The dedication of the new city in 330 CE was both the dawning of a new age and the end of an era. Constantine built the final triumphal arch in Rome. Perhaps it best illustrates the twilight of the old Roman Empire. Constantine's arch was built, in part, from pieces culled from previous emperor's monuments. The heads of other emperors were re-carved to fit the new scheme. The new sculpture on the arch, done in Constantine's time, was of lesser quality, flattened, frontal, and stiff. Old Rome was feeding on the bones of its own past, while in the East a new culture was developing. The actual dedication of the "New Rome", Constantinople, was preceded by the Edict of Milan in 313 that allowed freedom of worship for Christians. Constantine's own mother, Helena, had been converted to the religion, and became a devout believer who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There, she found the supposed remnants of the True Cross -- the cross of the Crucifixion. At about the same time, the Crown of Thorns was supposed to be found. Interestingly, it stayed in Byzantine hands until they needed cash, then was sold to St. Louis of France. It ended up costing Louis more than the building he erected to house it. That building was St. Chapelle in Paris.

Constantine's own beliefs are something less than clear. According to legend, Constantine had a dream the night before the battle with his rival Maxentius for control over the Roman Empire. That fateful night, the legend goes, Constantine dreamt that if his army emblazoned their shields with the Chi-Ro symbols of Christ, the Lord would see to their victory on the field. The legend continues that Constantine followed the instructions he had received in his dream, and did have the shields of his army decorated with the Chi-Ro emblem. He defeated his rival Maxentius at the battle of the Milvian Bridge, and Constantine became sole ruler of Rome. Well, whether or not Constantine was Christian in truth, the stage was set in Constantinople for Christianity. Constantine, perhaps acknowledging the growing numbers of the faithful built the basilica of St. John Lateran and the first St. Peter's in Rome, (later demolished and built as the new Renaissance St. Peter's by Bramante and completed by Antonio de Sangallo, Carlo Maderno and Michelangelo.) In Jerusalem, he built a church over the holy sepulchre of Christ. In Constantinople he built the first church of the Holy Wisdom, or Hagia Sophia.

of Byzantine culture lasts from about 324 CE to 640 CE.

In 381 CE an ecumenical council was held in Constantinople, convened by Theodosius I, recognizing the bishop of Constantinople as second in place only after the bishop of Rome. By this time, Christianity had risen in stature to that of the state religion. Theodosius himself may be seen as the first truly great Emperor of the Byzantines. He erected the obelisk in the Hippodrome. Even today, you can see the sculptures depicting Theodosius and his royal court attending the races, seated in their imperial boxes. These relief sculptures grace the base on which the obelisk rests.

Theodosius is responsible for banning the Olympic games and pagan cults in 392-393 CE. Sadly, many great sites such as Delphi were closed in his reign. During this period, he also built the great walls around the city that can still be seen today. In the 4th century, as old Rome's power waned, new Rome's power increased. Contantinople became wealthy through trade and commerce, and was the epicenter of imperial activity. By the early 6th century Constantinople was without rival, and the greatest urban center of the western world. As it grew in power and influence, the two parts of the Roman Empire separated more and more. The East began speaking Greek as their primary language, and the Byzantine State religion developed into the Eastern Orthodox Church as opposed to Old Rome's Catholicism.

We should remember that even during the periods of wealth and expansion of the empire and its influence, the Byzantines were beset by Barbarian, Western and Arabic enemies. The borders of the Byzantine Empire would swell and contract many times during the millennium plus of its existence.

The greatest figure of the early period is Justinian 1, who took the throne in 527. Justinian was born to Balkan peasants. A young man of extraordinary vision and energy, he was adopted by his uncle, the Emperor Justin I and was educated in Constantinople. In 527 Justin made him a co-ruler of the empire. When his uncle died four months later, Justinian became sole emperor. Justinian's piety was combined with ambition. His military campaign was headed by the great general, Belisarius. Belisarius began his military career at age 23 when he defeated the Persians at the Battle of Daras in 528. These costly but often successful campaigns recaptured lands lost to the Huns, Goths, Vandals and Persians. During Justinian's time, the Byzantine Empire included North Africa, parts of Egypt, Northern Italy, Macedonia, the Southern coast of Spain and European Turkey up to Bulgaria. (Remember that these terms refer to the modern names for these areas). In many cases, these lands were later recaptured. Although at the end of the empire, Constantinople stood isolated...a city surrounded by enemies with small outposts of faithful scattered far away, it is useful to remember that in its strength it was a very great empire.

Justinian built a structure that remained the greatest monument of Christianity for 1,000 years-the church of Hagia Sophia. It was not until the building of St. Peter's in Rome that another church could be said to begin to rival the church of Justinian. Under Justinian's rule Constantinople became a city of domed churches, public structures such as the Hippodrome, lavish palaces, and buildings of marble and alabaster. The Scandinavians called Constantinople Miklagard, or the "Place of Enchantment."

Justinian also gave to the Eastern Empire a code of law known as the Justinian Code. The code defined all valid edicts collected from Roman times and set the legal basis for the absolute power of the emperor over his subjects. Later law codes in Germany, France, Italy and Russia were influenced by the Justinian Code. This influence lasted until the 19th century.

In 532, Justinian faced troubles at home. Followers of rival chariot teams called the Blues and the Greens (many of the followers were soldiers) rioted in the Hippodrome. The rebellion, called the Nika or "conquer" rebellion, raged through the streets of the city, and destroyed the old church of the Holy Wisdom. Justinian was poised to flee, but Theodora urged him, to hold firm. She ordered the general Bellisarius to quell the revolt, and, as a result, thousands were massacred in the Hippodrome. The violent end of the uprising ushered in a new era of consolidated power for Justinian. He swiftly began a rebuilding program for the city. A new Hagia Sophia was planned...one on a grander, more impressive scale than had ever been seen in the world until this time (the one that was to be the greatest church of Christianity for 1000 years). One is reminded of the Periclean rebuilding of the Athenian Acropolis after the Persians had sacked it.

Hagia Sophia was rebuilt on a daring scale.....the dome was so large, the interior so spacious, that visitors said the dome itself appeared to be resting on light, or suspended from heaven by a golden chain. The example of Hagia Sophia was so profound that, as the Byzantine Empire expanded and contracted, not one corner of it did not prefer a church with a central dome. The Eastern Orthodox structures of Russia, Greece and Bulgaria all pay homage to the church of Holy Wisdom. Even the humblest Eastern Orthodox structure could hardly be called complete without a dome. Just as with the Greek culture and the Romans who revered it (the captors were held by their captives in thrall) the later inhabitants of Constantinople, the Ottoman Turks, even devised their Imperial Mosques after the example of Hagia Sophia.

Justinian searched his empire for riches with which to embellish his great church. The columns that support the arcades of the interior were taken from other, older structures, and are of the richest marble to be found. The capitals, however, were carved new, and one can still discern the initials of Justinian and Theodora graven in the white ìlace workî marble.

The iconostasis of Hagia Sophia has long disappeared, as has most of the removable finery. In the centuries between its glorious dedication, (Justinian was heard to utter, "Solomon, I have outdone you.") the fall of the Byzantine Empire and our own time, unscrupulous visitors have even plundered the existing mosaics. Mark Twain writes of guides pulling off gold mosaic from the walls for souvenir gifts. Let's for a moment forget the fall of the empire. Let us imagine the Russian Prince Vladimir looking for a suitable church for his people, traveling until he stands in Hagia Sophia in the midst of the rituals. Perhaps he sees the emperor wearing his pearl-encrusted skullcap with long, decorative shoulder-pieces like the nemes of Egyptian emperors of a lost age. Imagine Vladimir seeing the robes of the emperor shot with gold and silver thread, seated on a great throne, unmoving, almost like a statue of ivory, as the congregation looks on. Imagine the scent of brazen censers filling the air, and the light from the dome making rich the glittering gold mosaics, the silver, gold and painted iconostasis, the colored marble revetment brought from every corner of the empire. Just imagine Vladimir standing amidst the incredible luxury and splendor of the gold mosaics glittering through the filtered light seen through the perfumed smoke of burning incense. Well, the impact of the religious ceremony at Hagia Sophia was so powerful that Vladimir breathed, "Surely, this must be the House of God", and the Eastern Orthodox Church building style, arts, liturgy and rituals were imported to Russia.

of Byzantium is considered to be the period of about 641 to 1025. The Byzantine Empire's influence in military power, religious influence and the arts made it one of the most important forces in the world in the Middle Ages.

The Eastern Orthodox Church underwent profound changes during the "Golden Age." In 726 a terrible earthquake in Constantinople, coupled with the rise of Islam and loss of Byzantine territory to the Muslims, made patriarchs of the church suspect the use of images as an affront to God, causing His displeasure and His wrath to rain down upon the sinning Byzantines. Emperor Leo III issued the first of many laws against the use of icons.

The split between East and West was pronounced and growing more contentious. In the West, the Roman Pope Gregory III threatened to expel the iconoclasts from the church. In Constantinople the emperor was seen as a union of religious and political power, and the Eastern Orthodox Church moved closer to Islam in its use of abstract decoration.

In 787, the Empress Irene condemned Iconoclasm in the Byzantine Empire. For a brief period, images were returned to the church, and the brazen gate of the imperial palace in Constantinople was crowned by an icon of Christ.

Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans in the West in 800. Empress Irene of Constantinople ignored the claims of the newly crowned Charlemagne. It was becoming clear that East and West had little in common.

Then, in 815 the second Iconoclast Council was convened, again reinstating iconoclasm. It was not until 843 that iconoclasm was finally defeated.

The final split separating the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches came in 1054, after centuries of disagreement. In this year Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael Cerularius excommunicated each other.

One source of contention concerned the use of images, or icons, in churches. Another dispute centered on the authority of the Pope, who is the bishop of Rome, over the churches, including the Eastern Orthodox Church. The churches even disagreed on issues of celibacy in the clergy. As hopes of reconciliation faded, the patriarchs of the Eastern churches gradually renounced allegiance to Rome and paid homage to the Patriarch of Constantinople as the first among equals.

The schism has never been healed, but in the 20th century most Orthodox churches have joined with Protestant denominations to form the World Council of Churches, established in 1948. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the World Council

of the Byzantine Empire covers roughly the period of 1025 to 1453.

In 1096, the First Crusade traveled to Jerusalem via Constantinople. More than 30,000 crusaders were given provisions for the crusade from the coffers of Byzantium. Partially out of spite for the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Crusaders sacked Byzantine territories on their way to Jerusalem. East-West tensions increased over Mediterranean shipping rights and privileges, and the Venetians and Byzantines were at war in 1171.

By 1204 hostilities increased to such a point that the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade sacked and looted Constantinople, and set up a Latin Empire in the city. Emperor Michael Paleologus wrested the city back from the Latins in 1261 for a final flowering of Byzantine arts and culture.

The final day of the Byzantine Empire came on May 29, 1453, at the hands of the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet the Conqueror. The great iron chain, bits of which can be seen today in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, was forged by the Byzantines to protect the water routes that led to the city. The Byzantines stretched their chain across the water and fortified the walls. The great Theodosian walls were manned with marksmen, but Constantinople in these last days was alone. She had lost her territories, and when she called for help none responded to the call. The last Byzantine Emperor, named Constantine Paleologus, went from bastion to bastion along the walls, cheering the men and urging them to strength. At midnight May 28, the faithful said their last prayers in Hagia Sophia. The Turks, led by Sultan Mehmet II, portaged their boats over land, bypassing the great chain of the Byzantines. With a 26 foot canon, the Turks were able to pierce the walls of the city. The Turks then entered Constantinople. They erected a crescent moon over Hagia Sophia, replacing the cross over the dome. On a white charger, Mehmet the Conqueror entered Hagia Sophia and declared it a mosque. That was the end of the Byzantine Empire, although not of its influence nor its legacy to the world.

Mosaic works are made by setting small tiles called tesserae (singular tessera) into a wet cement or lime plaster surface.

The first mosaics were made with colored pebbles. Other materials have included marble, mother-of-pearl, stone and terra-cotta. Today the units are usually cubes of opaque glass. Some of the earliest examples of mosaic are Mesopotamian wall decorations made of small ceramic cones . These date from the early 3rd millennium BC.

The earliest Greek patterned mosaics are made with small, naturally rounded pebbles set into fine cement. Even earlier unpatterned pebble floors have been found that date from the Bronze Age.

The development of tesserae may be due to a desire of the Greeks to compete with the effects of painting. By the Roman period, a very high degree of expertise in mosaic work leads to new techniques. The opus vermiculatum (from vermiculi, meaning worms), employed the use of tiny tesserae to outline figures and create very subtle lines and details in the mosaic.

The ancient city of Pergamon was a center of mosaic production and the home of the most famous mosaicist in antiquity, Sosos. His "Unswept Floor" depicts the remains of a banquet scattered on a floor, left to be cleaned by servants. Bits of food, scraps of bread...even a little mouse nibbling at a crust are depicted in a very clever illusionistic style. Sosos' mosaic of doves perched on the rim of a bowl, taking a drink made him famous and was copied throughout the ancient world.

The Alexander Mosaic, found at Pompeii, depicts a victory of Alexander the Great over the Persian king Darius. It is one of the finest works of the Roman period and is probably a copy of a lost painting. It is estimated that the mosaic contains a million tesserae.

Ancient tesserae vary in size from very small to quite large. The edges of ancient tesserae were beveled so they could be more easily set into their bed of plaster. Placing tesserae into the wet plaster unevenly helps create a glittering surface. Glass tesserae sparkle when placed in this manner. Gold tesserae are made by placing gold leaf within a layer of glass, creating an especially luminous and rich effect. Rough preliminary drawings have been found on the priming layers of plaster suggesting that painters laid out the designs and may have participated in the setting of tesserae as well. It is thought that, perhaps in warm weather, painters may have done mosaic work. In colder weather, they may have painted icons.

In the mid- and late 3rd century CE, there was a stylistic change, from earlier naturalistic Roman styles of mosaic. The Christian church, in its search for symbols appropriate to the spiritual message of Christ, developed a still, frontal style of art. The mosaics of this period were meant to illustrate the eternal truths of the Christian religion.

Every period of history has an art form that best expresses its ideas and faith. If we think "gothic" we may think spires and stained glass. The art of the Byzantine Empire, beginning in the early 5th century, relied heavily on the beauty, durability and legibility of mosaic with which to embellish its palaces and churches, instruct the faithful and enliven its monuments. Mosaic and church architecture were closely related. For example, Christ (the Pantocrator, or "all-powerful ruler") and the Virgin Mary (the Theotokos, or "mother of God"), appear in the central dome and apse respectively, in most Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The church of San Vitale (about 548) in Ravenna contains some of the greatest mosaics ever produced. The images of Justinian and his Empress Theodora from San Vitale are two of the most well-known of all mosaic images.

Byzantine mosaic development was as drastically interrupted by two periods of official iconoclasm as was the development of icon painting. Most mosaics before the Iconoclastic Controversy were destroyed, although those in Ravenna, being outside the direct influence of Constantinople, were saved. They give us an idea of what was lost throughout the empire.

The Golden Age of Byzantine Art...a second flowering of mosaic art flourishes in the period after the resolution of the Iconoclastic Controversy, the period between the 9th and 14th centuries. The Byzantine flat, decorative, linear style achieved a refinement and beauty unparalleled. The century or more beginning about 1050 is considered a period of high achievement in the mosaicist's art.

A rule of thumb for figuring how many tesserae could be set in a day can be calculated from the work in the great church of St. Sophia in Kiev. There, mosaicists working at top speed could set about 22 square feet of tile a day. The masters would have set the difficult bits such as; faces, hands, robes and such. The journeymen would have filled in the field or backgrounds of gold or the simpler patterns. If we use the gauge of 22 square feet a day, it would have taken the mosaicists of Kiev 320 days to complete the decoration of the dome of St. Sophia. This could not have been completed in a year, however. Mosaic setting is seasonal work. One cannot work in winter, because the plaster will not dry or set properly. So, we can guess that at least two seasons or more were required to embellish the dome of St. Sophia in Kiev.

are images of holy persons. The special nature of the icon is that it is thought by the faithful to intercede with the saint depicted. In other words, prayers said to the icon, are heard by the saint, and the prayer can be conveyed to Christ.

The Iconostasis or "Icon Wall" in a Byzantine or Eastern Orthodox Church is a screen separating the faithful from the divine and mysterious rituals of the Holy Sacrament. Unlike the Catholic Church, this ritual takes place behind a wall or screen, rather than at the altar in front of the congregation. Commonly, the Iconostasis is painted with the Deesis (literally, the "entreaty.") This is an arrangement of the following elements: Christ enthroned centrally, flanked by St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary (the Theotokos.) Both St. John and Mary are most frequently depicted making prayerful entreaties to the enthroned Christ.

Other kinds of icons were painted as well. Often, the patron saint of the city or town was depicted with his or her attributes. St. George, the patron saint of Moscow, is often shown on his horse, spearing the dragon beneath his feet.

In Russia, most homes had an "icon corner" where the icon was placed. Icons were believed to have a miraculous power of protection over the home and its occupants. Some icons, such as the famous Virgin of Vladimir, were thought to protect the city. Often, these famous icons were embellished with covers in precious metal and gems. The Virgin of Vladimir was revered enough to have several such covers, embellished through the years in silver and gold. Because many icons were small, some have survived the periods of Iconoclasm, although many more perished than have survived.

The emperor was sometimes shown in icons. In the earliest examples, hierarchical proportions are used to show the lower stature of the emperor and the elevated status of the saints. Later versions, however, show Christ crowning the Byzantine Emperor and Empress, and the height of all those depicted is about the same.

The Byzantines became the world's finest craftsmen of their time in applied arts, making luxurious clothing sewn with pearls and threaded with gold and silver.

Precious metals were used to create screens of opulent beauty. Candelabrum were made of solid silver, or gilded with the finest gold, and gold mosaic tiles glittered on the surfaces of ceilings and walls. The Pala d'Oro in Venice is an example of the rich decorative work of the Byzantines, and of the embellishment of gold with cloisonne enamel. Cloisons are small cells often made of gold, filled with colored enamel. This art was a specialty of the Byzantines.

The Byzantines created some of the world's finest manuscripts --- of the few remaining art forms to survive in numbers sufficient to give us an idea of the other lost works of painters of the Byzantine period.

Emperors and wealthy aristocrats commissioned, gave and received manuscripts. The finest painters of the day were called on to illuminate these beautiful books.

These lovely but fragile works are now in such perilous condition that some have not been opened for years. Often painted on parchment with water-based paints that easily flake from the surface, scholars of the Byzantine period must be satisfied with photographs of some of the more fragile books.

One of the most fascinating of the fragile books was painted to illustrate the sermons of the fourth century St. Gregory, the bishop of Nanzianzos in Greece. This sermon book depicts the emperor Basil I, his wife Andokia and their children. The prophet Elijah and the angel Gabriel flank the royal family. This allows us to date the work to the 800's. The beautiful illustrations do not so much depict the words of the text of the sermons, as they do the spirit of the meaning. This relationship between text and image creates an interesting and an unusual dynamic tension.