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AP®︎/College Art History
Course: AP®︎/College Art History > Unit 5
Lesson 1: Medieval art in Europe- Introduction to the middle ages
- Christianity, an introduction for the study of art history
- Architecture and liturgy
- The life of Christ in medieval and Renaissance art
- A New Pictorial Language: The Image in Early Medieval Art
- Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome
- Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome
- Santa Sabina
- Jacob wrestling the angel, Vienna Genesis
- Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, Vienna Genesis
- A beginner's guide to Byzantine Art
- San Vitale, Ravenna
- Justinian Mosaic, San Vitale
- Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
- Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
- Theotokos mosaic, apse, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
- Hagia Sophia as a mosque
- Fibulae
- Deësis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
- Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George
- The Lindisfarne Gospels
- The Lindisfarne Gospels
- The Bayeux Tapestry
- The Bayeux Tapestry - Seven Ages of Britain - BBC One
- Church and Reliquary of Sainte‐Foy, France
- Chartres Cathedral
- Bible moralisée (moralized bibles)
- Saint Louis Bible (moralized bible)
- The Golden Haggadah
- Röttgen Pietà
- Röttgen Pietà
- Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 1)
- Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 2)
- Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 3)
- Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 4)
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Hagia Sophia as a mosque
Hagia Sophia, a Byzantine church, was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman Turks invaded. This change preserved the building and symbolized the sultan's power. Key modifications included covering mosaics, adding Arabic calligraphy, and reorienting the interior towards Mecca. The addition of pencil minarets became a distinctive feature of Ottoman architecture. Speakers: Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker and Beth Harris.
Want to join the conversation?
- Is Hagia Sophia Turkish for something?(5 votes)
- Hagia Sophia is Greek for "holy wisdom." (Just think of English words with Greek roots -- "Haiga" as in a HAGIOgraphy, a biography of a saint; and "Sophia" as in philoSOPHY, love of wisdom.) Today, Turks call it Ayasofya, a Turkification of the original name.(30 votes)
- Around: I don't understand the controversy. 6:07(10 votes)
- Having the same number of minarets as the mosque in Mecca could easily be construed to mean that the Blue Mosque was equal to the mosque in Mecca. Considering the importance of Mecca in Islam, you can see why it would be controversial to imply that anything else could be equal to it. This is also addressed more in the next article about the Blue Mosque itself.(15 votes)
- What does pantocrator mean ?(6 votes)
- Pantocrator comes from the Greek panto meaning all or everything and crator meaning ruler. Pantocrator= the ruler of all. In early Christian art Christ Pantocrator or Christ the ruler of all was a popular theme. It's usually a frontal portrait of Christ as the almighty king, and refers to his role as the judge of all humans when the last judgement comes.(15 votes)
- Why is the Hagia sophia so large(4 votes)
- Because Emperor Justinian wanted to demonstrate his power by building the most magnificent church in all of Christendom.(3 votes)
- the video says that only some key features were changed or added to convert hagia Sophia in to a mosque. but looking at the building exterior and the small details crafted ...I mean they are so much like mosque and not like a church. I have seen many churches but not even a single like this one. I may lack in knowledge but someone has to explain this to me.........plus its disturbing to me why was it converted to a masjid...Islam prohibits this.....it should have been made a worship place for both Muslims and Christians.(3 votes)
- Eastern-style churches look different than Western-style churches. For example:
Church of St. Sava (Serbia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_Sava
Hagia Eirene (Turkey): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Irene
Little Hagia Sophia (Turkey): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Hagia_Sophia
Pantocrator monastery (Turkey): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeyrek_Mosque
So you can see that Hagia Sophia does look like a church. It's just a different architectural style.(3 votes)
- This whole thing does not make sense.(1 vote)
- Why were the pictures scraped of at? 2:08(3 votes)
- Great question. You can find the answer here: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/byzantine1/constantinople-east/v/deesis-mosaic(2 votes)
- What parts of the Hagia Sophia has elements that are eastern?(3 votes)
- How are the muslim scripture placed there, What does it mean?(1 vote)
- The large gold calligraphy on medallions (wood covered in leather) show names: the names of Allah, Muhammed, two of his grandsons, and four caliphs according to Wikipedia.(4 votes)
- a very informative video but could Prof. Lewis please slow down a bit? She talks so fast there is the sense that a certain amount of text must be spoken in a very limited amount of time. Why the rush? High speed talk is not in keeping with the subject.(1 vote)
- After you start the video, click on the little "gear shaped" icon at the bottom of the screen, and select speed. You can slow her down or speed her up, and catch it all.(3 votes)
Video transcript
(lively piano music) Voiceover: We think of Hagia
Sophia as a Byzantine church but it also has this whole other life after the invasion of the Ottoman Turks. Voiceover: We tend to forget about that. We tend to focus on this
amazing Byzantine building and we forget about its
afterlife and history from 1453 until the establishment of the Turkish Republic
when it became a museum. Voiceover: Buildings are living things and they accrue meaning and they change as societies
around them change. This is just such a stark example. Voiceover: Because it
was the most important Byzantine church it was an obvious thing for conversion. Because mosques and churches are spaces for congregations changing a few key things allow you to re-purpose the
building almost immediately. Voiceover: Constantinople
was the primary city in the Byzantine East. It seems this treasure and within the city the
real jewel was this church. Voiceover: As the Byzantine Empire had been in financial decline and shrinking in terms of territory, this was one of the few
things that got maintained and was still in good conditions where lots of other
things in Constantinople weren't in great shape when the Ottoman Turks took it in 1453. Voiceover: I've read that
the population had plummeted. Voiceover: Because of that a lot of the smaller church's walls
weren't in great shape but this building still was. It was an obvious thing to convert and also it's got prime position. You can see it's very
close to the Bosphorus and it's also where a lot of key buildings later on are going to be built by the Ottoman Turks. It's unsurprising that
this was the first thing that was adapted and modified. Voiceover: Because it was adapted, because it was turned
from an orthodox church into a mosque, it survived. Voiceover: It becomes
a symbol of authority because if this was the symbol
of the Byzantine Empires religious authority and
the emperor's authority, this then by converting it having it become a mosque is a symbol of the
sultan's power in the city and throughout the empire. It has a huge symbolic
quality of sovereignty. Voiceover: What evidence do
we have of that conversion? Voiceover: The most obvious things are the covering up of the mosaics. They removed some of the later paint and plastering you can see them. Voiceover: The mosaics were covered up not because the Muslims don't recognize Christ as at least a prophet but because of the prohibition of figural imagery especially
within a religious space. Voiceover: Certainly that and also Christ when he is depicted he's not depicted as Christ, he's Jesus, and he's a prophet. He doesn't appear with Mary. He doesn't appear as Christ Pantocrator which is this very typical image in Eastern Orthodox churches. You can't have him being
shown in those ways because those are very
Christian depictions of Jesus. Voiceover: While we may
not have figural images we certainly have lots of symbols. Voiceover: Probably the most
obvious thing when you come in are the enormous bits
of Arabic calligraphy. Calligraphy is perhaps the most important Islamic art. Arabic in the word is critical to the foundation of Islam because the belief is
that Mohammed recited the words of God as told to him directly. Arabic is very important. What's interesting to me of course is that a lot of these round drills which were later additions
they're in Arabic so a lot of the community
couldn't read them. Voiceover: Even though they were Muslim this still would have
been a foreign language. Voiceover: Of course
because they spoke Turkish. When you walk into Hagia Sophia you walk in and you
proceed towards the [aps] and everything looks normal until you notice that
the mihrab is off center. Voiceover: The mihrab is the niche at the far end of the building that is a way of pointing towards Mecca. Voiceover: It's really the important thing because it has to tell you which direction you're supposed to pray and the thing is it's off center here because that's the direction of Mecca. Voiceover: In fact I noticed that not only is the mihrab off center but all of the architectural
elements that in case it, that is the platform on which it's placed and the staircase to the right, the minbar are all oriented together but in opposition to the
church that surrounds it. Voiceover: You don't notice it unless you're really paying attention. We also have the platform for the muezzin to make the call to prayer within the mosque, and then we also have the Sultan's lodge all of which are oriented more towards the south than east the way the building is oriented. You can have these interior additions which reorient the space
in a very powerful way. Voiceover: I want to go
back to the Sultan's lodge because it's just magnificent. Voiceover: It's gorgeous. The sultan held a very special position. He's the political authority but around him developed
a cult of personality. He was viewed as being divinely appointed. His person is sacred and there were very strict protocols that developed in terms
of who could talk to him. In many ways later on
in the Ottoman Empire he gets very isolated, but this is how he would come and worship. He has his own entrance and then he has his own
elaborate procession way in. There's a whole balcony that he would be able to walk into. Everyone could see him but no one could touch him. Also, it's elevated. It's not on the same level. He's on a different plain above. Voiceover: Then probably
the most obvious addition are the incredible minarets outside. Voiceover: These four very
tall, thin pencil minarets. Pencil minarets and domes are what everyone comes to associate
with Ottoman architecture. They're the quintessential
features of mosque architecture but also of the Ottoman urban landscape. Voiceover: By pencil minaret you're distinguishing them
from the thicker minarets that you see maybe in Egypt. The purpose of the minaret was as a high place to call
the faithful to prayer. Voiceover: In some sense
is it's very functional. The muezzin goes up and he calls everyone to prayer. It's a much better position for doing that than on the ground. Your voice can travel much further. Today we can see the
speakers, the megaphones. Voiceover: They woke me up this morning. Voiceover: They also provide
you with a great opportunity to define your skyline. By building in a distinctive style it asserts who you are and what your identity is but it also helps all of us today who are looking at these buildings go, pencil minarets must be Ottomans. It's a really clear distinguishing feature because you don't get
them in Central Asia. You don't get them in Iran. You really only get them where the Ottoman Empire had a presence. There are two earlier ones. One built by Mahmed II
and then one by Sinan, the famous architect who built many of the
great monuments in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire. Then we have two more that
were added by Murad III, a sultan from the late 16th century. The number of minarets
you have is significant. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or the Blue Mosque which is right opposite
Hagia Sophia has six which was a bit of a
controversy when it was built because that's the number Mecca had. Voiceover: The Blue Mosque
is such a great example of the kind of impact that
Hagia Sophia as a mosque had on the architecture
throughout the city. Voiceover: You can't underestimate the importance of Hagia Sophia both in terms of the use
of domes and its plan, and as we go and look at other mosque and as you look at different
Ottoman creations here you'll start to see that no matter how much there is innovation, and there is huge innovation, Hagia Sophia is always somewhere lurking in the back of an architect's mind. Voiceover: I can see why. (lively piano music)