Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Islamic and Byzantine empire Architecture


Hagia Sophia and The Dome of the Rock are very important architectures in the two empires. Byzantine and Islamic Empire. The Dome of the Rock was a shrine while the Hagia Sophia was a church. Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock were both the main architects in the empires. The dome of the rock was built with a 60 foot dome while the Hagia Sophia was also built with a dome but 102 foot meaning their building was much taller. The architecture from the byzantine empire, as represented by the Hagia Sophia, and the Islamic empire, as represented by the Dome of the Rock, have similar designs yet where and why they were built explains the differences between the two empires.
The dome of the rock was built on top of Temple Mount, Jerusalem; it was a very sacred place to the Islamic empire. It was accomplished after only 5 months. It was a shrine and also a pilgrimage to the Islamic Empire. It was built as an octagonal shape with a wooden dome that was 60 feet above the floor. The columns around the inside of the building where each 20 feet long, 16 of them around the inside. The inside and outside had many windows, that fit all around the building. The building was so sacred that no one was allowed to go inside it was a place for people to pray at. It was also the first monumental building in Islamic history. The people that built the Dome were inspired by the Hagia Sophia, in the Byzantine Empire, to make their architect much similar.
Hagia Sophia was built after 5 years of construction. In 559 A.D. an earthquake destroyed the church making the rehabilitation so much harder. It was rebuilt in 689 A.D., but a little smaller, but still the same foundation. This architecture was called the mystical building. The Hagia Sophia was built with a column in every corner equaling out to 4. There were 40 windows all together around 4 acres.  Its location is by the sea so that when any boats pass by they see the meaning of the Byzantine Empire.  Hagia Sophia was the greatest structure during that time period. The purpose of the building was to show that the church and the state were joined as one.  

1.       The Byzantine and Islamic empire spread their religion through what there architect looked like
a.       Describe architecture
                                                               i.      Dome, columns, and floor
b.      Measurements
                                                               i.      Why that tall?

2.       The Byzantine and Islamic empire picked two special locations.
a.       Location selection/
                                                               i.      How was it religious
                                                             ii.      Where it was and why?
b.      Sacred
                                                               i.      Why
3.       The Byzantine and Islamic Empire had an important use
a.       What they’re used for
                                                               i.      Can they go into the building
b.      Who else went there
                                                               i.      Why?


Citations:

"BibleWalks.com - Holy Land Sites Review, Tours & Photos." BibleWalks.com - Holy Land Sites Review, Tours & Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. http://www.biblewalks.com/

"Baylor University | A Nationally Ranked Christian University, Undergraduate & Graduate Research Colleges Universities Schools in Texas." Baylor University | A Nationally Ranked Christian University, Undergraduate & Graduate Research Colleges Universities Schools in Texas. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. <http://www.baylor.edu/>.

"Boston University." Boston University. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. <http://www.bu.edu/>.


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