Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, 532-37 (architects: Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles)
A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

[@innosanto]

The Greek architect that was responsible for the dome, Isidore of Miletus, produced the first comprehensive compilation of Archimedes' work. He studies alot Archimedes and also Euclid.

[@Sc00byDude]

Such a beautiful breakdown of the history and architecture. I've been watching Smarthistory videos for years and this is now my favorite one!

[@smarthistory-art-history]

We also like that one.

[@Lambonius]

Awesome--I've been waiting ages for you guys to do Hagia Sophia!

[@archfaith]

Me too!

[@nsbd90now]

These mini-documentaries are terrific and the tag-team narrators are excellent!

[@carryonlaughing9867]

A wonderful building to visit. Absolutely a must see if in Istanbul. There is so much to see inside. Give yourself at least a few hours for a proper look. Thanks for this excellent & informative video.

[@michaelhealy1590]

You are a great teaching team. Thank you so very much.

[@Spooky_man]

This building was some hundred years old when Vikings visited... Does that give you an idea of how old this building is?

[@Spooky_man]

@@Hakanerdmmm Good guess!!! But the one that Justinian built in 532 AD is the current one...

[@Hakanerdmmm]

Server_owner hahaha i am From İstanbul bro i dont known it 😂 but vikings write i known Maybe 9or 10 th century write?

[@thisguy4345]

Its was much older then the vikings era..

[@bhatfirdous1081]

Omg This place is so old.

[@ranjitmallick7177]

This is established in year of 360.

[@catedoge3206]

I'm taking an art history class. This video is bomb.

[@alexkretsmann9422]

Hagia=Holy in greek language, Sophia=wisdom in greek language, of course, because Byzantines were greek speaking.

[@pp-iw7qv]

Officially they spoke Latin, but of course the commoners spoke Greek.

[@user-yw4fz6xk2j]

They court only spoke Latin, and that until 600 AD

[@photios4779]

@@pp-iw7qv Latin was of course used throughout the Roman empire as a language of government and court as long as Rome was its capital. But when Constantinople became a second capital under Constantine and even more so with the fall of the western (Latin speaking) part of the empire, the status of Latin in the east fell into decline. The Greek language that most eastern Roman citizens spoke completely replaced Latin soon thereafter.

[@Demosthenes84]

@@pp-iw7qv nah after justinian the first greek became the main language of the empire. Only law and church readings were still done in latin. The majority of constantinople spoke Greek for over a thousand years

[@stung39]

@@Demosthenes84 But they were defeated by the mongols And Istanbul has been untouched and was never invaded since 1453

[@user-yw4fz6xk2j]

This building is a reminder that Dark Ages is a thing of western Europe. May I remind you this was built in 537 AD, closer to ancient Athens than modern age, and 700 years before the gothic cathedrals, spectacular in size and colour, but architecturally following the old basilica model, a big elaborate corridor. The first time Catholic Europe copied this design was St. Peter, 1000 years later!!! The first building to combine a rectangular base with a round dome, using complex principles of mathematics and physics, and so the model for every cathedral, mosque, or public building with a dome in the world. I always thought it is unappreciated for its importance, as the other big Greek contribution to humanity, along with the Parthenon.

[@daveunbelievable6313]

@@user-yw4fz6xk2j Churches east and west were vastly different long before the schism and really going back to antiquity. There had been stark differences in doctrine, structures of authority and liturgy cutting across the eastern and western lines of the empire, this reflected the linguistic barrier between Latin and Greek speaking communities. Historically which practises and beliefs you saw as normative were largely down to where you were born.

[@u3u36]

There's no "dark age", it's just a dumb terminology.

[@ramanujam6363]

@@u3u36 0

[@irritatedkitty7301]

@@u3u36 Dark ages is probably correct description since antibiotics didn't exist, legal system was archaic along with other "marvels" and "ideas" and if you don't accept those were the dark ages how will you know if civilization enters another dark age or enter a more enlightened age?

[@remilenoir1271]

Such a shame that you would go about telling the truth to stop right in the middle of the journey. There was no "Dark Age", not in the Orient, neither in the Occident; the carolingian renaissance of the VIIIth and IX centuries is proof enough (the palatine Chapel of Aachen, built by Charlemagne 250 years after Hagia Sophia exhibits all the architectural features you talk about). We must stop falling to that "enlightened" propaganda that would have us believe that because roman institutions failed in the west, everything else in the west failed with it.

[@josepedromoramarquez1590]

Soy estudiante de arquitectura y este video me ha servido muchísimo para entender la arquitectura durante imperios bizantino

[@omarulisescastillo6942]

Soy estudiante de arquitectura, este video es tan interesante y a su vez me ayudo a comprender como era la arquitectura en el imperio Bizantino, ya que esta fue una grandiosa construcción, saludos desde el Tec 2

[@enriq40el]

Como un estudiante de arquitectura del ITCH II la estructura de esta edificación y simplemente el diseño interior es totalmente asombroso, no me puedo imaginar todas las cosas que se podrían analizar acerca de esta edificación en persona, las texturas, volúmenes y la iluminación. Me imagino que ha de ser una experiencia única, no solo por las características físicas sino por el simple hecho de que tiene alrededor de 1500 años en pie a pesar de los terremotos y remodelaciones.

[@ocv5392]

One of the best Cathedrals in the world.

[@Calv-tb1bx]

@Dioioego it was byzantine. The byzantine where orthodox. But listen, I dont want to argue about this. You got your opinion and I've got mine. Can we leave it at that?

[@MMGAMERMG]

@@Calv-tb1bx it was Christian at that time....

[@dionf3858]

Dioioego the cathedral was built as the seat of what we today call the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople. So it sort of was Greek Orthodox as the liturgy was performed in Greek and the religious rites were what, in time, became called Greek orthodox, although the schism between east and west had not yet occurred.

[@user-yw4fz6xk2j]

This is the model for cathedrals, this is the first building in history to combine a rectangular base with a round dome on top. Closer to the Parthenon than the modern age historically, 700 years before gothic Catholic cathedrals, and 1000 years before St. Peter. One of the best cathedrals is an understatement. This is THE cathedral. And orthodox, since it was the catholic church that separated itself from the other patriarchates. The orthodox church has always been the same, 400AD, 1400AD or 2400AD.

[@dionf3858]

αθανασιοσ ΚΥΡΙΑΚΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ it’s an architectural masterpiece on par with the Parthenon

[@samuelvaldez3064]

Grandioso video para comprender acerca de los Bizantinos, ¿Y por qué no?, de Constantinopla, una civilización con un papel importantísimo en la humanidad. Un saludo desde Chihuahua, México.

[@alangzainab24]

Thank you for this video. I enjoyed it and learnt something new. 😊

[@emmanuelriosvilla6220]

Video súper completo mucha información y muy importante, impresiona de los cortes transversales y fachadas que tiene el video que hace entender mucho mejor, las imágenes mostradas nos ayudan a ver la grandeza de este lugar, no me imagino lo imponente que ha de ser estar ahí, un saludo al Arquitecto Pablo que me recomendó este video, soy estudiante de arquitectura del ITCHII

[@510johncena]

Muy impresionante la arquitectura del imperio bizantino, soy estudiante de arquitectura del Tec 2 y es importante para mí ver cómo ha avanzado la arquitectura en los años y como se las arreglaban antes para hacer tan grandes edificaciones 👍🏻👏🏼

[@guillermoespino2141]

Great and breathtaking narrative, thank you guys!

[@dayanagandara3099]

awesome video, although short is very precious in its information, I loved it thanks architect Pablo

[@UMERATH]

Beautiful work

[@johngalvin1773]

Great description & easy to understand

[@andreafadul3305]

Excelente video, me gustó muchísimo la inflamación tan detallada y muy a fondo, perfecto para poder comprender más una parte del imperio bizantino en la materia de análisis crítico. Soy estudiante de arquitectura en el tecnológico de Chihuahua II

[@sthephannynormand3766]

Me ayudó a ampliar un poco el conocimiento que tenía del tema, gracias

[@ConstantineJoseph]

The Venetians grew under the power of the Exarchate of Ravenna, a Byzantine power base in Italy while under the dominance of the Lombard Kingdom. Who decided on looking westwards of a Roman restoration? Justinian the great was the one who conquered Italy over decades with his generals. He himself had the Hagaia Sophia built as well. Good to know that over time sometimes things do come full circle

[@migueldelgado7393]

Soy estudiante del instituto tecnológico de Chihuahua, excelente video.

[@davidcarreon]

Awsome Video really interesting good work.

[@XX-gy7ue]

think , it's about 1,000 years older than Saint Peters - talk about WOW !

[@eb1247]

But the original St Peters was older, and there are other basilicas and archbasilicas in rome that are older

[@andreadelgado466]

Me encantó la forma en como explicaron, dieron muchos datos importantes e información fundamental para llegar a entender más sobre el tema, soy estudiante de arquitectura en el tec 2

[@sthephannynormand3766]

Me gusta la manera en que utilizan la analogía para describir y comparar la arquitectura y como influye la espiritualidad con el lugar, Sthephanny Normand

[@guilhermesilveira5254]

A beautiful monument

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

I've been to IMAX theaters; I was fortunate enough to see a major production of a Mozart opera that had special effects by Industrial Light and Magic; I've visited the monumental castles and glittering palaces in Europe, but I still find the iconostasis in our small local Greek Church to be truly impressive... It's now grown, over 110 years, to be around 11 feet tall from the bottom of the lower icons to the top of the higher ones; only two rows (I won't bother with the proper Greek terms for these things, I'm just trying to describe in regular English) and the largest images are around 1.5× life-size... and, it looks WAY bigger when you're on your knees praying, because the whole thing is raised up on a step and the style of painting and the way it's lit is so optically illusive... I can only imagine how the iconostasis in H.Sophia might have appeared throughout history! (35 feet high × how many feet wide?) That's a either a huge amount of regular-sized icons, or a normal amount of huge icons, all of them wearing the special silver clothes (covering everything but the skin) no less! Either way, wow!

[@karelytarango9507]

Soy estudiante de arquitectura del Tecnológico de Chihuahua ll y me parece que está muy interesante el vídeo, muestra muchos datos importantes para dar un buen análisis sobre la edificación y entender más sobre el imperio bizantino.

[@Blkglssjw]

The fall of Constantinople is probably the greatest tragedy in all human history.

[@drpepperr]

Mmm. Not sure.

[@Calikid331]

@@drpepperr The Turks were nowhere near as monumental to history as the Byzantines/Romans were.

[@drpepperr]

@@Calikid331 I think you are not responding to me?

[@anethbugariniporras3817]

Es impresionante la manera de pensar y diseñar un edificio de esta manera, la catedral de las mejores del mundo sin duda.

[@luisreyna1419]

Soy estudiante de arquitectura de primer semestre del tecnológico de Chihuahua 2 en este video salgo con una idea más clara de La composición de la basílica y de varias cosas más.

[@michaelhealy1590]

Another expert lesson.

[@andrewlikestrains4138]

Imagine if those walls could talk what stories they’d tell.

[@jameslucena1020]

Istanbul is probably the most important city in all of history.

[@userdead2017]

Rome & Jerusalem are more important

[@vivianarodriguez2322]

Me parece increíble la información

[@1503bh]

Can somebody please explain to me how they build the marmer upper gallery without steel and wood?

[@wagelaseh1st74]

By god power

[@curiouscaesar6813]

Yes I can , but first can you please explain to me what is a marmer upper gallery

[@cesarregalado3420]

AWESOME.

[@BaYs7]

Amazing!!

[@sahana912]

so mesmerizing

[@meowpower08]

It’s unfathomable to imagine what it would have been like at its most glorious.

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Recuerdo haber leído acerca de sus cimientos o fundaciónes especiales y que son la razón de su vida a través de 1500 años. Mi respeto a ustedes.

[@viscing]

Was very helpful

[@yeserhalawani7197]

Just been there 2 hours ago

[@EduardoSanchez-md8fr]

Excelente video, se entiende mejor la arquitectura del imperio bizentino, soy estudiante de arquitectura del tec 2

[@dp_wynn5392]

From eastern Church to Catholic Church to mosque

[@nemoeditz69420]

Where is museum

[@enigmamyth]

@@nemoeditz69420 it's easter church to Catholic church to mosque to museum to again mosque

[@safaktunc4837]

There have been many legends, true or false, about Hagia Sophia. All from the cosmic situation of its location to internal details are based on legends. The perspiring column, the healing well, one of the doors made from Noah’s ark, the symbol of ‘Holy Grail’, and Hermes symbols are only some part of the legends. Nevertheless, none of the legends are as great as Hagia Sophia. Indeed, it is the legend itself. The moment Mehmet The Conqueror entered the city, he unwillingly showed his personality. Deeply influenced by the city’s glory, he immediately asked Rum and Frank bishops to learn the founders’ emperors of the city as well as the timeline. In the meantime, he made scholars to translate the books in Hagia Sophia to Turkish. At the end of the middle ages, Sultan was interested in ancient philosophy, but what is he looking for? Being the first public church in the Christian Roman Empire as well as the first main chapel in the Christian world, Hagia Sophia has been evoking admiration since then. The book tells the unique journey of Hagia Sophia.

[@Giorg189]

Interesting, I thought Turks despise everything Christian or Greek and that's why your sultan Erdogan turned into a cami.☹️

[@lilpenny1982]

Been here

[@Earle96]

it is a shame we can no longer visit this great monument unless you are Muslim

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Non-Muslims can enter mosques in Istanbul.

[@Earle96]

@@smarthistory-art-history thanks for clarifying

[@allahcc666]

The reason why the Ottomans didn't raze this temple might be political. Perhaps they wanted to ally with the Orthodox population against European Catholics, their common enemy, and keeping this edifice as it mostly is was a way of saying to the Orthodoxes "Hey, you know what, you can trust me. I'm not here to bully you as those false Christians did when they looted and spoiled your holy place. Peace and respect."

[@dragoncrackers7660]

No. It was practical. Much easier to convert the church into a mosque than to knock it down and build a new mosque. They didnt keep the interior the same, they plastered over the mosaics and removed the colored glass and crosses. Then they modified it to fit their needs.

[@demran]

Ottomans didn't raze the temples, buildings they Conquered. Ottoman Sultans even had a saying to their military after Conquering a new City: "You can raid anything that you find on the streets, but IF a single pebble on a house or a single person is disturbed, you will lose your head" Hagia Sophia burned 2 times while it was under Byzantine Empire rule, but it was extremely well protected along with countless other Temples / Churches / Amphitheaters of thousands of years old in under Ottoman / Turkish rule. From Ephesus to Termessos, from Aphrodisias to Hierapolis and countless others .. Including the very first human built Temple in Gobekli Tepe (in Sanliurfa) that's older then 11 thousand years predating; pottery, metallurgy, the invention of writing, the wheel and even the beginning of agriculture.

[@photios4779]

The Ottomans removed or covered over the Christian imagery and turned the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. That's as much a slap in the face to the Orthodox as razing it to the ground, and is arguably worse in the long run because the forcibly transformed building inevitably became a symbol of Christian subjugation at the hands of the Muslim Turks. Had the Ottomans wanted to ally with the local Orthodox population (or at least make them think they were something a bit better than a wicked enemy who just invaded their city), they would have let it remain as a church. And to be fair, this sometimes did happen when the Turks conquered other Greek cities like Thessaloniki (though a later local Turkish ruler still turned the main Orthodox cathedral of that city into a mosque to punish the Greeks for an anti-Ottoman insurrection).

[@badtexasbill5261]

Pure fantasy

[@cerracarmine]

Well done

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Thank you.

[@mishaproduction]

cool

[@christieemerson5564]

They said that there was no pictures of people but at 7:45 I saw people although they have been been slightly been worn . Did that happen when it was reconstructed?

[@SasapessoS]

They were added later. Not during Justinian's time.

[@marvelfannumber1]

+Christie Emerson If there were any figurative mosaics during Justinian's time they would have been destroyed during the Iconoclastic period. The mosaic shown there is the Deësis, and was added in the late 1200's to commemorate the Imperial reconquest of Constantinople's from the Latin Crusaders.

[@CringeMaster64]

this was a church and then it turned in to a mosque

[@abdulqader1774]

Cringe Master 64 yes

[@innosanto]

@@SasapessoS Yes I think they were added much later.

[@dlwatib]

Good investment to reinforce the emperor's divine right to rule.

[@zoonibubba8804]

Paid for by the blood and sweat of the poor. I often wonder why historians talk about the beauty of objects that are a testimony to suffering of others.

[@hadeskiller1]

+Zooni Bubba Is there a single building in ancient history that was built by the hands of wealthy aristocrats?

[@39Thorns]

+dlwatib Roman Emperors were chosen by the Army, not by God. Building this structure was an act of faith.

[@innosanto]

@@39Thorns It was maybe an act to downplay the slaughter. He had slaughtered a lot of people before.

[@APAL880]

Christ said to Pilate that he wouldn't have any power except that which he was given from above.

[@trajananevski6335]

JUSTINIANS GLORI SV. SOFIA

[@m.albertiartist]

As of 2020, it's now a mosque again! Fascinating building

[@AnaiBendai]

I know this question is late - but in the Netflix documentary RISE OF EMPIRES: OTTOMAN they depict a shimmering light emanating outwards from the roof of Sophia Hagia as the city of Constantinople was about to be conquered. Was this a historical event? Was this witnessed by thousands as depicted and was it recorded in histories by both sides of the conflict?

[@josephcourtright8071]

I didn't watch the documentary, so I don't know about this shimmering light. Lightning sometimes struck the cross at the very top of the building. The chronicler Michael Critobulus recorded that at some point during the seige lightning struck the cross. It caused a panick in the city. Memed II witnessnessed it comming out of his tent. He proclaimed, "Allah has abandon them." He took this as a sign that he could now take the city. Michael Critobulus lived during the time, but its unknown how much he witnessed personally. Alternative theory states that when the city seemed lost the catholics and orthodox began holding join prayer services at unusual times. They would've lit candles at times when it normally wasn't and this also could've given the dome a glow.

[@pure_ligma2387]

Lol wie is hier ook voor de Delft selectie?

[@Truthhunter2020]

Who r watching this video after Ted ed's Byzentine empire?

[@MICHALMALACHOVSKY]

WOW WOW WOW WOW

[@danyhb4370]

Estou pesquisando sobre por que achei um medalhão que tem esse nome e essa "igreja"

[@marioriospinot]

Nice.

[@jahnuganji8081]

how did the religion represented become introduced into this area of the world

[@emrefifty5281]

The turks that are conquerors

[@blacksky2372]

cool ya know

[@senseisaitama8684]

Here after Civ6

[@deniseboland217]

This is not the same video I am watching on my TV but I wanted to comment that when I saw Hagia Sophia it was full of scaffolding so not as pretty as when you were there.

[@numaisreginald3671]

Can somebody translate for us, the islamic seals on the walls, please?😭

[@thediamondpros9013]

At 1.23 at the left its the name of the first Muslim child :Ali At the right it's the prophet Mohamed name

[@thediamondpros9013]

Sorry I mean it's another friend's of prophet Muhammed he is called othman

[@numaisreginald3671]

@@thediamondpros9013 thanks brother 😊

[@thediamondpros9013]

Np

[@falcon2093]

the diamond pros Ali is the cousin of prophet muhammad and yea you are right first muslim child

[@juniorberns]

7:19

[@thewiseperson8748]

Inspiration for Westminster Cathedral !?

[@juno1625]

Assassins creed Revelations

[@imranjamal8780]

Aaa.. is int it is stile filed with holy object 10:07 arabic writings hanging in the walls

[@Mrrossj01]

The design is structurally unstable. This is why the massive, masonry piers were added. Inherently, a bad design.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

One the plus side, it has survived largely intact for a millennium and a half and was only weakened by an earthquake despite being crazy ambitious for its time in terms of scale and considering its vast, miraculously unobstructed interior. Are you suggesting that if a building was reinforced after its initial construction it is bad design? So many Gothic cathedrals have added additional buttressing over time. Isn't ambitious experimentation important?

[@TheAureliac]

Yeah, that's the problem with bad design: it only lasts 1500 years.