Religious development in Medieval Europe

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH

CHURCH
A CHRISTIAN TEMPLE IS CALLED
A CHURCH. IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS
A CHRISTIAN MONASTERY. IT IS A
CHRISTIAN PLACE OF WORSHIP,
IN FACT IT IS NOT ONLY A PLACE
OF PRAYER BUT ALSO THE
LARGEST RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATION IN
CHRISTENDOM, WHICH IS
OVERSEEN BY THE CHURCH OF
CHRIST. WHEN THE ROMAN
EMPIRE WAS DESTROYED BY
BARBARIAN INVASIONS AND
INSTABILITY AND ANARCHY
PREVAILED, THE CHURCH
FLOURISHED AS THE PROTECTOR
OF THE PEOPLE. THE PURPOSE OF
THE CHURCH WAS TO STRIVE FOR
THE WORLDLY AND SPIRITUAL
ELEVATION OF CHRISTIANS AND
TAKE THEM TO SALVATION OR
HEAVEN. VATICAN CITY IN ROME
IS THE CENTER OF CHURCH
ADMINISTRATION AND THE
HOLIEST SITE OF ROMAN
CATHOLICISM. HERE IS THE POPE,
THE PRIEST OF CHRISTIANITY. IN
THE MIDDLE AGES, THERE WAS
NO OTHER INSTITUTION THAT
HAD A GREATER INFLUENCE ON
EUROPEAN LIFE THAN THE
CHURCH.

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ORGANIZATION

THE PRIEST OR HEAD OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS CALLED THE

POPE. HE WAS THE DEACON OF THE ENTIRE CHRISTIAN WORLD
AND HE ADMINISTERED THE CHURCH AND FROM TIME TO TIME
FORMULATED AND IMPLEMENTED THE RITUAL RULES AND
RITUALS TO BE OBSERVED BY THE CHRISTIANS. THE CARDINALS,
THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CHRISTIAN COUNTRIES, MEET IN
THE CATHEDRAL OF ROME AND UNANIMOUSLY ELECT THE POPE.
TODAY THERE ARE 250 CARDINALS AROUND THE WORLD. UNDER
THE POPE ARE CARDINALS, ARCHBISHOPS, PRIESTS AND CLERGY.
THE FIRST POPE WAS ORIGINALLY THE BISHOP OF ROME. BUT
MOST OF THE POPES WERE FROM ITALY. THEN THE POPE
APPOINTS CARDINALS, ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS. BISHOP MEANS
OVERSEER OR DEACON.

A DISCIPLE OF JESUS, SAINT PETER ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH

OF SAINT PETER IN ROME AND BECAME ITS FIRST BISHOP TO
SPREAD THE DIVINE MESSAGE OF JESUS TO THE PEOPLE. SAINT
PETER WAS CALLED THE FIRST POPE. BELIEVING THAT THE
LOCK OF THE GATES OF HEAVEN WAS IN PETER’S HAND, THE
PEOPLE BEGAN TO FEAR HIM AND GIVE HIM GREAT RESPECT.
THE SAME HONOR CONTINUED FOR HIS SUCCESSORS. SAINT
PAUL, ANOTHER DISCIPLE OF JESUS, STRIVED FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF CHRISTIANITY AND STARTED THE TRADITION
OF THE CHURCH. THUS THE CHURCH ROSE TO PROMINENCE IN
WESTERN EUROPE.

FUNCTIONS OF THE CHURCH

1. HIS FIRST TASK WAS TO PREACH CHRISTIANITY

RELIGIOUSLY. IT CONVEYS THE MESSAGE OF JESUS TO THE
PEOPLE. IT STRIVES FOR THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL
UPLIFTMENT OF CHRISTIANS BY PROVIDING A PLATFORM
FOR PRAYER AND GIVING PEACE AND HAPPINESS TO THE

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PEOPLE AND BY FORGIVING SINS AND SHOWING THEM THE
WAY TO SALVATION.

[Link] USED TO ARRANGE MARRIAGES IN THE

PRESENCE OF [Link] MARRIAGES IN CHURCHES WERE
LEGAL. HENCE MARRIAGES ARE SAID TO BE THE EYES OF
CHURCHES

3. IN THE MIDDLE AGES THE CHURCH DID ALL THE THINGS

THAT MODERN STATES DO TODAY. FOR EG GIVING CHARITY
TO THE POOR. FEEDING THE HUNGRY, BUILDING PUBLIC
ROADS, CANALS, ORPHANAGES, HOSPITALS, HUMAN SERVICES
ETC.

4. IN ROME THE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE WAS ADMINISTERED BY

AN ECCLESIASTICAL COURT CONSISTING OF THE POPE AND
CARDINALS. IT WAS FORMULATING CHURCH LAW.

5. EDUCATIONAL PROPAGANDA WAS AN INTEGRAL PART OF

CHRISTIANITY WHICH ESTABLISHED MANY SCHOOLS AND
COLLEGES TO IMPART EDUCATION. EARLY EDUCATION TOOK
PLACE IN HOMES, IN ASHRAMS, AND THE CURRICULUM AND
TEACHERS WERE APPOINTED BY THE CHURCH.

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CHAPTER:8 BAYZANTIYAN EMPIRE

CONSTANTINE

CONSTANTINE WAS A ROMAN EMPEROR AND THE FIRST

EMPEROR TO SEE CHRISTIAN AGRICULTURE, HE SERVED
UNDER THE ROMAN EMPERORS DIOCLETIUS AND GALERIUS
AT NINSUS AS THE SON OF THE ROMAN MILITARY
COMMANDER PRAIA CONSTANTIUS AND HALANA. HE BEGAN
HIS CAREER BY CAMPAIGNING IN THE EASTERN PROVINCES
(AGAINST PERSIA) AND BY AD 324 HAD WON SEVERAL CIVIL
WARS AND BECOME THE SOLE RULER OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE. HE REFORMED THE ‘VARGA GOVERNMENT’ WHO
IMPLEMENTED SEVERAL REFORMS TO STRENGTHEN THE
ASSOCIATION OF SAINTS. CIVILIAN AND MILITARY
SEPARATED. INTRODUCED NEW CHI – SOLIDUS TO COMBAT
INFLATION. HE ALSO BUILT MANY CITIES, INCLUDING ROME,
AND REVISED THE NEW JULIAN LUNAR CALENDAR.

HE MADE THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE (BYZANTIUM)

THE NEW CAPITAL OF THE SEE SOCIETY. BESIDES
CONVERTING TO CHRISTIANITY, SARDA PLAYED A ROLE IN
THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. S.S. IN 313
HE ISSUED THE EDICT OF MILAN, WHICH GRANTED
RELIGIOUS AUTONOMY AND TOLERATION TO ALL WITHIN
THE EMPIRE, INCLUDING CHRISTIANS. ROMANIZATION OF
CHRISTIANITY HE PREACHED IT AS A STATUTORY
RELIGION. HE DEDICATED THE NEW CITY OF
CONSTANTINOPLE TO THE VIRGIN MARY, THE MOTHER OF
JESUS.

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CONSTANTINE CONVENED THE FIRST CHRISTIAN COUNCIL
AT NICENE WITH THE PURPOSE OF RESOLVING DISPUTES
WITHIN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AND PROMOTING
UNITY. HERE SOME PRINCIPLES WERE DECIDED TO BE
ADHERED TO BY ALL. IN IT

 PARAMATMA. HAVING FAITH AND LOYALTY IN JESUS

AND HOLY SELF-CONCEPTS.

 BELIEVING THAT JESUS IS GOD

 BELIEF THAT JESUS BECAME HUMAN

THE CULT OF JESUS WAS DETERMINED TO ADHERE TO THE

BELIEF THAT SALVATION WAS POSSIBLE THROUGH THE
OBSERVANCE OF HIS PRINCIPLES. THIS WAS CALLED NICENE
CHRISTIANITY.

HE ALSO GAVE PERMISSION TO THE PRIESTS TO PREACH

CHRISTIANITY IN THE EAST. PETER BUILT A CHURCH ON
THE TOMB OF SAINT PETER IN ROME. AND MADE
CONSTANTINOPLE A GREAT CULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL
CENTER. THUS CONSTANTINE RULED AS AN EFFICIENT
RULER AND GENERAL. SO THE PEOPLE THERE RESPECTED
HIM AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD.

JUSTINIAN I (REIGN: 527 -565 AD)

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HE WAS BORN IN TARESIUM IN AD 482, THE SON OF
SABBATIUS’ MOTHER, VIGILANTIA. LATER HIS UNCLE
JUSTIN ADOPTED HIM AND BROUGHT HIM TO
CONSTANTINOPLE. HE EDUCATED HIM IN JURISPRUDENCE,
THEOLOGY AND ROMAN HISTORY. HE WAS LATER SELECTED
TO SERVE AS THE EMPEROR’S PERSONAL BODYGUARD.
AFTER JUSTIN’S DEATH IN 527 AD HE BECAME THE FAMOUS
RULER OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE.

 ACHIEVEMENTS

JUSTINIAN ATTEMPTED TO REGAIN TERRITORIES LOST TO

THE VARIOUS BOURBON KINGDOMS IN THE WESTERN
ROMAN EMPIRE. HIS GENERALS, BELISARIUS, RECAPTURED
LARGE PARTS OF ITALY, INCLUDING ROME, TRIED TO GAIN
CONTROL OVER NORTH AFRICA AND PARTS OF SPAIN. HE
UNITED THE WESTERN AND EASTERN COUNTRIES AND
RULED AS DARPISHTA PRABHU. HIS RULE WAS A DESPOTIC
ONE, AND HIS COURT WAS FULL OF THE SPLENDOR OF THE
EASTERN EMPERORS. A LARGE NAVY AND WELL-EQUIPPED
ARMIES WERE THE ARMOR OF HIS EMPIRE. JUSTINIAN PUT
THE DOMINANT GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN HIS EMPIRE
AT THE SERVICE OF THE PEOPLE AND PREVENTED IT FROM
MEDDLING IN POLITICS. HE USED RELIGION TO ENHANCE
HIS POWER. HE GAVE GREAT PATRONAGE TO ARTS AND
LITERATURE AND THE ST. SOPHIA CHURCH BUILT BY HIM
HAS GIVEN HIM LASTING FAME.

 CODE OF JUSTININE

JUSTINIAN IS KNOWN FOR HIS COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL

REFORMS. HE COMMISSIONED THE CODIFICATION OF
ROMAN LAW. THE LAWS WERE CALLED THE CORPUS JURIS
CIVILIS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE JUSTINIAN CODE. IT HAD A
LASTING IMPACT ON EUROPEAN LEGAL SYSTEMS

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ROMAN LAWS EVOLVED OVER THE CENTURIES AND BECAME
DISTORTED. WERE COMPLEX AND CONFUSING. CODIFY
THESE ROMAN LAWS. SIMPLIFY. HE AIMED TO IMPROVE
AND STRENGTHEN IT. FOR THIS PURPOSE JUSTINIAN
APPOINTED A COMMISSION CONSISTING OF JURISTS AND
EXPERTS. HE WAS TASKED WITH COLLECTING AND
SYSTEMATICALLY ORGANIZING THE EXISTING ROMAN
LAWS, LEGAL PRINCIPLES AND [Link] BBUNIAN IS A
COLLECTION OF LAWS AND LEGAL WRITINGS THAT SHARE
THE FOUR ILLUSIONS:

1. CODEX ZVANIANUS: IT WAS A COMPILATION OF EXISTING

IMPERIAL STATUTES (CONSTITUTIONS) AND LAWS. IT
WAS DIVIDED INTO TWELVE BOOKS, EACH COVERING
DIFFERENT LEGAL TOPICS.

2. DIGEST (PANDEX): THIS WAS A COLLECTION OF

EXCERPTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF PROMINENT ROMAN
JURISTS. IT SERVED AS A SECONDARY SOURCE OF LAW
AND PROVIDED LEGAL PRINCIPLES AND PRECEDENTS.

3. INSTITUTES: THIS IS A TEXTBOOK FOR LAW STUDENTS,

PROVIDING A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO ROMAN LAW.

4. NOVELS: THESE ARE ADDITIONAL LAWS AND DECREES

ISSUED BY JUSTINIAN AND HIS SUCCESSORS AFTER THE
PUBLICATION OF THE PREVIOUS THREE VOLUMES.

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THE JUSTINIAN CODE AIMED TO CONSOLIDATE AND
CLARIFY ROMAN LAW, ENSURING UNIFORMITY AND
ACCESSIBILITY. IT COVERS A WIDE RANGE OF LEGAL TOPICS
INCLUDING PROPERTY, CONTRACTS, FAMILY LAW,
CRIMINAL LAW AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW. THE DIGEST
CONTAINS EXCERPTS IN PARTICULAR FROM THE ROMAN
JURISTS GAIUS, UBBIAN, AND PAULUS, PROVIDING A
COLLECTION OF LEGAL PRECEDENTS AND PRINCIPLES.

THE JUSTINIAN CODE AIMED TO PROMOTE JUSTICE,

CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM. IT
HELPED REDUCE THE UNCERTAINTY AND COMPLEXITY
THAT CHARACTERIZED ROMAN LAW BEFORE ITS
COMPILATION. THE PRINCIPLES OF EQUALITY, NATURAL
LAW FOUND IN THE CODE HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN LEGAL THOUGHT.

DECLINE OF EMPIRE

THE FALL OF BYZANTINE SOCIETY, ALSO KNOWN AS THE

EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, CULMINATED IN THE CAPTURE
OF CONSTANTINOPLE BY THE OTTOMAN TURKS IN 1453.

CAUSES OF THE FALL OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

1. MILITARY DECLINE: THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE INCLUDING

THE EXPANSION OF THE OTTOMAN TURKS IN THE EAST
AND OTHER HOSTILE POWERS IN THE WESTFACED
CONSTANT THREATS FROM VARIOUS QUARTERS.

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2. ECONOMIC DECLINE THE EMPIRE STRUGGLED WITH
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS INCLUDING HIGH TAXATION, INFLATION
AND A DECLINING ECONOMY. THIS WEAKENED ITS ABILITY TO
SUPPORT A LARGE MILITARY.

3. POLITICAL INSTABILITY: POLITICAL

INFIGHTING,CIVILWARS AND DYNASTIC STRUGGLES
WEAKENED CENTRAL AUTHORITY AND THE EMPIRE’S
ABILITY TO RESPOND TO EXTERNAL THREATS.

4 OTTOMAN EXPANSION: THE RISE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

UNDER LEADERS SUCH AS MUHAMMAD II POSED A
SIGNIFICANT AND PERSISTENT THREAT TO BYZANTINE
TERRITORIES.

5 LOSS OF TERRITORY: THE EMPIRE LOST STABLE

TERRITORIES TO VARIOUS INVADERS OVER THE CENTURIES.
FURTHER REDUCED ITS STRENGTH.

6 TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES: THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

UTILIZED ADVANCED ARTILLERY AND SIEGE TECHNOLOGY.
IT GAVE THEM A SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGE IN BESIEGING
FORTIFIED CITIES.

7 PLAGUE AND OTHER DISEASES: OF THE BYZANTINE

EMPIREPLAGUES AND OTHER DISEASES ARE COMMON
THROUGHOUT HISTORYBECAUSE OF POPULATION AND
MODERNITY WEAKENED.

8 SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE (1453) THE FINAL BATTLE

THAT LED TO THE FALL OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE WAS
THE SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE, WHICH TOOK PLACE FROM

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6 APRIL TO 29 MAY 1453. MEHMED II’S ARMY OF 80,000
OTTOMAN TROOPS LAID SIEGE TO CONSTANTINOPLE. IT
WAS THEN DEFENDED BY A SMALL FORCE LED BY THE
EMPEROR PALEOLOGOS. HE SOUGHT HELP FROM THE
WESTERN CHRISTIAN POWERS BUT RECEIVED MINIMAL
SUPPORT AMME

GOT IT. BUT AFTER A LONG SIEGE, OTTOMAN FORCES

BREACHED THE WALLS ON 29 MAY 1453, THE CITY FELL
AND EMPEROR CONSTANTINE IX DIED IN BATTLE.

THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE MARKED THE END OF THE

BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND THE BEGINNING OF OTTOMAN
RULE IN THE CITY. MEHMED II DECLARED HIMSELF THE
NEW RULER OF THE CITY AND RENAMED THE CITY OF
CONSTANTINOPLE ISTANBUL.

CHRISTENDOM’S GRANDEST CHURCH WAS CONVERTED

INTO A MOSQUE. BYZANTINE SCHOLARS AND REFUGEES
MIGRATED WEST WITH KNOWLEDGE OF GREEK AND ROMAN
CLASSICS. THIS LED TO THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE AND
THE BEGINNING OF THE MODERN ERA. THE FALL OF
CONSTANTINOPLE IS CONSIDERED A MAJOR TURNING POINT
IN WORLD HISTORY.

THUS THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, WHICH AROSE FROM THE

RUINS OF THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, DEVELOPED FOR
MILLENNIA, CHARTING THE COURSE OF HISTORY THROUGH
POLITICAL CONTINUITY, RELIGIOUS HERITAGE, CULTURAL
ACHIEVEMENTS, LAW, TRADITIONS AND ECONOMIC
IMPORTANCE. MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO
CHRISTIANITY AND LEFT AN INDELIBLE MARK ON CULTURE,
ART AND LAW. ALSO, AS A TRADING CENTER,
CONSTANTINOPLE LED TO ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.
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DESPITE ITS FINAL FALL IN 1453, THE ENDURING LEGACY
OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE CONTINUED TO INFLUENCE
ART, LAW, AND CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, WHICH LASTED FOR NEARLY A

THOUSAND YEARS, WAS A PERIOD OF POLITICAL, TRADE
AND COMMERCE, CULTURE, ART,MADE SIGNIFICANT
CONTRIBUTIONS TO VARIOUS FIELDS OF THE EMPIRE
INCLUDING SCIENCE AND RELIGION.

 ECONOMY

TRADE AND COMMERCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES WERE

PRIMARILY CENTERED AROUND AGRICULTURE. IT IS THE
BACKBONE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY. MOST OF THE
PEOPLE OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE LIVED IN RURAL AREAS AND
ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES. LATER STARTED
TRADING IN LOCAL MARKETS AND FAIRS. FARMERS USED
TO GROW CROPS LIKE WHEAT AND BARLEY. THE SURPLUS
OF THESE PRODUCTS WAS OFTEN SOLD IN NEARBY TOWNS
AND CITIES.

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE WAS AN ADVANCED EMPIRE IN

TRADE AND INDUSTRY. SO PROSPERITY INCREASED. IN
ADDITION, THE MERCHANTS OF BYZANTIUM HAD TRADE
RELATIONS WITH VARIOUS STATES OF THE WORLD. SUCH
CONTACT ALSO HELPED IN THE TRANSMISSION OF
CULTURE. SPICES, MEDICINES, PERFUMES, EMERALDS AND

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PRECIOUS WOODS REACHED EUROPEAN MARKETS
THROUGH BYZANTINE CITIES. CONSTANTINOPLE, ANTIOCH,
DAMASCUS, BEIRUT, THESSALONICA AND CORINTH WERE
PROMINENT TRADE CENTERS OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE.
INDUSTRIES PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE STATE’S
REVENUE AND THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE BECAME AN
IMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL CENTER. THERE WERE MANY
CLOTH MILLS HERE. AFTER THE IMPORTATION OF
SILKWORMS FROM CHINA, SILK PRODUCTION BECAME AN
IMPORTANT INDUSTRY, JEWELRY, METALWORK, IVORY
CARVINGS, AND WEAPONS WERE PRODUCED AND SOLD IN
ABUNDANCE. ALL THESE CONTRIBUTED TO THE
PROSPERITY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE.

 RELIGION:

ALTHOUGH CHRISTIANITY ORIGINATED IN THE EASTERN

PART OF THE ROMAN EMPIREEVEN THE ROMAN CATHOLICS
IN THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE DID NOT ACCEPT THE
RELIGIOUS INTERPRETATION. THERE WAS A FUNDAMENTAL
DIFFERENCE IN GREEK AND ROMAN RELIGIOUS
SENTIMENTS. BECAUSE OF THIS THERE WAS NO ALLIANCE
BETWEEN THEM. AT THE BEGINNING OF AD, NEITHER THE
EMPERORS OF BYZANTIUM NOR THE PATRIARCHS, THE
RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE,
ACCEPTED THE SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY OF THE PATRONS. A
DISPUTE OVER IDOLS LED TO THE SEPARATION OF THE
EASTERN AND WESTERN CHURCHES. AD IN 1054 THE POPE
EXCOMMUNICATED THE PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
AS A HERETIC. BECAUSE OF THIS, TWO SECTS WERE BORN
IN CHRISTIANITY, THE ROMAN CATHOLIC SECT AND THE
GREEK ORTHODOX SECT. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
TRADITION DEVELOPED IN THE WESTERN STATES AND THE
GREEK TRADITION DEVELOPED IN THE EASTERN
COUNTRIES.

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PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE SPREAD AND
DEVELOPMENT OF BYZANTINE CHRISTIANITY. S.S. THE
FIRST ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF NICAEA IN 325
FORMULATED THE NICENE CREED. THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL
STATEMENT OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. THE HAGIA SOPHIA
IN CONSTANTINOPLE, BUILT UNDER EMPEROR JUSTINIAN,
BECAME A SYMBOL OF BYZANTINE CHRISTIANITY.
BYZANTINE MISSIONARIES SUCH AS SAINTS CYRIL AND
METHODIUS SPREAD CHRISTIANITY IN AND AROUND
EASTERN EUROPE.

 LITERATURE

THE CONTRIBUTION OF BYZANTIUM TO THE LITERARY

SPHERE IS IMMENSE. THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF THE
SCHOLARS AND WRITERS OF BYZANTIUM, A UNIQUE
LITERATURE OF ANCIENT GREEK WAS PRESERVED. GOT TO
THE MODERN WORLD. IN THE MIDDLE AGES, THE PEOPLE
OF BYZANTIUM NOT ONLY REVISED THE GREAT WORKS OF
ANTIQUITY AND PRODUCED MANUSCRIPTS, BUT ALSO
ENGAGED IN CONSTANT STUDY OF THEM. THE TEACHER
HAD A RESPECTED POSITION IN BYZANTINE SOCIETY.

 ART AND ARCHITECTURE

BYZANTIUM’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE FIELD

OF ART WERE REMARKABLE. HIS ARTISTRY
CAN BE SEEN IN ARCHITECTURESCULPTURE
AND PAINTING, HIS ARCHITECTURAL WORKS
INCORPORATED ROMAN, GREEK AND ASIAN
ELEMENTS. THE SPACIOUS HALLS AND
BEAUTIFUL CEILINGS FEATURE ROMAN
ELEMENTS. ESPECIALLY IN THE FIELDS OF
ARCHITECTURE AND ART, IT IS
CHARACTERIZED BY ROUNDED ARCHES,
THICK WALLS AND SMALL ROUND-HEADED

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 WINDOWS. THIS STYLE OFTEN EVOLVED INTO
THE GOTHIC STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE AS
THE MIDDLE AGES PROGRESSED. IT IS
COMPOSED OF POINTED ARCHES, RIBBED
ARCHES AND FLYING BUTTRESSES.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE NOTRE-DAME
CATHEDRAL IN PARIS. BUILT BY EMPEROR
JUSTINIAN, SAINT SOPHIA IN THE CITY OF
CONSTANTINOPLE IS A MASTERPIECE OF
BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE. IT WAS
ORIGINALLY A CHRISTIAN CHURCH. AD IN
1453 MUSLIMS CONVERTED IT INTO A
MOSQUE. ITS MAIN ATTRACTION IS THE
CENTRAL DOME WITH A CIRCUMFERENCE OF
107 FEET, THE INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING IS
RICHLY CARVED WITH MARBLES. ADORNED
WITH IMAGES AND COLORS, IT IS
CAPTIVATING. THE UNIQUE DECORATION,
THE EYE-PLEASING COLOR SCHEME AND THE
SWAYING DOME, ALL MAKE THIS CHURCH
MESMERIZING.

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