Saint Thomas, the Apostle of India
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The Hagia Sophia, the timeless architectural marvel of Christianity and the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey), is renowned around the world for its exceptionally beautiful and stunning Byzantine mosaics, among many other things.
These spectacular mosaics have managed to survive for centuries and are part of a rich religious and political history from the 6th to 14th centuries AD. They provide us with a truly spectacular and captivating visual journey through the fascinating and inspiring history of the Byzantine Empire.
The earliest mosaic that we can see in the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia, which is Greek for “Holy Wisdom,” dates back to the period after the end of Iconoclasm in 843 AD.
Iconoclasm was the practice of rejecting or even attacking icons depicting Jesus Christ, God, and other religious figures of Christianity. It involved destruction of images, monuments, and symbols that were widely accepted or revered by many Christians across the empire. Iconoclasts were the proponents of this ideology against the depiction of anything related to God. They engaged in acts of vandalism.
Prior to this, the church had no figural mosaics due to the ban on religious imagery, something that had caused severe ideological, religious, and political clashes across the empire.
The oldest surviving mosaic is the Theotokos, Greek for Virgin Mary, and Christ Child in the apse. According to experts, this mosaic likely replaced an earlier cross mosaic from the Iconoclastic period that most probably only depicted a cross. This 9th-century artistic and religious masterpiece underwent some restoration in the 14th century, a few decades before the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.
The mosaic art in Hagia Sophia reached its zenith between the 10th and 12th centuries. It was during that timeframe that the greatest Christian temple of the Roman Empire was adorned with exquisite imperial portraits. These portraits primarily covered the upper galleries of the church.
There was the Emperor Alexander mosaic from the early 10th century, the Empress Zoe mosaic from the 11th century, depicting Christ with Emperor Constantine IX along with Empress Zoe, and the Comnenus mosaic from 1122 AD. This shows Emperor John II Comnenus, Empress Irene, and their son Alexios. They are notable examples of this rich period of many mosaic additions.
Another 12th-century masterpiece is the Deësis mosaic, portraying Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. These mosaics showcase spectacular workmanship and detailed portraiture, glorifying the imperial family of the time and showing the advanced artistic capabilities of the Byzantine artists.
The Hagia Sophia mosaics are unique and represent the ultimate example of Byzantine craftsmanship. They are the only surviving examples of Byzantine mosaics from such a lengthy time period. They cover the 6th to 14th centuries. This time period was punctuated by significant historical and political changes across the Roman world.
Set against a typically Byzantine shimmering gold background that reflects light, many of these mosaics are positioned at ceremonial locations around the temple. Examples of these locations include the area above the Imperial Door, where emperors would ceremoniously enter the temple.
The mosaics masterfully combine religious iconography with imperial portraits, emphasizing the Byzantine connection between church and state and showing the importance the secular power of the empire placed on the religious one and vice versa.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Hagia Sophia was instantly converted into a mosque.
Although Islamic tradition strongly discourages the use of figural imagery in religious contexts—just like the proponents of Iconoclasm—the Ottoman rulers did not immediately destroy the exquisite Byzantine mosaics. Instead, many mosaics were simply covered with whitewash and plaster to prevent worshipers from viewing them.
At the same time, major ones like the Theotokos in the apse remained uncovered for centuries for unknown reasons. It wasn’t until the 18th and 19th centuries that the mosaics were fully plastered over during renovations of the Hagia Sophia by the Ottoman authorities.
The mosaics of Hagia Sophia are undoubtedly unrivaled masterpieces of Byzantine art. They offer us beautiful and captivating historical evidence of the true extent of the grandeur of the often misinterpreted Byzantine Empire.
Despite the Ottoman conquest and devastating results it brought upon many Christian monuments across the Byzantine Empire, these mosaics managed to survive for centuries. Recent restoration work has also uncovered many of the hidden treasures that hadn’t been seen for centuries.
