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Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul

Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul

Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul

John Freely, Bosphorus University, Istanbul
Ahmet S. Çakmak, Princeton University, New Jersey
March 2004
Hardback
9780521772570
Out of Print
Hardback
Paperback

    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

    See more reviews

    Product details

    March 2004
    Hardback
    9780521772570
    342 pages
    288 × 226 × 30 mm
    1.541kg
    Unavailable - out of print

    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.
      Authors
    • John Freely , Bosphorus University, Istanbul

      John Freely is Professor of Physics at the University of the Bosphorus in Istanbul. He is the author and co-author of more than thirty books on travel, including the renowned Strolling Through Istanbul and, most recently, Istanbul, the Imperial City and Inside the Seraglio.

    • Ahmet S. Çakmak , Princeton University, New Jersey

      Ahmet S. Çakmak is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering and Operations Research at Princeton University. He has written extensively on aspects of Byzantine architecture and served as co-editor of Hagia Sophia: From The Age Of Justinian To The Present.