Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul
This is the story of the Byzantine monuments of Istanbul, the city known in the medieval period as Constantinople and in classical antiquity as Byzantium. Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire from 330 until 1453 and was renowned for the beauty and grandeur of its churches and palaces. The extant Byzantine monuments of Istanbul include more than twenty churches, most notably Hagia Sophia, as well as the remains of the land and sea walls, the Hippodrome, imperial palaces, commemorative columns, reservoirs and cisterns, an aqueduct, a triumphal archway, and a fortified port. They are described here in chronological order and in the context of their times, through the political, religious, social, economic, intellectual, and artistic developments in the dynasties that came to power during the turbulent Byzantine Age. A major part of the architectural and artistic heritage of Byzantium, these monuments also serve as a link between the world of classical antiquity and the new epochs of early modern Europe and the Ottoman Empire.
- Only book devoted to the Byzantine monuments of Istanbul, describing structures in detail
- Puts monuments into historical context of Byzantine Constantinople
- The most complete photographic record of all the Byzantine monuments of Istanbul to date
Reviews & endorsements
'… brings together a useful range of illustrations. Its accessibility makes it a useful point-of-departure for those interested in the history and monuments of undoubtedly one of the world's greatest cities.' Minerva
'A beautifully presented book.' Church Building
'… perhaps the best survey ever written for the general reader - a genuine triumph …' Cornucopia
Product details
December 2009Paperback
9780521179058
342 pages
280 × 215 × 21 mm
1.266kg
Unavailable - out of print January 2015
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Byzantium
- 2. The city of Constantine
- 3. The imperial capital
- 4. The late Roman city
- 5. The reign of Justinian
- 6. Hagia Sophia
- 7. Justinian's other buildings
- 8. The medieval city
- 9. The Macedonian Dynasty
- 10. The Comnenus Dynasty
- 11. The Latin occupation
- 12. The Palaeologus Dynasty
- 13. The fall of Byzantium.