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CHAPTER IX
THE BUILDING OF ST. SOPHIA: THE ARCHITECTURAL WORK
OF JUSTINIAN
WHILST it is evident that the distinctive character of
Justinian impelled him to be incessantly active in every branch of the
monarchical profession, the devastation wrought at Constantinople by
the Nika rebellion might have awakened a passion for building in the
breast of the most phlegmatic Emperor. A mass of sightless ruins had
taken the place of those architectural adornments which are the essential
feature of a capital and the foundations of the dignity of a throne.
The restoration of the precincts of the Palace was the
most pressing necessity, and Justinian applied himself to the task without
a moment's delay. At the same time he determined
that the new buildings should surpass in beauty those which had been
destroyed, and he devoted himself to the restoration of the great metropolitan
church with especial zeal. More fortunate than Constantine, he had not
to complain that architects of reputation were undiscoverable; and in Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, he found men who
were capable of conceiving and executing great designs.
Neither history nor modern research enables us to explain
with fullness the origin and evolution of that variety of ecclesiastical
building which is recognized as typically Byzantine, and of which the
church of St. Sophia, erected by Justinian, remains to the present day
as the only decided prototype. The accounts which have come down to
us of the construction of this edifice indicate clearly that the architects
engaged in the work were attempting to do something which had not been
done before; or, at least, that their design, if not original, had never
to their knowledge been put into practice on so large a scale. Failure,
therefore, was a contingency with which they had to reckon, and, until
their scheme was completed, they had to be prepared to modify or even
to abandon their plan.
The Emperor had resolved that the proportions of the
new church should be much greater than those of the old one, and therefore
the extension of the site was the first requirement of his undertaking.
On the south side the ground was clear, but the open space of the Augusteum barred any encroachment in that direction. On the other three sides,
however, the area was hemmed in by various buildings, and several of
these were private property. Some of the difficulties encountered at
the outset, therefore, arose from the obstinacy of adjacent owners,
who refused to sell their lots at a reasonable price or to part with
them on any terms whatever. Obstacles of this class were the origin
of a crop of stories which obtained currency among the populace, who
were amused by hearing of the ruses adopted to defeat the wilfulness
of certain occupants. Their truth cannot now be tested, and in general
they may be disbelieved; but there seems to be some foundation for the
anecdote related of a widow named Anna, who stubbornly declined to negotiate
for the sale of her house. Nobles waited on her without result, and
at length the Emperor came in person and begged of her to name her terms.
Upon this she fell on her knees and declared that she would accept no
money for her freehold, but entreated him to take it as a gift to St. Sophia
on condition that she should be buried in the corner of the church whereon
her dwelling had stood. Her proposal was agreed to, and in after ages
the area in question continued to be pointed out as the "widow
Anna's lot". That trouble of this kind might be real enough may
be inferred from the absence of any legislation providing for the compulsory
sale of property required for public purposes in accordance with the
decision of a board of expert arbitrators.
As soon as the architects had matured their design for
the construction of the great edifice, the collection of the materials
required to bring their conceptions into substantial existence was in
itself an arduous task. The church was to be built of brick,
but its richness was to be derived from the liberal use of pillars and
slabs of polished marble in every available situation. An Imperial rescript
was despatched to the Rectors throughout the provinces, desiring them
to search their districts, and transmit to the capital any relics of
ruined and deserted temples which might be suitable for the Emperor's
purpose. In response to this appeal it is particularized that eight
porphyry columns, the remains of a temple of the Sun, were sent from
Rome, and eight of green marble from Ephesus; and we may assume that
a large quantity of such mementoes of polytheism were amassed at Constantinople
about this time, which, if not used for St. Sophia, were employed in
the restoration of other parts of the disfigured city. Much new marble
was, however, quarried in various localities widely distant in order
to obtain the variety of tints and variegated patterns needed to make
a brilliant display when placed in position throughout the building.
From Carystus came a light
green, and from the Phrygian mountains a rose-coloured marble diversified
with streaks of deep red and silver. Sparta supplied an emerald green,
and the Iassian hills a blood-red species veined with a livid white.
Much porphyry was floated down the Nile; in Lydia was found a bright-tinted
marble seamed with lines of red, and in Numidia a crocus-stained variety
which shone like gold. Atrax yielded a green
and blue marble resembling grass sprinkled with cornflowers; and lastly
there was an abundant supply of the coarse white kind in the adjacent Isle of Proconnesus.
Having cleared and surveyed the site, the architects
drew out the plans of the church and fixed the interior measurements
at 270 x 230 feet. The central portion of this area was to be covered
by a dome having a diameter of 107 feet, which should overhang the pavement
at a height of 160 feet. No roof of any magnitude, elevated in this
manner, was known to them, of which the dome was not upheld by frequent
supports, so that free movement from end to end of the building was
obstructed by their presence. Anthemius and Isidorus, however,
determined that the nave of their church should lie open for its full
width in a clear sweep from the main entry to the apse, in which stood
the Patriarch’s throne.
In the central area, therefore, at the corners of a quadrangular
space, they raised four piers of massive proportions to uphold an equal
number of arches, each of which was to have a span of 100 feet. Blocks
of stone were used for the construction of these piers, and, instead
of mortar, melted lead was poured into the interstices to knit them
more firmly together. At each corner, the triangular intervals left
above the junctions of the arches were filled up with brickwork, and
thus were formed four pendentives to sustain the base of the dome. To
resist the thrust of the great arches, four lesser ones, two on each
side, crossed the aisles of the church to the external walls, which
in that position were provided with heavy masses of masonry to receive
them.
Forty windows ranged in a great circle perforated the
base of the dome, which was divided by an equal number of ribs converging
from the circumference to its vertex.
From the base of the dome the roof was led down by a
pair of semi-domes to the east and west walls, and completed on each side by vaulted archings which joined the lateral walls. The nave was separated from the aisles
by rows of lofty columns with sculptured capitals, on which rested a
series of arches to support the women's galleries. From them lesser
pillars, more numerous, reached to the roof; and each corner of the
nave proceeded by a semicircular sweep to
meet the Royal Door and the apse. On the west a narthex extended all across the church, and above it the galleries became continuous
in an area posterior to the nave. The building was flooded with light
from windows which in great number passed through the external walls
in every direction.
As soon as the containing structure was completed, the
decoration and furniture of the interior was pursued with equal zeal.
All vacant surfaces in the lower part of the edifice, including the
floor, were invested with slabs of marble, showing the greatest diversity
of hue and pattern; and the roof was coated with gold mosaic relieved
in prominent positions with coloured figures of a sacred type. A cross
appeared at the highest point of the dome, and colossal cherubim occupied
the four pendentives. Angels at full length were depleted in suitable
spaces and the whole was bordered by intricate designs in variously-tinted
mosaic.
For the consecrated furniture of the church, the precious
metals and gems were requisitioned at great cost. The iconostasis, fifty
feet wide, which crossed the apse to shut off the Bema, was completely
encased in silver. It stood by means of twelve pillars arranged in pairs,
back to back, the intervening portions of the screen being encrusted
with images of angels and apostles with the Virgin in the centre. The
holy table was a mass of gold and precious stones,
and was covered by a ciborium resting on four pillars, the whole
being of silver. Silken curtains, richly embroidered with appropriate
designs, hung between the pillars. Beneath the dome was placed an elaborate
ambo of unusual dimensions, approached on the east and west by flights
of steps. It was built of marble, elevated on pillars, and enclosed
by a circle of short columns rising from the pavement. Countless lamps
suspended by rods and chains from the roof illuminated the church at
night.
Alter five and a half years of labour St. Sophia was
opened at Christmas (537), and made the occasion
of a great popular festival with a liberal scattering of largess. The
Patriarch Menas rode in the royal chariot to the entrance, while the
Emperor walked alongside of him among the people. Filled with enthusiasm,
Justinian advanced to the ambo, and, looking around, with his arms extended,
exclaimed, "Glory be to God for thinking me worthy to finish such
a work; Solomon, I have excelled you!"
While her consort was absorbed in the erection of St.
Sophia, Theodora interested herself especially in the restoration of
the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had become dilapidated through
age. A different design was here followed, the form of a cross being
given to this edifice, which was surmounted by five domes, one in each
of the branches, and a central one at their intersection. Church building
now became one of Justinian's habitual pursuits, and for many years
he continued to embellish the Empire with these samples of his religious
devotion. In the city and its immediate suburbs, on the Golden Horn
and the Bosphorus, new or renovated places
of worship continually rose into sight. At Jerusalem a church to the
Virgin was constructed with exceptional magnificence, and the numerous
religious bodies congregated in that city were handsomely housed by
the Imperial exchequer.
The Emperor’s contributions to secular architecture were
not less noteworthy than his pious foundations. The vestibule of Chalke
was restored in a very costly manner as a quadrangular hall, with an
imposing roof made up of arches and vaults supported on four square
columns. This chamber was constituted as a memorial of the wars of Justinian,
and the walls were covered with scenes of battle and triumph executed
in mosaic. In a prominent position the Imperial couple were depicted
as standing among the members of their Court, while the captives and
trophies of victory were displayed before them by Belisarius.
The Emperor also commemorated his reign by raising public
monuments in the capital to himself and his partner on the throne. In
the Augusteum, a pyramidal pedestal, rising
by steps from a broad base, supported a pillar on which stood an equestrian
statue of Justinian in martial costume, holding in one hand the globe
and cross, whilst the other was extended with a warning gesture towards
the land of the Persians. On the eastern margin of the city, where the Bosphorus meets the Propontis,
Justinian laid out an esplanade, marble-paved and colonnaded, which
he adorned with a variety of sculptures wrought by artists of the period.
A splendid pedestal of porphyry, fit to support an empress, occupied
the centre, upholding a handsome statue which portrayed the "ineffable
beauty of Theodora, as nearly as a mortal chisel could express it".
This figure was a gift from the citizens, in grateful recognition of
the construction of this pleasure-resort.
To increase the water storage of the capital, two underground
cisterns were excavated on a larger scale than had been attempted by
any previous Emperor. The first of these, on the west side of the Hippodrome,
was formed beneath the deserted palace of Illus,
the notorious rebel in the reign of Zeno, with a roof upborne by 224 crudely-fashioned pillars. The second, of much grander conception,
was situated at a short distance to the north, contiguous to the Royal
Court of Justice. With 420 columns, whose capitals were sculptured in
conformity with the rules of Greek art, this cistern conveyed the impression
of a submerged palace rather than of an interior designed to exist in
perpetual obscurity.
Justinian was also indefatigable in beautifying provincial
towns and in executing such works of public utility as might relieve
the inhabitants from any disadvantages of topographical position. In
fact, the multiplicity, variety, and magnificence of the buildings which
emanated from the constructive zeal of this Emperor induced the chief
historian of the period to devote a separate treatise to the enumeration
and description of them, an honour which does not seem to have fallen
to the lot of any other sovereign.
One of his earliest cares was the aggrandisement of his
birthplace, and the hamlet of Tauresium was
transformed into the fortified outpost of a flourishing city created
by the fiat of its illustrious son. Under the significant title of Justiniana Prima Scupi was elevated to the rank of capital
of Illyricum, and endowed by the Emperor's munificence with everything
requisite to render it worthy of its new importance. A praetorium, churches,
squares, porticoes, baths, and an aqueduct, built with lavish expenditure,
illustrated the site; and, to complete its dignity, the archbishopric
of the Diocese was transferred to, or reconstructed in its name. In
the same district he founded a town to perpetuate the memory of his uncle, and called it Justinopolis.
He was, however, liberal to excess in the bestowal of his own name or
that of his wife on all places indebted to him for restorations or improvements;
and about a score of towns had their identity concealed under the appellation
of Justinian, whilst almost half as many found themselves represented
as specially Theodorian.
Among the most important works of Justinian in Asia Minor
was the protection of towns from river floods, to which the conformation
of that country rendered many districts peculiarly liable. To obviate
disasters of this kind in genius feats of engineering were carried out
in several instances. Cara, Circesium, Edessa,
Zenobia, Helenopolis, Juliopolis, and Tarsus,
were the worst sufferers in respect of their fluviatile vicinage. By
means of walls, embankments, dams, cutting away of obstacles, and the
provision of emergency channels these towns were secured for the future
from damage by inundation. As a specimen of the magnitude of some of
these operations the case of Edessa best deserves to be cited.
The course of the river Scirtus,
as it approached that city, was restrained on one side by a rocky and
precipitous bank, whilst a tract of low ground extended for a considerable
distance on the other. Hence, in flood time, a vast volume of water
rolled over the flat and, entering the town, swept everything away before
it. The abolition of this source of destruction was effected by reversing the natural relations of the river banks. Along the shallow
margin a wall was built of sufficient strength
to resist the overflow, and the rocky boundary opposite was broken away
until the ground was made level with the surface of the water. From
this side a canal was then cut, which skirted the city and rejoined the Scirtus after its issue from the walls.
Bridge building was also undertaken successfully, the most notable examples
being that over the Sangaris near Nicomedia,
and one of stone which replaced the old wooden bridge across the Golden
Horn.
Fortification engrossed much of Justinian's attention,
and his constructions in that category exceeded, perhaps, in bulk all
the rest of his architectural work. The repair and rebuilding of walls,
the substitution of effective for inadequate mural defences, and the
strategical modification of sites, went on continually throughout the
Empire. Constantina, the new post of the Duke
of Mesopotamia, was raised to the rank of a first-class fortress, but
the most elaborate works for the purpose of martial defence were executed
at Dara, which still existed as the main bulwark against Persian invasion.
The fortifications of Anastasius had been hastily built, and consisted
of an uncoursed stone wall, laid without mortar, about fifty feet high.
The town was exposed to attack over one stretch of ground only, as in
its greatest extent it lay along the edge of a rocky declivity unassailable
by an enemy. Justinian consolidated the original wall, closed its battlements
so that they became mere loopholes, and raised it thirty feet higher.
The towers were similarly treated and elevated until they overtopped
the wall to an equal extent. A covered gallery ran through its whole-length,
from which the soldiers could assail the enemy with their arrows from
the numerous loopholes. For still greater security, however, a second
wall of smaller dimensions than the first, also with towers, but solid,
was erected at a short distance in front of the first, and from the
top of this rampart the main body of the military were active in repelling
an assault. Lastly, a moat was excavated and led along so as to make a crescentic sweep from one end of the assailable-wall
to the other.
In addition to fortifying cities the Emperor built very
numerous forts along the frontiers, and more than six hundred of these are named as being in the vicinity of the Danube. Where the
configuration of a region favoured it, whole provinces were shut off
by defensive walls against hostile inroads. This was especially the
case at the pass of Thermopylae, the isthmus of Corinth, and the entrance
to the Thracian Chersonesus, where existing barriers were now restored to
efficiency. The Long Wall of Anastasius has already been mentioned,
but this bulwark proved less obstructive to the barbarians than had
been anticipated, owing to its having been made permeable continuously
from end to end. Justinian, therefore, divided it into sections, each
of which he separately garrisoned, so that an enemy could not by the
capture of one portion obtain the command of the whole, and thus win
a free passage into the suburbs of the capital.
ROME IN THE SIXTH CENTURY : WAR
WITH THE GOTHS IN ITALY
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