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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 10 page report discusses the Hagia Sophia, also referred to as the Church of the Holy Wisdom, has stood at one of the crossroads of the world for nearly 1500 years. It has withstood earthquakes, wars, invasions, and the ravages of time and weather. Its endurance has been credited to the fact that it has served the faiths of both Christianity and Islam, that it was built under the orders of one of the period's most faithful leaders, and the less spiritual reality that it is an architectural masterpiece. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Bwsophia.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
for nearly 1500 years. It has withstood earthquakes, wars, invasions, and the ravages of time and weather. Its endurance has been credited to the fact that it has served the
faiths of both Christianity and Islam, that it was built under the orders of one of the periods most faithful leaders, and the less spiritual reality that it is an
architectural masterpiece. Aside from its meaning for countless generations of worshipers, it offers valuable lessons regarding the ability to design and construct a magnificent edifice that would honor God and
its builders. According to Dixon (2002), the architects that Emperor Justinian assigned to the task were: "... Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus - were not renowned
builders, but they were excellent engineers and well versed in mathematics, statistics and kinetics" (p. 13). They proved themselves to be far ahead of their time in terms of one
very important aspect. Just as modern engineers and designers understand that a building has to have the ability to "give," Anthemius (a mathematician) and Isidore (a physicist and designer) developed
what amounted to as flexible cement (p. 13). Dixon also explains that a scientific team from the National Technical University of Athens analyzed the chemical composition of the cement through
the use of an electron microscope. One of the scientists on the team describes the Byzantines as being "very advanced scientists." He believes that they:
"... added volcanic ash or other silica-rich materials to their mortar based on limestone and crushed brick. This reacted with the limestone and water to produce
a silica matrix that can absorb seismic energy that would otherwise fracture the building" (p. 13).
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