Hagia Sophia (Trebizond)
The Hagia Sophia ( Greek Ἁγία Σοφία , "Holy Wisdom", Turkish Ayasofya ) is a large, former Byzantine monastery church in Trabzon (formerly Trebizond) in northeastern Turkey . The cross-domed church was built in the 13th century when Trebizond was the capital of the empire of the same name , converted into a mosque during the Ottoman rule in the 16th century and used in this function with interruptions until the 1950s. After the restoration of the preserved frescoes , which were exposed under a white painted wall plaster, the city's most important architectural monument was accessible as a museum ( Aya Sofya Müzesi ) since 1964 . After a controversial court ruling in 2012, Hagia Sophia was converted back into a mosque. The first Friday prayer took place in July 2013.
history
In the early Byzantine period, the Christian residents built several churches and monasteries at the harbor and trading center, which was already busy in ancient times . Emperor Justinian I (r. 525-567) had the city walls reinforced and Trabzon must have remained an economic center even in the early Middle Ages. Nevertheless, it seems that hardly any large, massive buildings were erected during this period, with the exception of the small Armenian Church of St. Anne, dated 884/885, which is now the oldest surviving church in the city. A heyday only began with the building activity of the Byzantine emperor Basil II (r. 976-1025), who had some churches built, but these have not been preserved. Successor buildings only survived from a few.
The largest number of churches was built by the ruling dynasty of the Komnenen in the Trapezunt Empire, founded in 1204. It was created after the conquest of the Byzantine capital Constantinople by Western European crusaders , together with other Byzantine exiled empires such as the Empire of Nicaia and the despotate of Epirus . The builder of Hagia Sophia was Emperor Manuel I , who ruled the small empire from 1238 to 1263. When Manuel took office, the old imperial capital was already lost more than a generation ago, and the supposedly provisional residence in Trebizond turned out to be more permanent than initially expected and should now be expanded to be worthy of an imperial capital. Manuel consciously oriented the church to its famous model in Constantinople, Justinian's great cathedral Hagia Sophia from the 6th century.
Later Komnenenkaiser also financed the construction of new monasteries and the expansion of the existing ones. The most famous monastery is the Sumela monastery in the Kaçkar Mountains 45 kilometers south of the city , which several rulers from Trabzon promoted in the late 13th and 14th centuries. From Alexios III. (r. 1349–1390) a corresponding document has been preserved, which precisely lists the privileges and the tax revenues to which the monastery is entitled. Other monasteries built or sponsored by the Komnenen were located within the city. To them belonged since the 9th century St. Eugenios, which under Alexios III. Newly founded monastery Panaghia Theoskepastos on the slope of Boztepe, nearby on the hill the monastery Kaymaklı and a monastery in the city center, whose church was consecrated in the second half of the 13th century to St. Gregory of Nyssa (from 1665 Gregory-von- Nyssa Cathedral ). The Stilos Monastery, mentioned in the 14th century, was probably located near the village of Mavlavita, two kilometers west of Hagia Sophia, where the ruins of a chapel at a cave with remains of paintings are still there. In its heyday, the medium-sized city had almost 80 churches, most of which were preserved in 1915 and which, with the exception of a few, were later demolished.
The Empire of Trebizond survived the Byzantine Empire (restored in 1261) by only eight years, because on October 26, 1461, the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmet II conquered Trebizond, the last remaining Greek state in Anatolia. In the decades after the conquest, the Muslims did not build mosques in the city, instead converting most of the churches into mosques. This may be related to the fact that several thousand Orthodox Greeks were driven from the city. The Çarşı Camii from 1839 was the first mosque to be built in the old market district. From the middle of the 19th century, new churches were built again, none of them of particular architectural importance, some were built over older church buildings that had been demolished. Worship there until the expulsion of the Pontic Greeks 1,923th
The story of Hagia Sophia begins with an older church in the monastery, in the place of which Emperor Manuel I built the enlarged domed church that has been preserved until today and had it painted in the following years. Near the northern vestibule, the foundations of the demolished small church with three semicircular apses from the Byzantine period were exposed below floor level . On a fresco still visible in the 19th century , Manuel I is named as the founder of the new building. Nothing remains of the other monastery buildings except for the free-standing bell tower, the construction of which began in 1426, during the reign of Emperor Alexios IV (ruled 1417–1429). The completion of the bell tower falls in the time of his successor John IV (r. 1429-1459), because around the years 1442 and 1444 the chapel in the tower was painted.
Inscriptions refer to restorations of the church in 1486 and 1547. It is believed that Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque in the 15th century. In 1609 it served as a mosque, and in 1850 Christians also prayed in the building. The British historian George Finlay gave a brief description in his travel journal of 1850. In 1864 some repairs were made. That year, French archaeologist Charles Texier published a more detailed description of the church he had attended in the 1830s. At the behest of a devout Muslim, the wall paintings were covered with plaster in 1880. To improve the adhesion of the plaster, holes were made and so many frescoes were destroyed. In the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, the building was used temporarily as a storage room and accommodation for people suffering from cholera.
In 1917 the frescoes were exposed again, and in 1927 Michail Alpatow published a detailed study of the reliefs. The extensive restoration did not take place until 1957 to 1962 by members of the University of Edinburgh under the direction of David Talbot Rice and chief restorer David Winfield. Talbot Rice published a comprehensive study on the church frescoes ( Church of Hagia Sophia at Trebizond ) in 1968 , but did not discuss the paintings in the bell tower. This was published by David Winfield in 1985.
"Hagia Sophia in the Black Sea city of Trabzon was reopened as a mosque in 2013, also at the insistence of Bülent Arinc and despite sharp criticism from architects and scientists."
architecture
Hagia Sophia is located on a flat hilltop three kilometers west of the city center above the Black Sea coast. It is a cross-domed church , the nave ( naos ) of which is dominated by a towering vault. The first basic plan provided for a square main room ( crossing ) with four central columns on which the belt arches of the barrel vault rest on all four sides. Towards the center, the ceiling square passes Pendentifs into a circular shape. A tambour that is round on the inside and twelve-sided on the outside provides daylight with twelve window openings and closes with a dome . During the construction period, the plan seems to have been modified, recognizable by the fact that the north-western column is not aligned with the pilaster on the north wall. The interior of the nave is about 13.5 meters long and 10.5 meters wide, with the domed four being moved slightly to the east. A narthex is attached to the west wall , which is covered in the area of the central nave by a groin vault and on both sides by barrel vaults. To the east, the main room expands to a horseshoe-shaped, pentagonal altar apse in the middle, from which passages lead to the two side apse-side rooms ( pastophoria ).
The three entrances are on the long sides to the north and south and in the west wall of the narthex. Similar to the large Georgian monastery churches (for example Öşk Vank ), three sprawling porch porches were built at the same time as the main building, which significantly shape the cross-shaped complex from the outside. The total dimensions in the north-south extension are about 25 meters, the same dimension applies to the longitudinal direction without east apses (about 6.5 meters). The entire building stands on a 1.4 meter high podium, which is not found in comparable churches. Sarcophagi once stood in the niches of the north and south podium walls.
The Hagia Sophia is one of the most important high medieval Byzantine buildings and exerted influence on the further Byzantine and Russian building history. In addition to the typical Greek basic composition of a cross-domed church, it also shows Georgian and Armenian architectural influences.
The bell tower ( campanile ) stands 24 meters west of the church, not entirely in line with the axis. The almost square tower has four floors, its architecture refers to Italian models. Above the ground floor there is a chapel with remains of painting on the walls, the round apse of which protrudes from the east wall. The tower is locked and not accessible to visitors.
Frescoes
The 55 fresco fragments that have been preserved come mainly from the construction period, whereby the holes made during the restoration were compensated for, they are among the most important from the late Byzantine period. The biblical scenes with a realistic representation of human anatomy and empathy, unusual for the Middle Ages, go beyond the strict formalism of earlier Byzantine art. Movement is not shown directly, however, but is expressed in the usual poses by the corresponding folds of clothing. Different shades of color were only used to depict skin, otherwise each item of clothing is only painted in one shade. The time when the frescoes were created falls into the phase of cultural flourishing after the reconquest of Constantinople by Nikaia ( Palaeological Renaissance ).
dome
The Pantocrator , which once looked down from the dome, as in all Byzantine churches, is very faded. The horizontal band with an inscription from Psalm 102 ( Ps 102 EU ) refers to this illustration of Christ as the ruler of the world, who contemplates life on earth . Below is the choir of angels in two groups on either side of the dome, the angels in front prostrate themselves (as a liturgical process: prostration ), the angels in the middle row follow next and the angels in the back bend forward. One of the twelve apostles stands between each window ; prophets stand in the window reveals, if they are still there . The four evangelists are identified by the scrolls they hold in their hands.
In Byzantine iconography, the four evangelists or biblical narratives usually follow under the drum wreath in the spandrels of the pendentives . Both topics are presented here together. On the gusset in the southwest you can see the evangelist Mark with an eagle (instead of his symbol lion) and the baptism of Jesus . John the Baptist leans forward from the left side, opposite three angels appear. In the southeast, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is shown together with John, who here has the lion and not his eagle with him. In the center is Jesus carrying the cross, on the left he is viewed by David and Solomon . Behind Jesus come Adam and Eve and probably Abel . The winged lion to the left of Johannes actually belongs to Markus.
The crucifixion scene and Matthew are depicted on the northeast pendentif . The already dead Jesus has closed his eyes, angels hover over him on both sides. Mourning Johannes wipes his face with a cloth at his feet. To the right of the seated Matthew is his symbol, a flying angel. Northwest: Birth of Jesus and Luke , of whose symbol, the bull, only one foot has been preserved. Mary stands in the middle , the hand on her left belongs to Joseph . The heads of the ox and donkey complete the scene. Jesus on the right has the star above him, further above are angels and animals.
Apses
The Ascension of Christ was preserved in the choir vault in front of the altar apse . Christ surrounded by a mandorla is lifted up by angels. On the north wall of the choir , on the upper of the two large frescoes, the encounter between Jesus and the unbelieving Thomas can be seen: Jesus, left of the center, points with his left hand to his right side and raises his right hand to Thomas, his Hand stretching out towards Jesus. There are eight apostles on the right. In the picture below, Jesus appears at the Sea of Galilee : on the right side three apostles are sitting in a boat, in the middle three other apostles are standing on the shore. Jesus holds a fish in his hand and gives the first of the three a loaf of bread. Below is the head of Peter immersed in the water . On the south wall the dispatch of the apostles is shown after Jesus appeared to them on Mount Galilee before his ascension into heaven. Jesus in the middle keeps his arms outstretched, surrounded by angels on either side. At the bottom four apostles kneel in his direction, the other eight are no longer preserved. In the apse dome remains of a fresco showing the Mother of God seated on a throne with the baby Jesus, surrounded by the archangels Gabriel and Michael .
The poorly recognizable remains of the frescoes in the side apse side rooms contain scenes from the life of Maria and her parents Anna and Joachim . In the southern apse on the north wall, the two bring gifts to the left of the picture in the temple because they had remained childless until then. The temple priest on the right refuses the gifts because God has condemned Anna to sterility. Anna and Joachim are praying on the south wall after an angel predicted that they would have a child. Mary and the baby Jesus were depicted in the dome, only the heads of Joachim and Anna on both sides are preserved. In the vault of the north apse an angel (left) announces the birth of a child to Anna (center). Joachim and Anna meet on the north wall after learning independently of each other about the impending birth. They embrace while a maid peers out from behind a curtain at the entrance.
Nave
Smaller remains of the Passion have been preserved on the west wall of the main room : the southern lower scene in the central nave shows Jesus washing the feet of his disciples , above which was the Last Supper . Jesus can be recognized by the halo, John's head leans on his shoulder. Judas sits on the right side of the tablet . In the northern upper scene, Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane , below on the left Jesus prays on his knees, an angel flies to him. To the right of it, Jesus raises his hand so that his disciples may sleep.
On the north wall, the wall paintings were previously arranged in three zones. From the middle zone, a fragment of the crucifixion can be seen above the door: a foot of Jesus and part of the cross. The skull below is a reference to Adam who was buried on Mount Golgotha . Legs of the figures on both sides are still preserved. The picture below shows the resurrection, a lower part of which can still be seen.
The four holy hermits in the tympanum above the door are believed to date from the 15th century when this component was added. The painting is of poor quality, as is the later addition of the two pillars Symeon Stylites the Elder and the Younger below in the arched field. They are the only paintings that were added later.
Narthex
The vaulted ceiling of the narthex is very brightly painted. In the dynamically moving center the hand of God can be seen, surrounded by the four apocalyptic figures with which the evangelists are symbolized : angel, ox, lion and eagle. Patterned curtains stretch over the cross ridges against the background of the dark, night sky.
On the northern inner wall (east wall) of the narthex, the feeding of the 5000 is shown above. The multiplication of bread and fish is shown in great detail. Jesus gives bread to the right to the loved ones who pass it on. The loaves move in a human chain up over Jesus and down again on the left side. The miracle of multiplication occurs, so that all of the approximately 100 people shown have received bread. Their togetherness is evident in the similar dark colors, only Jesus in the middle and a few other light colored surfaces stand out from the harmonious composition.
The story continues on the north wall, where baskets with excess bread are brought in from a distance and placed in the middle next to Jesus. The scene lives through the diverse movements of the actors. Below is a fragment of a Deësis with Mary and John next to Jesus sitting in judgment. Originally there was an archangel on both sides, only John the Baptist and the archangel on the right side are well preserved. Two different scenes on the east side show Jesus walking across the water and holding the wind. On the left, Jesus admires two little apostles sitting in a boat. On the right, Jesus is standing in a larger boat, with two personified winds flying over him, equipped with wings, arms and legs. At the right end of the same boat, Jesus lies asleep. The picture below depicts the healing of Peter's mother-in-law: Jesus in the middle holds the hand of the woman who is sitting in a red armchair on the right. Simon put his hands on her head.
On the southern inner wall of the narthex, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan can be seen on the wall. John the Baptist, to the left of the river in a white coat, leans forward and touches the halo of Jesus. There are five angels on the right bank of the river. In another scene, a man born blind is healed at the pool of Siloam . Jesus, in front of a group of apostles on the left, touches the sick man standing in the middle. Further to the right, the same man washes his eyes out by the water. About this scene the twelve-year-old Jesus talks to the scribes in the temple. On the left there is a doctor and behind him Joseph and Maria.
The paralyzed man is healed below on the south west wall. Jesus in the middle holds out his hand in a blessing to the sick person who is carrying away his bed on the right. The wedding at Cana is shown above it . Jesus sits behind a long table on which the various dishes are spread. Maria approaches on his right and complains to him that the wine is about to run out. At the same time, Mary with a halo stands on the left edge of the picture and looks at the clay jugs into which a servant pours water. To the right, a servant appears to be entering the door from a separate room.
On the south wall, on the left side above the arch of the door, a fragment has been preserved, on which the expulsion of the devil from the daughter of the Canaanite woman is depicted. A devil escapes the daughter's mouth, the mother is over her. The miracle story in the picture below is not identified.
West and north porch
The Annunciation can be seen in the arched area above the entrance to the narthex in the west vestibule. Small remains of the Last Judgment are left on the west wall, the Creator on the east wall, Mary on his right and John the Baptist on his left. A little below to the right of the window is a man dressed in white, to the right of him the devil all in red. On the inner wall there is the resurrection of the dead who rise from their graves. The drowned people in the lower left are released from the mouths of fish.
On the inner gable wall in the north vestibule, several scenes are shown together: on the left, Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven on which angels climb and descend. Next to it on the right is Jacob's fight with an angel. Farther to the right stood (before his destruction) Moses in front of the burning bush , behind the bush an angel. Below left is Jakob the suffering, his body is covered with ulcers. He is accompanied by his wife (right) and other figures. To the right of it and below the scene of Moses stands the Old Testament judge Gideon . The large populated painting on the east wall depicts the family tree of Jesse , with Mary on top, surrounded by prophets on the sides. More prophets are at the height of the tribe. The figure with the crown on the lower left of the trunk could be David .
Bell tower
The pictorial design took place in 1442/43 and 1444. Only fragments of the pictures are preserved, most of the faces were destroyed. Three figures can be seen on the ground floor: Mary with the baby Jesus, to the right of her Emperor Alexios IV (ruled 1417–1429) and to the left his son and successor John IV (ruled 1429–1459).
In the chapel on the first floor, stories from the life of Jesus are shown along the south, west and east walls in the upper zone and below that another zone with standing monks, bishops and other people. The upper zone of the south wall begins on the left with the relatively well-preserved Annunciation to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel, followed by the birth of Jesus, around whose crib the three wise men are standing in the center of the picture . Further scenes show Mary and Joseph as well as Jesus with John being baptized in the river: an angel holds up a piece of clothing, two children and fish can be seen in the water. At the resurrection of Lazarus on the west wall, veiled women stand around the wrapped body. The entry into Jerusalem takes place against the background of the city walls with Jesus on the left and the city gate on the right. A Jew greets Jesus in front of the gate, two women behind him.
On the left north wall Jesus is crucified, in the middle Mary and others mourn. At the resurrection on the right, Jesus climbs up steps, Adam kneels in front of him in a round cave and stretches out his hands, Jesus takes one hand. Further back, Eva and David also stretch their hands out of caves towards Jesus.
The remains of the painting in the lower zone of the south wall include the head and shoulder of St. Basil to the left of the entrance and Eugenios (martyr in Trabzon at the end of the 3rd century) to the left of the entrance. The saints on the other walls are also poorly preserved. In the vault of the apse there is a Deësis : Jesus sits on a throne in a purple robe, his feet on a chair decorated with pearls. Mary and John the Baptist stretch out their hands to him. The apse walls were painted with the apostle communion and with Jesus distributing bread and wine.
Reliefs
The south vestibule no longer contains any frescoes, but the building's most elaborate reliefs have been preserved on the outer arch above the south portal, which is divided into three by two columns. When the wall paintings were plastered over in 1880, the entrance to the south porch was walled up and a mihrab was built into the new wall on the inside . During the restoration, the original state of the former facade was restored. The columns capitals come from Justinian time and were here as spoils second used.
A single-headed eagle, common in Byzantine architecture, looks down from the middle of the outer arched frame. Such a bird can also be found in a relief on the central apse and on a mural as a symbol of the evangelist Mark (incorrectly assigned to the inscription, actually a symbol of John). The relief frieze has its design origins in the Armenian and Georgian tradition, there is a close connection to Syrian manuscripts of the 13th century. The geometric shapes (squares, circles) in particular reveal a Seljuk- Islamic influence. Presumably craftsmen were employed who had previously worked on Seljuk buildings.
The frieze extends horizontally over the entire arched area of the portal. The seven scenes on the stone blocks are read from right to left. In scene 1 on the far right, God creates Adam and Eve . The hand of God appears from a nimbus in the upper right corner of the broad rectangular block and transmits the blessing of Adam, who is leaning on his elbows on the ground between the plants of Paradise, to Eve. Scene 2 shows the fall of man , when Eva, wearing a long robe and looking to the right, reaches up with her left hand to pick the forbidden apple. The following two stones in scene 3 are quite washed out: Eve and Adam stand opposite each other while she hands him the apple.
Now there is an interruption through the middle archway. To the left is scene 4 after the expulsion from paradise . An angel stands in the rectangular gate frame and guards the entrance with a spear in each outstretched hand. The following three narrow edgewise blocks belong to scene 5: An angel drives the two sinners out of paradise. He is shown in the middle of the movement, reaching forward with his right foot and lifting his left foot straight. In this way he contrasts with the now naked and static figures of Adam and Eve. From scene 6 the grief after the loss speaks. Adam and Eve sit across from each other, hands raised to their faces. The poor state of preservation makes scene 7 interpretable. It could be the birth of Cain or the murder of Abel by Cain. One figure, from which the legs are cut off by the arched frame, lies with the right hand on the floor, supporting its head, a second standing figure leans over it; both wear long robes.
The irregular size of the stone blocks and the poor fit of the scenes suggests that the individual stones were reliefed before installation. The lack of a beginning and the unexplained end are unusual in the sequence of scenes. The creation of Adam would be expected at the beginning and in the end Abel's slaying would be preceded by the sacrifice of his crops. Overall, in a gloomy worldview, Eva is brought to the fore as the bringer of death.
literature
- Anthony Eastmond: Narratives of the Fall: Structure and Meaning in the Genesis Frieze at Hagia Sophia, Trebizond. (PDF; 154 kB) In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 53, 1999, pp. 219–236 ( images ; PDF; 4.4 MB)
- Volker Eid : East Turkey. Peoples and cultures between Taurus and Ararat . DuMont, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-7701-1455-8 , pp. 137-141.
- Vera and Hellmut Hell: Turkey. Northern Turkey, Eastern Turkey, Southeast Turkey. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a., 3rd ed. 1988, pp. 62-67.
- Arzu Kalin, Demet Yilmaz: A Study on Visibility Analysis of Urban Landmarks: The Case of Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) in Trabzon. (PDF; 2.2 MB) In: METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture. 29, 1, 2012, pp. 241-271.
- Antonio Sagona: The heritage of Eastern Turkey: from earliest settlements to Islam. Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne 2005, ISBN 978-1876832056 , pp. 165-170.
- Thomas Alexander Sinclair: Eastern Turkey. An Architectural and Archaeological Survey. Vol. 2 The Pindar Press, London 1989, pp. 52-60.
- David Talbot Rice : Church of Hagia Sophia at Trebizond. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 1968, ISBN 978-0852240052
- Gabriel Millet , David Talbot Rice: Byzantine Painting at Trebizond. Allen & Unwin, London 1936
Web links
- The Hagia Sophia of Trebizond. karalahana.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Andrew Finkel: Mosque conversion raises alarm. Christian art in Byzantine church-turned-museum is at risk after controversial court ruling. ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Art Newspaper, April 11, 2013
- ^ Erasing the Christian past. A fine Byzantine church in Turkey has been converted into a mosque. The Economist, July 27, 2013
- ^ Sinclair, p. 82.
- ^ David Winfield, June Wainwright: Some Byzantine Churches from the Pontus. ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 5.2 MB) In: Anatolian Studies 12, 1962, p. 157.
- ^ Sagona, p. 167.
- ^ Sinclair, p. 58.
- ^ Charles Texier, Richard Popplewell Pullan: L'architecture byzantine ou recueil de monuments des premiers temps du christianisme en Orient. Day & Son, London 1864.
- ^ Oath, p. 139.
- ^ Anthony Bryer, David Winfield: The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos. (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies 20). Washington 1985, p.
- ↑ The sad sisters of Hagia Sophia ( Memento from September 21, 2002 in the Internet Archive ), by Constanze Letsch , NZZ , July 15, 2020.
- ↑ Eid, pp. 137f; Hell, p. 62f.
- ^ Sinclair, p. 58.
- ↑ Sinclair, p. 54; Oath, pp. 140f.
- ^ Sinclair, p. 55.
- ↑ Nino Chikhladze: Images of St Eugenio in Georgia and Cultural and Political Ties with the Empire of Trebizond. In: Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences. 2, 1, 2009, pp. 59-70.
- ^ Sinclair, pp. 58-60.
- ^ Sinclair, p. 58.
- ^ Eastmond, pp. 220f, 226.
Coordinates: 41 ° 0 ′ 11 ″ N , 39 ° 41 ′ 46 ″ E