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Byzantine

A beginner's guide to Byzantine art and culture

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A beginner's guide to Byzantine Art

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Iconoclastic controversies

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Constantinople and the East

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Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

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Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

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Theotokos mosaic, apse, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

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Deësis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

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The Emperor Triumphant (Barberini Ivory)

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Hagia Sophia as a mosque

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Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George

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Ivory panel with Archangel

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The Paris Psalter

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Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy

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Hagia Sophia (quiz)Get 5 of 6 questions to level up!

Venice and Ravenna

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San Vitale, Ravenna

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Justinian Mosaic, San Vitale

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Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna

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Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice

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Plunder, war, and the Horses of San Marco

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San Vitale (quiz)Get 4 of 5 questions to level up!

Quiz: Byzantine art

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Byzantine art (quiz)Get 6 of 8 questions to level up!

About this unit

Brought to you by Smarthistory. Constantinople (now Istanbul) was the capital of the late Roman empire, but its ethereal mosaics, ivories, and metalwork often depart from classical naturalism.