Byzantium: Religion, Art, Architecture.

Abstract

Byzantium was theocratic empire with heterogeneous populations. The unifying factor to manage the politics, faith and national identity in the first place, as the best candidate, was religion. She was closely associated with the state. Religion was allied with the monarchy. The Glory of Byzantium is material and cultural heritage of humanity, which impresses with its richness and complexity.Luxury goods, rich decorated manuscripts, icons, works with engraving, ecclesiastical and liturgical decorated in gold and silver are important examples that stimulate the curiosity for the luxury of the byzantine religious culture. The majority of byzantine art was commissioned for religious purposes and predestined to be used in churches and monasteries. The churches could have three different types of clients-comittenti, not always easily distinguishable from each other: the state, the local church and private benefactors. The members of the imperial house and the courtyard were zealous patrons for buildings and works of religious art. The best example is the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, built by Justinian.Byzantium has formed an image that is identified by the iconography (Christ, St. Mary, iconoclasm), mosaics (symbolism, techniques, naturalism), orthodox churches ( type, construction techniques). The Byzantine Empire is one of the great lost civilizations, with an extraordinary eternal culture.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p194