vertex. From the base of the dome the roof was
led down by a pair of semi-domes to the east and west walls, and
completed on each side by vaulted archings which joined the lateral
walls. The nave was separated from the aisles by rows of lofty columns
with sculptured capitals, on which rested a series of arches to support
the women's galleries. From them lesser pillars, more numerous,[470]
reached to the roof; and each corner of the nave proceeded by a
semicircular sweep to meet the Royal Door and the apse.[471] On the west
a narthex[472] extended all across the church, and above it the
galleries became continuous in an area posterior to the nave.[473] The
building was flooded with light from windows which in great number
passed through the external walls in every direction.
As soon as the containing structure was completed, the decoration and
furniture of the interior was pursued with equal zeal. All vacant
surfaces in the lower part of the edifice, including the floor, were
invested with slabs of marble, showing the greatest diversity of hue and
pattern; and the roof was coated with gold mosaic[474] relieved in
prominent positions with coloured figures of a sacred type. A cross
appeared at the highest point of the dome, and colossal cherubim
occupied the four pendentives. Angels at full length were depicted in
suitable spaces, and the whole was bordered by intricate designs in
variously-tinted mosaic.[475] For the consecrated furniture of the
church, the precious metals and gems were requisitioned at great cost.
The iconostasis, fifty feet wide, which crossed the apse to shut off the
Bema, was completely encased in silver. It stood by means of twelve
pillars arranged in pairs, back to back, the intervening portions of the
screen being encrusted with images of angels and apostles with the
Virgin in the centre. The holy table was a mass of gold and precious
stones, and was covered by a ciborium resting on four pillars, the whole
being of silver. Silken curtains, richly embroidered with appropriate
designs, hung between the pillars.[476] Beneath the dome was placed an
elaborate ambo of unusual dimensions, approached on the east and west by
flights of steps. It was built of marble, elevated on pillars, and
enclosed by a circle of short columns rising from the pavement.[477]
Countless lamps suspended by rods and chains from the roof illuminated
the church at night.
After five and a half years of labour St. Sophia was opened at Christmas
(537),[478] and made the occasion of a great popular festival with a
liberal scattering of largess. The Patriarch Menas rode in the royal
chariot to the entrance, while the Emperor walked alongside of him among
the people.[479] Filled with enthusiasm, Justinian advanced to the ambo,
and, looking around, with his arms extended, exclaimed, "Glory be to God
for thinking me worthy to finish such a work; Solomon, I have excelled
you!"[480]
While her consort was absorbed in the erection of St. Sophia, Theodora
interested herself especially in the restoration of the Church of the
Holy Apostles, which had become dilapidated through age. A different
design was here followed, the form of a cross being given to this
edifice, which was surmounted by five domes, one in each of the
branches, and a central one at their intersection.[481] Church building
now became one of Justinian's habitual pursuits, and for many years he
continued to embellish the Empire with these samples of his religious
devotion. In the city and its immediate suburbs, on the Golden Horn and
the Bosphorus, new or renovated places of worship continually rose into
sight.[482] At Jerusalem a church to the Virgin was constructed with
exceptional magnificence, and the numerous religious bodies congregated
in that city were handsomely housed by the Imperial exchequer.[483]
The Emperor's contributions to secular architecture were not less
noteworthy than his pious foundations. The vestibule of Chalke was
restored in a very costly manner as a quadrangular hall, with an
imposing roof made up of arches and vaults supported on four square
columns. This chamber was constituted as a memorial of the wars of
Justinian, and the walls were covered with scenes of battle and triumph
executed in mosaic. In a prominent position the Imperial couple were
depicted as standing among the members of their Court, while the
captives and trophies of victory were displayed before them by
Belisarius.[484] The Emperor also commemorated his reign by raising
public monuments in the capital to himself and his partner on the
throne. In the Augusteum, a pyramidal pedestal, rising by steps from a
broad base, supported a pillar on which stood an equestrian statue of
Justinian in martial costume, holding in one hand the globe and cross,
whilst the other was extended with a warning gesture towards the land of
the Persians.[485] On the eastern margin of the city, where the
Bosphorus meets the Propontis, Justinian laid out an esplanade,
marble-paved and colonnaded, which he adorned with a variety of
sculptures wrought by artists of the period.[486] A splendid pedestal of
porphyry, fit to support an empress, occupied the centre, upholding a
handsome statue which portrayed the "ineffable beauty of Theodora, as
nearly as a mortal chisel could express it." This figure was a gift from
the citizens, in grateful recognition of the construction of this
pleasure-resort.[487] To increase the water storage of the capital, two
underground cisterns were excavated on a larger scale than had been
attempted by any previous Emperor. The first of these, on the west side
of the Hippodrome, was formed beneath the deserted palace of Illus, the
notorious rebel in the reign of Zeno, with a roof upborne by 224
crudely-fashioned pillars.[488] The second, of much grander conception,
was situated at a short distance to the north, contiguous to the Royal
Court of Justice. With 420 columns, whose capitals were sculptured in
conformity with the rules of Greek art, this cistern conveyed the
impression of a submerged palace rather than of an interior designed to
exist in perpetual obscurity.[489]
Justinian was also indefatigable in beautifying provincial towns and in
executing such works of public utility as might relieve the inhabitants
from any disadvantages of topographical position. In fact, the
multiplicity, variety, and magnificence of the buildings which emanated
from the constructive zeal of this Emperor induced the chief historian
of the period to devote a separate treatise to the enumeration and
description of them, an honour which does not seem to have fallen to the
lot of any other sovereign.[490] One of his earliest cares was the
aggrandisement of his birthplace, and the hamlet of Tauresium was
transformed into the fortified outpost of a flourishing city created by
the fiat of its illustrious son. Under the significant title of
Justiniana Prima Scupi was elevated to the rank of capital of Illyricum,
and endowed by the Emperor's munificence with everything requisite to
render it worthy of its new importance. A praetorium, churches, squares,
porticoes, baths, and an aqueduct, built with lavish expenditure,
illustrated the site; and, to complete its dignity, the archbishopric of
the Diocese was transferred to, or reconstructed in its name.[491] In
the same district he founded a town to perpetuate the memory of his
uncle, and called it Justinopolis. He was, however, liberal to excess in
the bestowal of his own name or that of his wife on all places indebted
to him for restorations or improvements; and about a score of towns had
their identity concealed under the appellation of Justinian, whilst
almost half as many found themselves represented as specially
Theodorian.[492]
Among the most important works of Justinian in Asia Minor was the
protection of towns from river floods, to which the conformation of that
country rendered many districts peculiarly liable. To obviate disasters
of this kind ingenious feats of engineering were carried out in several
instances. Dara, Circesium, Edessa, Zenobia, Helenopolis, Juliopolis,
and Tarsus, were the worst sufferers in respect of their fluviatile
vicinage.[493] By means of walls, embankments, dams, cutting away of
obstacles, and the provision of emergency channels these towns were
secured for the future from damage by inundation. As a specimen of the
magnitude of some of these operations the case of Edessa best deserves
to be cited. The course of the river Scirtus, as it approached that
city, was restrained on one side by a rocky and precipitous bank, whilst
a tract of low ground extended for a considerable distance on the other.
Hence, in flood time, a vast volume of water rolled over the flat and,
entering the town, swept everything away before it. The abolition of
this source of destruction was effected by reversing the natural
relations of the river banks. Along the shallow margin a wall was built
of sufficient strength to resist the overflow, and the rocky boundary
opposite was broken away until the ground was made level with the
surface of the water. From this side a canal was then cut, which skirted
the city and rejoined the Scirtus after its issue from the walls.[494]
Bridge building was also undertaken successfully, the most notable
examples being that over the Sangaris near Nicomedia,[495] and one of
stone which replaced the old wooden bridge across the Golden Horn.[496]
Fortification engrossed much of Justinian's attention, and his
constructions in that category exceeded, perhaps, in bulk all the rest
of his architectural work. The repair and rebuilding of walls, the
substitution of effective for inadequate mural defences, and the
strategical modification of sites, went on continually throughout the
Empire. Constantina, the new post of the Duke of Mesopotamia, was raised
to the rank of a first class fortress,[497] but the most elaborate works
for the purpose of martial defence were executed at Dara, which still
existed as the main bulwark against Persian invasion. The fortifications
of Anastasius had been hastily built, and consisted of an uncoursed
stone wall, laid without mortar, about fifty feet high. The town was
exposed to attack over one stretch of ground only, as in its greatest
extent it lay along the edge of a rocky declivity unassailable by an
enemy. Justinian consolidated the original wall, closed its battlements
so that they became mere loopholes, and raised it thirty feet higher.
The towers were similarly treated and elevated until they overtopped the
wall to an equal extent. A covered gallery ran through its whole length,
from which the soldiers could assail the enemy with their arrows from
the numerous loopholes. For still greater security, however, a second
wall of smaller dimensions than the first, also with towers, but solid,
was erected at a short distance in front of the first, and from the top
of this rampart the main body of the military were active in repelling
an assault. Lastly, a moat was excavated and led along so as to make a
crescentic sweep from one end of the assailable wall to the other.[498]
In addition to fortifying cities the Emperor built very numerous forts
along the frontiers, and more than six hundred of these are named as
being in the vicinity of the Danube.[499] Where the configuration of a
region favoured it, whole provinces were shut off by defensive walls
against hostile inroads. This was especially the case at the pass of
Thermopylae, the isthmus of Corinth, and the entrance to the Thracian
Chersonesus, where existing barriers were now restored to
efficiency.[500] The Long Wall of Anastasius has already been
mentioned,[501] but this bulwark proved less obstructive to the
barbarians than had been anticipated, owing to its having been made
permeable continuously from end to end. Justinian, therefore, divided it
into sections, each of which he separately garrisoned, so that an enemy
could not by the capture of one portion obtain the command of the whole,
and thus win a free passage into the suburbs of the capital.[502]
[459] See pp. 459, 462.
[460] Some personal and family details of these professionals are given
by Agathias, v, 6-9. He also recounts an anecdote which shows that
something of the power of steam was understood in those days. It appears
that Anthemius had a next-door neighbour, a rich man, who incommoded him
by additions to his mansion which interfered with some ancient lights,
etc. The architect determined to revenge himself by terrifying the
offender while in the act of entertaining a party of friends at a
banquet. For this purpose he hit on the expedient of carrying pipes from
large covered caldrons into the roof of the mansion, where he packed
every outlet, and at a fitting moment applied fire to the vessels when
full of water. Thus, after the steam began to rise and high pressure was
induced in the confined space, a great commotion was occasioned which
shook the mansion and caused the banqueters to rush out into the street
exclaiming that there was an earthquake. Subsequently, when the affair
was generally understood, Anthemius got the reputation of being a man
who could produce artificial earthquakes. A work by Anthemius on
Mechanical Paradoxes was published at Paris in 1777.
[461] Procopius alone (De Aedif., i, 1) gives any reliable details as to
the progress of the reconstruction; but a much longer account (Anon.,
Banduri and Codinus, differing somewhat) composed in a later age exists,
most of which is of a legendary character. It might be appropriately
called "The Gospel of the Building of St. Sophia," it is so replete with
marvels, some of which read like an extract from the New Testament and
others like an episode from the Arabian Nights.
[462] The place was shown to a Russian pilgrim, Anthony of Novogorod
(twelfth century; Soc. Orient. Latin. Sér. Géog., v). Other tales in the
legendary account refer to a eunuch who yielded on being locked up to
prevent his seeing the Circus games, and to a cobbler who stipulated to
be saluted as Emperor, etc.
[463] Anon. (Codinus, p. 130, _et seq._).
[464] We have seen that the City of Constantine was fitted out on the
ready-made system (p. 67, etc.), and no doubt something of the same kind
took place now. Gregorovius accepts the statement of the Anon. that
Athens contributed art relics to St. Sophia; Athen im Mittelalter, 1889,
i, 60.
[465] These details as to the marbles are drawn from the safe authority
of Paul the Silentiary (617, _et seq._), whose poem descriptive of St.
Sophia is copious and exact. Lethaby and S. (_op. cit._, p. 235, _et
seq._) try to identify the marbles as far as they are known to modern
commerce.
[466] The raising of domes in masonry was well understood throughout the
Empire at this time. The knowledge had probably been brought to Rome in
the second century B.C. as a result of her conquests in the East. The
dome of the Pantheon, built or restored by Hadrian (_c._ 120), measures
one hundred and forty-two feet across, but this is a circular hall which
supports the dome all round. Anthemius himself, probably, had lately
finished the church of St. Sergius and Bacchus in Hormisdas (now called
Little St. Sophia), but in this case eight pillars were given to the
dome, and he was doubtless dissatisfied with the effect. Earlier domes
in Syria are noticed in Voguë's work. By the use of iron or steel
frame-work, much greater domes have been erected in modern times than
anything known in earlier ages, _e.g._, Vienna Exhibition, 1873, 360
feet. In London we have the Albert Hall and British Museum (219 and 140
feet), the latter a reproduction of the Pantheon.
[467] Procopius, _loc. cit._; Paulus, 479. According to the Anon.,
relics of saints and martyrs were deposited in cavities of the masonry
in various places.
[468] The earliest known dome on pendentives is a Roman mausoleum in
Palestine of the second century; East. Pal. Mem., 1889, p. 172 (Lethaby
and S., _op. cit._, p. 200).
[469] Procopius (_loc. cit._) gives some indications of the difficulties
they had to contend with through the piers threatening to give way, etc.
The Anon. remarks that the dome was said to be made of pumice stone, but
that it was in reality of bricks from Rhodes, one-twelfth the weight of
ordinary bricks. The main theme of Choisy's work (L'Art de bâtir chez
les Byz.) is that domes were built without "centreing" (wooden
proppage), simply by working in circumferentially till closure.
[470] One hundred and seven pillars altogether are counted, but only
fifty-four are visible as bounding the nave.
[471] Technically such corners are called _exedras_, and their
shell-like roofs, _conchs_. In these corners six pillars stand over two,
at the sides over four.
[472] See pp. 55, 111.
[473] Measured at the level of the galleries, therefore, the length is
three hundred feet.
[474] Procopius, _loc. cit._; Paulus, 668.
[475] Salzenberg's great coloured illustrations (Berlin, 1854) must be
inspected in order to get a vivid notion of the interior, but it is
doubtful if any mosaic of Justinian's fixing now remains. Anything
pictorial is generally covered up with Mahometan whitewash, but in 1847
extensive repairs had to be undertaken, of which Salzenberg,
commissioned by the Prussian government, took advantage.
[476] Everything is minutely described by Paulus Sil. Procopius (_loc.
cit._) says the silver alone consumed in fitting up the Bema amounted to
forty thousand pounds (Troy).
[477] The latter part, nearly half, of the Silentiary's poem is devoted
to a panegyric on this elaborate pulpit.
[478] Marcellinus Com., an. 537.
[479] Theophanes, an. 6030.
[480] Codinus, p. 143.
[481] Procopius, _op. cit._, i, 4. It is almost certain that St. Mark's,
Venice, was copied from this church.
[482] _Ibid., passim._
[483] _Ibid._, v, 6, 9.
[484] Procopius, _op. cit._, i, 10.
[485] _Ibid._, 2. It was repaired by Michael VIII, _c._ 1270; Nicephorus
Greg., vii, 12 (with note). Gyllius saw the last of it, _c._ 1550; Top.
C.P., ii, 17. An old drawing of the horseman is reproduced by Mordtmann,
_op. cit._, p. 65. The reputation of the great Theodosius, or at least
his statue, was now obsolete, so Justinian demolished it and set up his
own in its stead, substituting base metal for the silver one (see p. 59)
of 7,400 pounds (Troy); Zonaras, xiv, 6. He also recovered much lead at
this time (543) by doing away with an underground water conduit; _ibid._
[486] If we accept the judgment of Procopius, "you would have taken
these objects for the productions of Phidias, Lysippus, or Praxiteles";
_op. cit._, i, 11.
[487] Procopius, _op. cit._, i, 4.
[488] Jn. Malala, xviii, p. 435; Chron. Paschal., an. 528. The _Binbir
derek_ ("Thousand-one pillars") long supposed to be the cistern of
Philoxenus (see p. 74) is now with more probability recognized as this
reservoir. The identification rests on the pillars having heads of the
"impost" variety, which is not known to have been in use for long before
the sixth century. See Forscheimer, etc., Die byzant. Wasserbehälter,
1892; cf. Lethaby and S., _op. cit._, p. 248.
[489] Procopius, _op. cit._, i, 11. The _Yeri-Batan Seraï_ ("Underground
Palace") still in existence and full of water; for details, see
Forscheimer, _op. cit._ Views of both cisterns are given in all modern
popular works on CP.
[490] Procopius, De Aedificiis, in six books. Evagrius (ii, 18) mentions
that in Africa alone, after the conquest, J. dealt with 150 cities on a
more or less extensive scale.
[491] Procopius, _op. cit._, iv, Nov. xi; cxxxi.
[492] See Alemannus, _op. cit._, p. 397 _et seq._ He has made out a
complete list of every place or thing distinguished by the names of one
or other of the royal partners.
[493] Procopius, _op. cit._, ii, 3, 6, 7, 8; v, 2, 4, 5. The
preservation of Palmyra, which seems to have been on the road to
effacement, demanded a great deal of attention; _Ibid._, ii, 11; Malala,
p. 425.
[494] Procopius, _op. cit._, ii, 7.
[495] _Ibid._, v, 3. The bridge exists, spanning a dry valley, and is
figured in Texier's _Asie Mineure_ (copied in Diehl's Justinian).
[496] Notitia, Reg. xiv; Chron. Paschal., an. 528. It had twelve arches;
Codinus, p. 30, etc.
[497] Procopius, _op. cit._, ii, 5.
[498] _Ibid._, 1 (Texier and Pullan, _op. cit._, p. 57).
[499] _Ibid._, iv, 4, 11. These protective castles consisted of a wall
about seven feet thick and from thirty to forty feet high, to which
towers were attached externally of nearly double the height. Most
frequently the space enclosed was a quadrangle of about one hundred
feet, but might be much larger and of irregular shape. They have been
studied mostly in French Africa, where numbers are still found in good
preservation. A large portion of Diehl's _Afrique Byzantine_ is occupied
with a minute description of them, accompanied by views, plans, etc.
[500] Procopius, _op. cit._, iv, 2, 10.
[501] See pp. 124, 164.
[502] Procopius, _op. cit._, iv, 9.