HISTORY OF DESIGN

A J O U R N E Y I N T O T H E H I S T O RY O F A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D I N T E R I O R D E S I G N

Early Christian and

Byzantine
Architecture

Prof. Amal Shah, Faculty of Design, CEPT University

The fall of the Roman Empire?
The rise of Christianity in the Roman empire

Latin and Byzantine Architecture

The Roman Empire Now split into
2 by Emperor Diocletian.
Only to be reunited by
Constantine in the 324 AD.
Constantine also legitimized
Christianity and thus making
Roman Empire a Christian
Empire.
Constantine moves the Capital
from Rome to Byzantium and
renames the city after himself as
Constantinople.
The empire had become too big to
manage. So Emperor Theodosius
divided it in 2 parts and gave one
part to each of his 2 sons.
The eastern half would be ruled
from Constantinople for another
1000 years. But The western half
ruled from Ravenna in the earlier
part and later on from Milan
would last only 80 years.
The single most important social
phenomenon of the Early
Christian period was the spread
and acceptance of the Christian
religion.
During the period from the first
century to the third century after
the death of Jesus, Christianity
was a secret society. This was due
to the fact that It was considered
dangerous and subversive by the
emperors that Christianity was
dangerous to their authority and
people used to believe that
Christians were a threat to their
old Pagan religion and beliefs.
Christians met secretly in tombs
and private houses in places
known as house churches.
Gradually, however, it spread and
became widely accepted in Asia
minor and in Rome itself.
The religion was tolerated but it
did not have any kind of legal
status until 313 AD.
Early Christian art and architecture is
the art produced by Christians or
under Christian patronage from the
earliest period of Christianity,
sometime between 260 to 525.

Christian art was necessarily and

deliberately furtive and ambiguous,
using imagery that was shared with
pagan culture but had a special
meaning for Christians. The earliest
surviving Christian art comes from the
late 2nd to early 4th centuries on the
walls of Christian tombs in the
catacombs of Rome.

Initially Jesus was represented

indirectly by pictogram symbols such
as the Ichthys (fish), peacock, Lamb of
God, or an anchor.
Early Christian Architecture

From several competing religions,

Christianity took a dominant role,
with its center moving eastward to
Constantinople (now Istanbul).

In design history, a time of conflicting

trends begins with the growth of the
European direction usually called
Early Christian design, the work
centering in the eastern empire
called Byzantine, and the emergence
of the later Romanesque style that
came to dominate medieval Europe.

These aspects of design history

overlap, interrelate, and to a degree
conflict, so that the period from the
“fall” of Rome, usually dated at 476,
until 1100 can seem disordered and
confusing.
House churches

The Dura-Europos church (also

known as the Dura-Europos house
church) is the earliest identified
Christian house church.

It is located in Dura-Europos in
Syria. It is one of the earliest
known Christian churches, and was
apparently a normal domestic
house converted for worship some
time between 233 and 256 AD.

It is both less famous and smaller

and less extensively decorated with
wall-paintings.
St. Clemente basilica, Rome
Early Christian Architecture
Basilica
With little money in hand of the Early
Christians, it was necessary for them
to adopt places of worship which
could be readily constructed.
Many of the Roman Temples, which
were now rendered useless for their
original purpose, were utilized for
the new faith, and in addition new
churches built on the model of the
old Roman basilicas, and formed of
columns and other features from
Pagan buildings, were erected.
The basilican church with three or
five aisles, covered by a wooden roof,
is the special type of the style as
opposed to the vaulted types of the
Byzantine style in which a circular
dome was placed over a square space
by means of the pendentive.
 Altar and
Apse

Aisle Aisle Nave Aisle Aisle

Basilica Ulpia, Rome
Basilica of Sant Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna
Santa Costanza, Rome
Basilica of Sant'ambrogio, Milan
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna
The building was
formerly the oratory
(a small chapel,
especially for private
worship) of the
Church of the Holy
Cross and now
contains three
sarcophagi.

The largest
sarcophagus was
thought to contain the
remains of Galla
Placidia (died 450),
daughter of the
Roman Emperor
Theodosius I.

Her embalmed body

was reportedly
deposited there in a
sitting position,
clothed with the
imperial mantle.
Fall of the Roman
Empire Timeline

A.D. 235-284

Crisis of the Third Century

Military leaders usurped
power, rulers died of
unnatural causes, revolts,
plagues, fires, Christian
persecutions.

A.D. 285-305

Diocletian splits the Roman

Empire in 2, and adds junior
emperors, so there are 4
caesars. When Diocletian
and Maximian abdicate,
there is civil war.

A.D. 306-337

Acceptance of Christianity
Constantine establishes
Christianity and creates a
capital for the Roman
Empire in the East, in
Constantinople.
Fall of the Roman
Empire Timeline

A.D. 360-363

Fall of Official Paganism

Julian the Apostate attempts to
reverse the religious trend to
Christianity.

August 9, 378 AD

Battle of Adrianople
Eastern Roman Emperor
Valens is defeated by the
Visigoths.

A.D. 379-395

East - West Split

Theodosius reunites the
Empire, but it doesn't last
beyond his reign. At his death,
the empire is divided by his
sons, Arcadius, in the East, and
Honorius, in the West.

A.D. 401-410
Sack of Rome Visigoths make
incursions into Italy and in the
end, under Alaric, sack Rome.
This is one date given for the
Fall of Rome.
Fall of the
Roman Empire
Timeline

A.D. 429-435

Vandals Sack North

Africa Vandals, under
Gaiseric, attack northern
Africa, cutting off Roman
grain supply.

A.D. 440-454

Huns Attack Huns under

the leadership of Attila
threaten Rome, are paid
off, and then attack.

A.D. 455

Vandals Sack Rome

A.D. 476

Fall of the Emperor of

Rome Last western
emperor, Romulus
Augustulus, is deposed by
the barbarian general
Odoacer who then rules
Italy.
 BYZANTINE
EMPIRE
Byzantine Empire was the
continuation of the Roman
Empire in the Greek-
speaking, eastern part of
the Mediterranean.

It survived the fragmentation

or the fall of Western
Roman empire in the 5th
Century and continued to
exist for another 1000 years.

Christian in nature, it was

perennially at war with the
Muslims, Flourishing during
the reign of the Macedonian
emperors, its demise was the
consequence of attacks by
Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, and
Ottoman Turks.
Byzantium was the name of a small, but important town which connects the Sea of Marmara and separates the continents of Europe and
Asia. In Greek times the town was at the frontier between the Greek and the Persian world. Later Byzantium became a town of growing
importance with it being the capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Byzantium Empire at its peak
 TIMELINE
285 AD – Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305) divided the Roman empire into Greek East and
Latin West.

324 – 330 AD - Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) main capital shifted from Rome to
Byzantium, later known as Constantinople and Nova Roma.

Theodosius I (r. 379–395), Christianity became the Empire's official state religion and others
such as Roman polytheism were prohibited.

Justinian I (r. 527–565), the Empire reached its greatest extent.

Heraclius (r. 610–641), the Empire adopted Greek for official use instead of Latin.

Maurice (r. 582–602), the Empire's eastern frontier was expanded. His assassination was
caused in the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628.

Macedonian dynasty (10th–11th centuries), the Empire again expanded and experienced the
two-century long Macedonian Renaissance, which came to an end with the loss of much of Asia
Minor to the Seljuk Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.

1453 – The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire.

BY Z A N T I N E M O SA I C A RT
St Mark's Basilica in Venice The presbytery of San Vitale Basilica, Ravenna
MOSAIC ART - HAGIA SOPHIA
The church was richly decorated with mosaics throughout the centuries. They either depicted the Virgin Mother, Jesus, saints, or emperors
and empresses. Other parts were decorated in a purely decorative style with geometric patterns.
Materials for Mosaic
Byzantine architecture are famous for its mosaics.
Made from small tiles called Tesserae, these grand
mosaics were made in situ or in the exact place they
were to be displayed. The kind of material would depend
upon what is available and what its purpose is.
On floor, to stand up to foot traffic, mosaics were made of
most durable materials. Colored limestone were
generally used. Marbles and granites were also used
but were harder to find. Terracotta was less durable,
but provided alternatives for reds and yellows.
Glass Tesserae reflects and refracts light, creating a
surface that sparkles as the viewer’s vantage changes.
These tiles were found on ceilings and walls.
Semi-precious stones and mother of pearls also
added luminosity and texture to mosaics.
 ICONS
Icons (from the Greek eikones) are sacred images representing the saints, Christ, and the Virgin, as well as narrative scenes
such as Christ's Crucifixion. While today the term is most closely associated with wooden panel painting, in Byzantium icons
could be crafted in all media, including marble, ivory, ceramic, gemstone, precious metal, enamel, textile, fresco, and mosaic.

Double–Sided Pendant Icon
with the Virgin and Christ
Pantokrator, ca. 1080–1120
Cloisonné enamel, gold; 1 5/16 x
15/16 x 1/16 in.
Icon with the Presentation of Christ in
the Temple, 1400–1500
Wood, painted, with gold ground;
17 1/2 x 16 5/8 in.
Portable Mosaic Icon with the Virgin
Eleousa, early 14th century Miniature
mosaic set in wax on wood panel with
gold, multicolored stones, and gilded
copper tesserae; 4 3/8 x 3 3/8 in.
 ICONOCLASM
Byzantine Iconoclasm refers to two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed
by religious and imperial authorities within the Eastern Church and the temporal imperial hierarchy. Traditional explanations for
Byzantine iconoclasm have sometimes focused on the importance of Islamic prohibitions against images influencing Byzantine thought.

Byzantine Iconoclasm, 9th century

A simple cross: example of iconoclast 14th century miniature of the destruction of

art in the Hagia Irene Church in a church under the orders of the iconoclast
Istanbul. emperor Constantine V Copronymus
 BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE
The apse of the church with cross
at Hagia Irene in Turkey.
The 11th-century monastery of Hosios
Loukas in Greece is representative of
the Byzantine art during the rule of
the Macedonian dynasty.
In Byzantine work, the classical detail of
Roman architecture faded in favor of limited
and freer use of such basics as the column
and its capital. The engineering skills of
ancient Rome were, however, retained and
further developed with skillful use of vaulting
and domed construction.
Stylistic drift, technological advancement and
political and territorial changes meant that a
distinct style gradually resulted in the Greek
cross plan in church architecture.
Buildings increased in geometric complexity,
brick and plaster were used in addition
to stone in the decoration of important
public structures, mosaics replaced carved
decoration, complex domes rested upon
massive piers, and windows filtered light
through thin sheets of alabaster.
 Pointed arch bridge
Pendentive dome is a construction
Karamagara Bridge in Cappadocia
solution which allows a circular dome
spanned 17 m is the earliest known
to be built atop a rectangular floor
bridge resting on a pointed arch dates
plan.
back to the 5th or 6th century AD .
Capitals sometimes took a
form derived from the
Roman Ionic or Corinthian,
or consisted in the lower
portion of a cube block
with rounded corners, over
which was placed a deep
abacus block, sometimes
called a "dosseret “.
Columns were used
constructively, but were
always subordinate
features, and often only
introduced to support
galleries, the massive
piers alone supporting the
superstructure.

A cross-in-
square or Greek
cross plan featuring a
square center with an
internal structure shaped
like a cross, topped by a
dome. Ex: Chora Church in
Constantinople
 SAN VITALE BASILICA, RAVENNA

The Basilica of San Vitale is a church in Ravenna, Italy, and one of the most important examples of early
Christian Byzantine art and architecture in western Europe. The building is styled in the Roman Catholic Church, though
it is not of architectural basilica form.
The church was begun by Bishop Ecclesius in 526, when Ravenna was under the rule of the Ostrogoths and completed by
the 27th Bishop of Ravenna, Maximian, in 547 preceding the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. The architect of the church
is unknown.
 ST. MARK'S BASILICA, VENICE

Venice was by situation one of the connecting links between the

Byzantine and Franconian empires, and a great depot of the traffic
between the East and West, which is evident in Venetian
architecture.
St. Mark, Venice was erected, for the most part, between AD 1063-
107I, the columns and marble mosaics to the exterior being added
between 1100-1350. The plan of S. Mark is in the form of a Greek
cross, of equal arms, covered by a dome in the center (42 feet in
diameter), and one over each arm of the cross, and is derived from
the Church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople. The vestibules
fill out the western arm of the cross to a square on plan.
The interior is richly veneered with colored marbles casing the
lower part of the walls ; above, and extending in one great surface
over vault and dome, is a lining of richly colored glass mosaic, in
which are worked figures of saints mingled with scenes from their
lives, set off by a broad background of gold. Mosaic, in fact, is the real
and essential decoration of the church, to which all architectural
detail is subordinated.
The external facade has five entrances, enriched with shafts of
many-colored marbles brought from Alexandria (Egypt) and the
ruined cities of the East. It must be remembered that this and the
external domes are a later casing upon the original exterior of the
usual Byzantine type.

Mosaic of the translation of the body of Saint Mark
The Horses of Saint Mark,
also known as the Triumphal
Quadriga, (a four-horse
carriage used for chariot
racing) is a set of bronze
statues of four horses,
originally part of a monument.
The horses were placed on the
facade, on the loggia above the
porch in 1204. They remained
there until looted by Napoleon
in 1797 but were returned in
1815. The sculptures have been
removed from the facade and
placed in the interior of St.
Mark's for conservation
purposes, with replicas in their
position on the loggia.

Detail of the gable showing Venice's patron apostle

(messenger) St. Mark with angels. Underneath is a
winged lion, the symbol of the saint and of Venice.
Byzantine churches are all
distinguished by a great central
square space covered with a
dome, supported by means of
pendentives. On each· side
extend short arms, forming a
Greek cross, which with the
narthex. and side galleries
make the plan nearly square