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The Hagia Sophia is a historic basilica located in Istanbul, Turkey. Originally constructed as a grand Byzantine cathedral in 537 AD, it served as a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. Its most notable feature is its immense dome, a remarkable feat of engineering and architectural d...
The Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir is a 12th-century Byzantine masterpiece of Eastern Orthodox art, currently housed in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. It is an example of the Eleusa, or tender-loving, type of Marian icon, depicting the Christ child pressing his cheek against his mother's fac...
Piazza San Marco is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, positioned at the heart of the city's historic center. Enclosed on three sides by the Procuratie buildings and opening toward the Basilica di San Marco and the Doge's Palace, the square has served as the political, religious, and soci...
The Juliana Anicia Codex is an early sixth-century Byzantine illuminated copy of Dioscorides' pharmacological work De materia medica. Produced in Constantinople for the aristocratic patron Juliana Anicia, it contains Greek text, botanical illustrations, medical material, and elaborate dedicatory ima...
The Vienna Dioscurides is an early sixth-century Byzantine illuminated manuscript containing Dioscorides' De materia medica and related medical and natural-history texts. Made in Constantinople for Juliana Anicia, it includes numerous plant illustrations as well as portraits, diagrams, and dedicator...
Monreale Cathedral stands on Sicily’s island of Monreale, constructed in 1174 by Norman rulers. It is notable for its exceptionally elaborate interior adorned with extensive Byzantine-style mosaics – particularly those crafted from gold – representing biblical scenes and figures. The cathedral serve...
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark, commonly known as St. Mark's Basilica, is the primary Roman Catholic cathedral of Venice, Italy. Consecrated in 1094, the structure originally served as the personal chapel of the Doge and is a preeminent example of Italo-Byzantine architecture. The...
Hagia Sophia is a historic landmark located in Istanbul, Turkey. Originally constructed as a Byzantine cathedral in 537 CE, it transitioned into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The building’s architecture reflects both Byzantine and Islamic influences. It is now us...
The Basilica of San Vitale is a late antique church located in Ravenna, Italy, consecrated in 547 AD. It is a prime surviving example of early Byzantine architecture and features an octagonal floor plan. The basilica is best known for its extensive and well-preserved Byzantine mosaics, which adorn t...
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is the main Roman Catholic cathedral church of the city of Venice in Italy. Originally constructed in the 11th century, it is a prominent example of Italo-Byzantine architecture. The church is attached to the Doge's Palace and historically served as t...
The Crown of Saint Stephen, also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary, is the historic coronation regalia used by the Kingdom of Hungary for over eight centuries. Tradition holds that the crown was a gift sent by Pope Sylvester II to King Stephen I around the year 1000 AD. The object consists of two d...
The Pala d'Oro is a gold, enamel, and gemstone altar screen preserved behind the high altar of Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice. Its present form combines Byzantine enamels and Venetian goldwork produced and rearranged over several centuries, with major additions made in the fourteenth century. The d...
The Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is an early Christian church in Ravenna, Italy, originally constructed as a palatine chapel for the Ostrogothic king Theodoric in the early 6th century. The interior features extensive mosaic decorations along the nave walls, including processions of male and fe...
Gračanica Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near the city of Priština in Kosovo. Constructed in 1321 by the Serbian King Stefan Milutin, the structure is widely considered a masterpiece of medieval Serbo-Byzantine architecture. The building features a distinctive five-domed cross-in-...
The Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe is an early Christian and Byzantine religious structure located near the city of Ravenna, Italy. Consecrated in 549 AD, it was built to house the relics of Saint Apollinaris, the first bishop of Ravenna. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the basili...
The Great Lavra is a Greek Orthodox monastery located on the southeastern tip of the Mount Athos peninsula in Greece. Founded in 963 AD by Saint Athanasius the Athonite, with financial support from the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, it holds the first place in the hierarchy of the twenty mo...
The Euphrasian Basilica is a complex of early Christian religious buildings located in the town of Poreč, Croatia. Originally constructed in the 4th century and substantially rebuilt in the 6th century under Bishop Euphrasius, it is a premier example of early Byzantine architecture in the Mediterran...
The Paris Psalter, catalogued as Bibliotheque nationale de France grec 139, is a Byzantine Greek manuscript conventionally dated to the 10th century. It contains the Psalms and a group of fourteen full-page miniatures whose modeled figures, personifications, landscapes, and architectural settings de...
Hagia Sophia began as a Byzantine cathedral constructed in Constantinople (modern Istanbul) around 537 AD. It represents a significant architectural achievement blending Christian and Byzantine design with later modifications following its conversion into a mosque by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th c...
Anthemius of Tralles was a Greek architect and mathematician living during the Byzantine era. He is primarily known for his collaboration with Isidore of Miletus on the design of the Hagia Sophia basilica in Constantinople. His understanding of geometry and spatial relationships significantly influe...
The Menologion of Basil II is an illuminated Byzantine manuscript commissioned for Emperor Basil II around the turn of the 11th century. Preserved as Vatican Greek manuscript 1613, it contains Greek accounts of saints and feast days from September through February, accompanied by about 430 miniature...
The Vienna Genesis is a fragmentary illuminated Greek manuscript of the Book of Genesis, usually dated to the 6th century. Its surviving folios are written in silver ink on purple-dyed parchment and contain narrative miniatures arranged beneath the text, sometimes combining successive moments within...
The Rossano Gospels, or Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, is a 6th-century Greek Gospel book written in silver and gold ink on purple-dyed parchment. Its surviving text contains the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, accompanied by illustrated scenes from the life and Passion of Christ. The manuscript is among...
The Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus, catalogued as Bibliotheque nationale de France grec 510, is a richly illuminated Byzantine manuscript produced in Constantinople around 879 to 882. It contains Greek texts by the fourth-century theologian Gregory of Nazianzus and numerous full-page miniatures il...
The Diptych of Empress Ariadne is an early Byzantine ivory carving dating to approximately 500 CE, currently housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It portrays Ariadne, the Byzantine empress consort to Emperors Zeno and Anastasius I, standing in an imperial posture. The two-paneled artwor...
The Basilica of Saint Demetrius is a five-aisled early Christian basilica in Thessaloniki, Greece, dedicated to the city's patron saint, a Roman soldier martyred in the early 4th century. The original church dates to the 5th century; it was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 617 CE and again after...
Vatopedi Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in northern Greece, ranking second in the hierarchy of the twenty Athonite monasteries. Tradition attributes its founding to the late 10th century under the Byzantine emperor or figures associated with the Komnenos dynasty, and it ha...
Stavronikita Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery located on the Mount Athos peninsula in Greece. Constructed primarily during the 16th century, it is distinguished as the smallest of the mountain's twenty ruling monastic institutions. The monastery is fortified with high defensive w...
Isidore of Miletus (c. 570 – c. 634) was a Greek engineer and architect working in Constantinople during the Byzantine era. He is primarily known for his significant contributions to the design and construction of the Hagia Sophia, a landmark church that pioneered innovative techniques in dome engin...
The Chludov Psalter is a ninth-century Byzantine illuminated manuscript containing the Greek text of the Psalms accompanied by extensive marginal illustrations. Produced during or shortly after the end of Byzantine Iconoclasm, many of its images defend the veneration of icons and compare iconoclasts...
