Zeyrek mosque

The mosque from the east. From left to right: the apse of the Christ Pantocrator Church , the Imperial Chapel and the Church of Theotokos Eleousa .

The Zeyrek Mosque ( Turkish Molla Zeyrek Camii ) is a mosque in Istanbul . It consists of a complex of three connected former Orthodox churches that formed the former Pantocrator monastery. This was built 1118–1143 under John II Komnenos as a burial place. In addition to the tomb of John, the central tomb, consecrated to the Archangel Michael , also contains the resting places of other Komnenian and Palaiological members of the rulers and emperors of Byzantium. The Pantocrator Monastery is the culmination of the architectural work of the Komnenian epoch in the Byzantine Empire and in Constantinople . Particularly characteristic of the second largest religious building after Hagia Sophia , which is still preserved in Istanbul from this period, are the circulations typical of Byzantine art of the Comnenian epoch as well as multi-domed structures, which are especially in the monastery churches of Athos , the religious foundations of Macedonia , in Russia , as well as the Milutine monastery foundations of the Macedonian School were exemplary. The protective icon of Constantinople, the Hodegetria, has been kept in the Pantocrator monastery as an outstanding reliquary since 1206 .

location

The complex is located in the Fatih district , about one kilometer southeast of the Eski Imaret Mosque.

history

Between 1118 and 1124 the Byzantine Empress Eirene Komnena had a monastery dedicated to Christ Pantocrator built on this site. The monastery consisted of a large cross-domed church with three apses and a two-story narthex , a library and a hospital established in 1136.

After the death of his wife, shortly after 1134, Emperor John II. Komnenos built a somewhat smaller church of almost the same type north of the Pantocrator Church and dedicated it to the Theotokos Eleousa . In the same year a typicon was published that still exists today. This document gives us a vivid account of the organization of the monastery and the ceremonies that took place in the Church. Both churches were connected before 1136 by a chapel consecrated to the Archangel Michael , which served the dynasties of the Comnenes and palaeologists as an imperial mausoleum ( heroon ). In addition to many Byzantine dignitaries, Emperor Johannes II and his wife Eirene, Empress Bertha von Sulzbach (also known as Eirene, and wife of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos ), and Emperor Johannes V Palaiologos were buried here.

During the Latin Empire , after the Fourth Crusade , the complex was the seat of the Venetian clergy . The icon of Theotokos Hodegetria was housed here. The monastery was also the residence of the last Latin emperor, Baldwin II. After the palaeological restoration , it was inhabited again by Orthodox monks. The best known among them was Gennadios Scholarios , the first ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople (1454–1464) under Turkish rule.

During the early years of the reign of Andronikos II. Palaiologos (1282-1325), the monastery was used as a prison for political opponents. The son of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II. Milutin (1282-1321), Stefan III. Dečanski was held here with his sons, including Stefan Uroš IV. Dušan (1313-20).

Shortly after the conquest of Constantinople , the building was converted into a mosque and the monastery became a madrasa for a while . The Ottomans named it after Molla Zeyrek, a clergyman who taught here. Because of its special importance in Byzantine times, the Zeyrek Mosque is one of the few buildings whose earlier purpose has not been forgotten. Among other things, Pierre Gilles describes the Pantocrator Church in his classic work on Constantinople from the 16th century. The rooms used by the madrasa later disappeared.

Until a few years ago the building was in a desolate condition and was put on the UNESCO list of endangered monuments. An extensive, if still unfinished, restoration has been carried out in recent years.

The Ottoman Konak ( Zeyrek Hane ) in the east of the building complex has also been renovated and is now a restaurant with a tea garden.

Coordinates: 41 ° 1 ′ 11 ″  N , 28 ° 57 ′ 26 ″  E

architecture

The Comanian founding monastery consisted of a threefold church with discrete but connected buildings, which were consecrated to Christ Pantocrator (south church), the Archangel Michael Church (middle church) and the Church of Our Lady (north church). This structure is preserved to this day in the Zeyrek Kilise Mosque. Archaeological research shows that the Pantocrator Church was built first, then the Mother of God Church Eleusa and finally the Archangel Church. The latter was intended as the imperial burial church of the Comnenes.

literature

• Alexander van Millingen: Byzantine Churches of Constantinople. MacMillan & Co, London 1912.
• Semavi Eyice : Istanbul. Petite Guide a travers les Monuments Byzantins et Turcs. Istanbul Matbaası, Istanbul 1955.
• Thomas F. Mathews: The Byzantine Churches of Istanbul: A Photographic Survey. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park 1976, ISBN 0-271-01210-2 .
• Celik Gülersoy: A guide to Istanbul. Kitapligi, Istanbul 1976.
• Richard Krautheimer: Architettura paleocristiana e bizantina Einaudi. Turin 1986, ISBN 88-06-59261-0 .
• Robert Ousterhout: Master Builders of Byzantium. Princeton 2008, ISBN 978-1-934536-03-2 .
• Lawrence E. Butler: The Pantocrator Monastery - An imperial foundation . In: Bulletin of the Allen Memorial Art Museum. (Oberlin College), 37, 1979-1980, pp. 88-90.
• Slobodan Curcic: Medieval royal tombs in the Balkans: an aspect of the 'East or West' question . In: Greek Orthodox Theological Review. 29, No. 2, 1984, pp. 175-194.
• Robert Ousterhout: Architecture, Art and Komnenian Ideology at the Pantokrator Monastery . In: Nevra Necipoğlu (ed.): Byzantine Constantinople: Monuments, Topography and evryday life . 2001, ISBN 90-04-11625-7 , pp. 133-150.

Web links

Commons : Zeyrek Mosque  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Typikon of Emperor John II Komnenos for the Monastery of Christ Pantokrator in Constantinople doaks.org ( Memento of the original from July 3, 2013 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; 206 kB); Ann Wharton Epstein. Formulas for Salvation: a Comparison of Two Byzantine Monasteries and Their Founders . Church History, Vol. 50, 1981. 
2. ^ Karl-Heinz Leven : Byzantine emperors and their personal physicians. For the presentation of the medicine of the Komnen period by Niketas Choniates. In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 9, 1991, pp. 73-104, here: p. 80.