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Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure, and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church
Hagia Sophia Architecture Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church Author:Rowland J. Mainstone Winner of the Runciman Award for 1989. Justinian's great church in Constantinople was the culminating architectural achievement of late antiquity and the first great masterpiece of the Byzantine world. For over 900 years it was Christendom's grandest place of worship and, for most of this time, the seat of the Orthodox patriarch and a principal ... more »setting for imperial ceremonies. After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, it was for almost 500 years one of the principal mosques of Istanbul. Its influence, both architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring. Drawing on the work of Robert Van Nice for Dumbarton Oaks as well as on his own detailed observations and critical reading of the historical material, Rowland Mainstone's authoritative account of the church presents the genesis and development of its design and construction, the subsequent changes, and its character and influence. His evocative descriptions, complemented by specially prepared plans and drawings and superb photographs, provide a unique record of an unprecedentedly ambitious project. 305 illustrations.« less