What temple did Sophia build. Architecture and interior decoration. Need help with a topic

They say that every city founded in antiquity or in the Middle Ages has its own secret name. According to legend, only a few people could know him. The city's secret name contained its DNA. Having learned the "password" of the city, the enemy could easily take possession of it.

"Secret Name"

According to the ancient urban planning tradition, at the beginning the secret name of the city was born, then there was a corresponding place, the “heart of the city”, which symbolized the World Tree. Moreover, it is not necessary that the navel of the city should be located in the "geometric" center of the future city. The city is almost like Koshchei’s: “... his death is at the end of a needle, that needle is in an egg, that egg is in a duck, that duck is in a hare, that hare is in a chest, and the chest stands on a tall oak, and that Koschei tree, like its own eye, protects ".

Interestingly, ancient and medieval city planners always left hints. Love for puzzles distinguished many professional guilds. Some Freemasons are worth something. Before the profanation of heraldry in the Enlightenment, the role of these rebuses was performed by the coats of arms of cities. But this is in Europe. In Russia, until the 17th century, there was no tradition at all to encrypt the essence of the city, its secret name, in the coat of arms or some other symbol. For example, George the Victorious migrated to the coat of arms of Moscow from the seals of the great Moscow princes, and even earlier - from the seals of the Tver principality. It had nothing to do with the city.

"Heart of the City"

In Russia, the starting point for the construction of the city was the temple. It was the axis of any settlement. In Moscow, this function was performed by the Assumption Cathedral for centuries. In turn, according to the Byzantine tradition, the temple was to be built on the relics of the saint. At the same time, the relics were usually placed under the altar (sometimes also on one side of the altar or at the entrance to the temple). It was the relics that represented the “heart of the city”. The name of the saint, apparently, was the very "secret name". In other words, if St. Basil's Cathedral was the "founding stone" of Moscow, then the "secret name" of the city would be "Vasilyev" or "Vasilyev-grad".

However, we do not know whose relics lie at the base of the Assumption Cathedral. There is not a single mention of this in the annals. Probably the saint's name was kept secret.

At the end of the 12th century, a wooden church stood on the site of the current Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. A hundred years later, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich built the first Assumption Cathedral on this site. However, for unknown reasons, after 25 years, Ivan Kalita builds a new cathedral on this site. It is interesting that the temple was built on the model of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky. It's not entirely clear why? St. George's Cathedral can hardly be called a masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture. So there was something else?

perestroika

The model temple in Yuryev-Polsky was built in 1234 by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich on the site on the foundation of the white stone church of George, which was built in 1152 when the city was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Apparently, some increased attention was paid to this place. And the construction of the same temple in Moscow, perhaps, was supposed to emphasize some kind of continuity.

The Assumption Cathedral in Moscow stood for less than 150 years, and then Ivan III suddenly decided to rebuild it. The formal reason is the dilapidation of the structure. Although one and a half hundred years for a stone temple is not God knows how long. The temple was dismantled, and in its place in 1472 the construction of a new cathedral began. However, on May 20, 1474, an earthquake occurred in Moscow. The unfinished cathedral was seriously damaged, and Ivan decides to dismantle the remains and start building a new temple. Architects from Pskov are invited for construction, but for mysterious reasons, they categorically refuse to build.

Aristotle Fioravanti

Then Ivan III, at the insistence of his second wife Sophia Palaiologos, sends emissaries to Italy, who were supposed to bring the Italian architect and engineer Aristotle Fioravanti to the capital. By the way, in his homeland he was called the “new Archimedes”. It looks absolutely fantastic, because for the first time in the history of Russia, a Catholic architect is invited to build an Orthodox church, the main church of the Moscow State!

From the point of view of the then tradition - a heretic. Why an Italian was invited, who had never seen a single Orthodox church, remains a mystery. Maybe because not a single Russian architect wanted to deal with this project.

The construction of the temple under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti began in 1475 and ended in 1479. It is interesting that the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was chosen as a model. Historians explain that Ivan III wanted to show the continuity of the Muscovite state from the former "capital city" of Vladimir. But this again does not look very convincing, since in the second half of the 15th century, the former authority of Vladimir could hardly have had any image value.

Perhaps this was due to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which in 1395 was transported from the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir to the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, built by Ivan Kalita. However, history has not preserved direct indications of this.

One of the hypotheses why Russian architects did not get down to business, and an Italian architect was invited, is connected with the personality of the second wife of John III, the Byzantine Sophia Paleolog. A little more about this.

Sophia and the "Latin Faith"

As you know, Pope Paul II actively promoted the Greek princess as a wife to Ivan III. In 1465 her father, Thomas Palaiologos, brought her with his other children to Rome. The family settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV.

A few days after their arrival, Thomas died, having converted to Catholicism before his death. History has left us no information that Sophia converted to the "Latin faith", but it is unlikely that the Palaiologos could remain Orthodox while living at the court of the Pope. In other words, Ivan III, most likely, wooed a Catholic. Moreover, not a single chronicle reports that Sophia converted to Orthodoxy before the wedding. The wedding took place in November 1472. In theory, it was supposed to take place in the Assumption Cathedral. However, shortly before this, the temple was dismantled to the foundation in order to begin new construction. This looks very strange, because about a year before that, it was known about the upcoming wedding. It is also surprising that the wedding took place in a specially built wooden church near the Assumption Cathedral, which was demolished immediately after the ceremony. Why no other Kremlin cathedral was chosen remains a mystery.

What happened?

Let's get back to the refusal of Pskov architects to restore the destroyed Assumption Cathedral. One of the Moscow chronicles says that the Pskovites allegedly did not take up the work because of its complexity. However, it is hard to believe that Russian architects could refuse Ivan III, a rather harsh man, on such an occasion. The reason for the categorical refusal should have been very weighty. It was probably related to some heresy. A heresy that only a Catholic could bear - Fioravanti. What could it be?

The Assumption Cathedral, built by an Italian architect, does not have any "seditious" deviations from the Russian tradition of architecture. The only thing that could cause a categorical refusal is holy relics.
Perhaps the relics of a non-Orthodox saint could become a "mortgage" relic. As you know, Sophia brought many relics as a dowry, including Orthodox icons and a library. But, probably, we do not know about all the relics. It is no coincidence that Pope Paul II lobbied for this marriage so much.

If during the reconstruction of the temple there was a change of relics, then, according to the Russian tradition of urban planning, the “secret name” and, most importantly, the fate of the city changed. People who understand history well and subtly know that it was with Ivan III that the change in the rhythm of Russia began. Then the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

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Hagia Sophia - the Wisdom of God, Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia (Greek ?, in full: ?; Tur. Ayasofya) - a former patriarchal Orthodox cathedral, later a mosque, now a museum; the world-famous monument of Byzantine architecture, a symbol of the "golden age" of Byzantium. The official name of the monument today is the Hagia Sophia Museum (tour. Ayasofya Muzesi).

During the Byzantine Empire, the cathedral was located in the center of Constantinople next to the imperial palace. Currently located in the historical center of Istanbul, Sultanahmet district. After the capture of the city by the Ottomans, the Sofia Cathedral was turned into a mosque, and in 1935 it acquired the status of a museum. In 1985, the Hagia Sophia, among other monuments of the historical center of Istanbul, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For more than a thousand years, the St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople remained the largest church in the Christian world - until the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. The height of St. Sophia Cathedral is 55.6 meters, the diameter of the dome is 31 meters.

History

First buildings

Fragments of the Basilica of Theodosius

The cathedral was built on the market square of Augusteon in 324-337 under the Byzantine emperor Constantine I. Socrates Scholasticus the construction of the first temple, called Sophia, refers to the reign of Emperor Constantius II. According to N. P. Kondakov, Constantius only expanded the construction of Constantine. Socrates Scholasticus reports the exact date of the consecration of the temple: “after the erection of Eudoxius to the episcopal throne of the capital, the great church was consecrated, known under the name of Sophia, which happened on the tenth consulate of Constantius and the third of Caesar Julian, on the fifteenth day of the month of February.” From 360 to 380, St. Sophia Cathedral was in the hands of the Arians. Emperor Theodosius I in 380 handed over the cathedral to the Orthodox and on November 27 personally introduced Gregory the Theologian, who was soon elected the new Archbishop of Constantinople, to the cathedral.

This temple burned down during a popular uprising in 404. The newly built church was destroyed by fire in 415. Emperor Theodosius II ordered to build a new basilica on the same site, which was completed in the same year. The Theodosius Basilica burned down in 532 during the Nika uprising. Its ruins were discovered only in 1936 during excavations on the territory of the cathedral.

The Constantine and Theodosius churches were large five-aisled basilicas. A meager idea of ​​​​it is given only by archaeological finds, which allow us to judge only its impressive size and rich marble decoration. Also, based on its ancient descriptions, they conclude that two-tiered galleries were located above its side aisles, similar to the basilica of St. Irene built simultaneously with it.

Justinian Basilica

An angel shows Justinian a model of the Hagia Sophia

According to John Malale, the temple burned down on January 13, 532 during the Nika uprising. Forty days after the fire, Emperor Justinian I ordered a new church of the same name to be built in its place, which, according to his plan, was to become the decoration of the capital and serve as an expression of the greatness of the empire. For the construction of a grandiose temple, Justinian bought the nearest plots of land from private owners and ordered the demolition of the buildings located on them. To manage the work, Justinian invited the best architects of that time: Isidore of Miletus and Anthimius of Trall, who had previously established themselves by building the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus. Under their leadership, 10,000 workers worked daily.

Construction history

The best building material was used for the construction. Marble was brought from Proconnis, Numidia, Karista and Hierapolis. Also, according to the imperial circular, architectural elements of ancient buildings were brought to Constantinople (for example, eight porphyry columns taken from the temple of the Sun were delivered from Rome, and eight green marble columns from Ephesus). In addition to marble decorations, Justinian, in order to give the temple he was building an unprecedented brilliance and luxury, used gold, silver, and ivory to decorate it. The Russian pilgrim Anthony of Novgorod, who compiled a description of Constantinople before it was sacked by the crusaders in 1204, gives the following description of the altar of the cathedral:

In the great altar, above the great holy meal, under the catapetasma, the crown of Konstantin was hung, and a cross was hung in it, under the cross there was a golden dove; and other kings' crowns hang around the catapetasma. The same catapetasma is all made of gold and silver, and the pillars of the altar and ambon are all silver ... And yet, a miracle and a terrible and holy phenomenon: in St. Sophia in the great altar behind the holy throne stands a golden cross, above two people from the ground with precious stones and pearls made, and before him hangs a cross of gold and a half cubits ... in front of him are three golden lamps in which oil burns, these lamps and the cross were built by King Justinian, the builder of the church.

Construction of Hagia Sophia (miniature from the chronicle of Constantine Manasseh)

The unprecedented and unheard-of splendor of the temple amazed the people's imagination to such an extent that legends arose about the direct participation of heavenly forces in its construction. According to one legend, Justinian wanted to cover the walls of Hagia Sophia with gold from floor to arch, but astrologers predicted that “at the end of the centuries, very poor kings will come who, in order to capture all the wealth of the temple, will tear it down to the ground,” and the emperor, who took care of his glory, limited the luxury of construction.

The construction of the cathedral absorbed three annual incomes of the Byzantine Empire. "Solomon, I have surpassed you!" - such words were uttered, according to legend, by Justinian, entering the built cathedral and referring to the legendary Jerusalem Temple. The solemn consecration of the temple on December 27, 537 was performed by the Patriarch Mina of Constantinople.

Procopius of Caesarea, a contemporary of construction, describing the buildings of Emperor Justinian, enthusiastically describes the Hagia Sophia:

This temple presented a wonderful sight - for those who looked at it, it seemed exceptional, for those who heard about it - absolutely incredible. In height, it rises as if to the sky and, like a ship on the high waves of the sea, it stands out among other buildings, as if leaning over the rest of the city, decorating it as an integral part of it, it itself is decorated with it, since, being a part of it and entering its composition, it stands out above it so much that from it you can see the whole city at a glance.

Procopius of Caesarea. On Buildings (Book 5: I:27)

From the moment of construction, the name "great" was assigned to the church. For the performance of divine services in the cathedral there were numerous precious utensils. For the manufacture of the precious throne of the cathedral, according to Dorotheus of Monemvasia, “gold, silver, copper, electr, iron, glass, many honest stones, yachts, emeralds, beads, kasider, magnet, he (x) y, diamonds and other things were used. seventy-two different things." On it, the emperor placed the inscription "Yours from Yours we bring to You Yours, Christ, servants Justinian and Theodora." The state church and clergy of the cathedral under Justinian was designed for 525 people: 60 priests, 100 deacons, 40 deaconesses, 90 subdeacons, 110 readers, 25 chanters and 100 gatekeepers. Under Emperor Heraclius, it reached 600 people. According to the 43rd short story of Justinian, each trade and craft corporation allocated a certain number of workshops (ergastiriya), the income from which went to the needs of the Hagia Sophia.

The history of the cathedral during the Byzantine Empire

Interior view of the vaults of the cathedral

A few years after the completion of construction, an earthquake destroyed part of the cathedral:

the Eastern part of St. Sophia fell, which is under the holy altar, and destroyed the ciborium (that is, the canopy) and the holy meal and pulpit. And the mechanics admitted that since they, avoiding costs, did not arrange support from below, but left spans between the pillars that supported the dome, therefore the pillars could not stand it. Seeing this, the most pious king erected other pillars to support the dome; and in this way the dome was arranged, rising in height by more than 20 spans in comparison with the former building.

Chronography of Theophanes, year 6051/551

The cathedral also suffered from the earthquake of 989, especially its dome was destroyed. The building was propped up with buttresses, from which it lost its former appearance. The collapsed dome was rebuilt by the Armenian architect Trdat, the author of the Ani Cathedral, and the architect made the dome even more sublime.

On July 16, 1054, in St. Sophia Cathedral, on the holy altar, during a service by the legate of the Pope, Cardinal Humbert, Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople was presented with a letter of exclusion. (It is this date that is considered to be the date of the division of the churches into Catholic and Orthodox.)

Before the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204, the Shroud of Turin was kept in the cathedral.

In the 14th century, the well-known church composer John Kladas was the lampdarium of the cathedral.

Cathedral after the Ottoman conquest

Central view of the north nave in 1852

On May 30, 1453, Sultan Mehmed II, who conquered Constantinople, entered the Hagia Sophia, which was turned into a mosque. Four minarets were added to the cathedral, and the cathedral turned into the Ayasofya mosque. Since the cathedral was oriented according to the Christian tradition - the altar to the east, the Muslims had to change it, placing the mihrab in the southeast corner of the cathedral (direction to Mecca). Because of this alteration in Hagia Sophia, as in other former Byzantine temples, praying Muslims are forced to position themselves at an angle relative to the main volume of the building. Most of the frescoes and mosaics remained unscathed, according to some researchers, precisely because they were plastered over for several centuries.

In the second half of the 16th century, under sultans Selim II and Murad III, heavy and rough buttresses were added to the cathedral building, which significantly changed the appearance of the building. Until the middle of the 19th century, no restoration work was carried out in the temple. In 1847, Sultan Abdulmecid I commissioned the architects Gaspard and Giuseppe Fossati to restore the Hagia Sophia, which was in danger of collapsing. Restoration work continued for two years.

In 1935, according to the decree of Ataturk, Aya Sofya became a museum, and layers of plaster hiding them were removed from the frescoes and mosaics. In 2006, a small room was allocated in the museum complex for holding Muslim religious rites by the museum staff.

architectural features

1. Entrance 2. Imperial Gate 3. Weeping Column 4. Altar. Mihrab 5. Minbar 6. The Sultan's Lodge 7. Omphalos ("navel of the world") 8. Marble urns from Pergamum a.) Byzantine baptistery, tomb of Sultan Mustafa I b.) Minarets of Sultan Selim II

In terms of plan, the cathedral is an oblong quadrangle (75.6 m long and 68.4 m wide), forming three naves: the middle one is wide, the side ones are narrower. This is a basilica with a quadrangular cross, crowned with a dome. The giant domed system of the cathedral became a masterpiece of architectural thought of its time. The strength of the walls of the temple is achieved, according to Turkish researchers, by adding an extract of ash leaves to the mortar.

The middle of the wide nave, square at the base, is limited at the corners by four massive pillars supporting huge arches, and is covered with a rather flat dome 31 m in diameter, the top of which is 51 m from the floor. The dome consists of forty radial arches; arched windows (there are also 40 of them) are cut in the lower parts of the inter-arch spaces, due to which a feeling of a continuous light belt is created in the lower part of the dome. The dome is connected to the overlapped rectangular space with the help of spherical triangles - sails - which later became widespread in world architecture. Two colossal niches with a hemispherical top adjoin the domed space from the east and west: three more smaller niches open into the eastern niche with their arches, of which the middle one, which served as the altar apse, is deeper than the others and protrudes from the general plan of the temple in the form of a semicircle; three niches also adjoin the western large niche; of these, the middle one, representing at the top not a hemispherical, but an ordinary box vault, contains three doors leading to the inner and outer vestibules attached to the temple (esonartex and exonartex), in front of which there was once a now non-existent courtyard, surrounded by a gallery with columns.

The domed space on the north and south sides communicates with the side aisles with the help of arches supported by porphyry and malachite columns taken from the temples of Asia Minor and Egypt; under these arches there is another tier of similar arches, which open into the dome space arranged in the side aisles of the gynaecium galleries, and even higher - the huge arches supporting the dome are sealed with a straight wall with windows arranged in three rows. In addition to these windows, the interior of the temple provides abundant, although somewhat diffused illumination of 40 windows encircling the base of the dome, and five windows each in large and small niches.

The central nave of the cathedral, the chancel and the main dome

The interior decoration of the temple lasted for several centuries and was distinguished by special luxury (mosaics on the golden floor, 8 green jasper columns from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus). The walls of the temple were also completely covered with mosaics (both plot compositions and ornaments). With its majestic architecture and decoration

the main sanctuary of the entire state inspired the idea of ​​the power of the Byzantine Empire and the church. This was served by the size of the temple, designed for crowds of thousands of people, and the luxury of interior decoration with colored marble and decorative mosaics, and the splendor of the ceremonies that took place in the temple. It was in a new type of building, in the domed basilica of St. Sophia, the most consistently expressed characteristic of Byzantine art of the 6th century. tendencies towards grandiosity, majestic pomp and solemnity.

The sights of Hagia Sophia include the "weeping column", covered with copper (there is a belief that if you put your hand in the hole and, feeling wet, make a wish, it will surely come true), as well as the "cold window", where even on the hottest day blows cool breeze.

In 1935, layers of plaster covering them were removed from the frescoes and mosaics. Thus, at present, on the walls of the temple, one can see both images of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, and quotes from the Koran on four large oval shields.

On the railings of the upper gallery of the temple, you can find graffiti left throughout the history of its existence. The most ancient of them are covered with transparent plastic and are considered one of the protected sites (see section Runic inscriptions).

Mosaic cycle

Mosaic image of the Virgin in the apse

The mosaics of Hagia Sophia are an example of Byzantine monumental art from the period of the Macedonian dynasty. The mosaics show all three stages in the development of metropolitan neoclassicism, as they were made in three periods: around the middle of the 9th century, at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries and at the end of the 10th century.

Mosaic of the apse

The very first mosaic cycle was created after the end of iconoclasm in 867. These include the mosaics of the apse and the vima adjoining it. The manner of execution of these mosaics makes them related to the painting of the 7th century. In the apse there is a throne image of the Mother of God, holding in front of her on her knees the baby Christ. Two archangels were depicted on the arches of the vima on either side of the figure of the Virgin (only a mosaic with the archangel Gabriel has survived. A Greek inscription (almost completely lost) was placed along the edge of the conch with the following text: “The images that the deceivers overthrew here were restored by the pious rulers.” pilgrim Anthony of Novgorod, who visited Constantinople around 1200, reports that the mosaic of the apse was created by the icon painter Lazar, who suffered during the period of iconoclasm, and after the Triumph of Orthodoxy received wide recognition.A. Grabar admits the possibility of this and completely excludes the Byzantinist K. Mango. Academician V. N Lazarev described the mosaic depicting the Virgin as follows:

Archangel Gabriel (mosaic of the arch of vima)

Instead of subordinating the figure to the plane, the mosaicist arranges it as if it protrudes from a golden background. In such an interpretation, the remnants of that ancient understanding of form, which could be called statuary, are vividly felt. And the ancient echoes in the beautiful, full of femininity face of Mary are just as strong. A soft oval, a well-shaped nose, juicy lips - everything gives it an earthy character. But at the same time, he captivates with his spirituality.

No less highly appreciated by him is the mosaic with the archangel Gabriel, he believes that "next to the Nicene angels, this amazing image represents one of the highest incarnations of the Byzantine genius." It is noted that the mosaicist conveyed an impetuous spiritual power in the image, but the proportions of the image are elongated and the correct outlines of the image are lost.

Mosaics of the southern vestibule and the northern tympanum

The images in the vaulted room in the southwestern corner above the southern vestibule of the cathedral belong to the first period of the creation of mosaic decoration. The entrance wall was decorated with a deesis (the figure of John the Baptist has not been preserved). 12 figures were placed on the vault, of which only the prophet Ezekiel, the first martyr Stephen in the pose of an orant, and the emperor Constantine have been preserved and can be identified. In the lunettes of the side walls are placed half-figures of the twelve apostles and four holy patriarchs of Constantinople during the iconoclasm: Herman, Tarasius, Nicephorus and Methodius. V. N. Lazarev notes the low level of these mosaics and suggests that they were created by masters from monastic circles, and their very period of creation immediately after the end of the iconoclasm period determines the influence of folk art on them.

John Chrysostom

Around 878, mosaics depicting sixteen Old Testament prophets and fourteen saints were created in the north tympanum of the cathedral. Of these, mosaics depicting John Chrysostom, Ignatius the God-bearer and four other saints have been preserved. The level of mosaicists who worked on their creation, V.N. Lazarev assesses as low, but notes:

The figures are broad and squat, the facial features are large, still devoid of the dryness and pointedness characteristic of later mosaics, the robes fall in calm folds, in which there is nothing of calligraphic refinement. The pinkish tones of the faces are treated with green shadows, the palette is built on light, mainly gray and white, shades, so that it lacks the density and saturation of color that distinguish the mosaics of the 11th century.

Narfik entrance mosaic

Emperor Leo VI kneels before Jesus Christ

During the reign of Emperor Leo VI (886-912), the lunette of the narficus was decorated with a mosaic depicting Jesus Christ sitting on a throne with the Gospel open with the words “Peace be with you. I am the light of the world”, in the left hand and blessing with the right. On either side of it in medallions are depicted half-figures of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael in medallions. To the left of Jesus is the kneeling Emperor Leo VI. Despite the fact that the composition is not symmetrical (the figure of the Lion does not correspond to any figure on the right), the mosaic has a strict balanced composition: “It is carried out due to the wide strip below, against which the figure is placed, which thus does not constitute an independent compositional spot. This strip contributes to the weighting of the lower part of the image, its solid construction.

Andrei Grabar notes that this composition is very rare for imperial iconography. It probably reflects some solemn religious ceremony. This version is based on the solemn meeting of the emperor by the patriarch in the narthica of the church of Hagia Sophia, described in the work of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus “On Ceremonies”. The emperor listened to the “prayer of entry” from the patriarch, and then, before entering the nave of the cathedral, he bowed three times before this door. Parallels are also found between the plot of the mosaic and the poem of Leo VI in which he describes the Last Judgment and falls at the feet of Christ and appeals for intercession to the Mother of God and heavenly powers.

Academician V.N. Lazarev described the mosaic of Emperor Leo’s worship of Jesus Christ as follows:

In terms of texture, the mosaic of the lunette occupies an intermediate position between the mosaics of the apse and vima and the mosaic of the vestibule of St. Sofia. In the figures there is still a heaviness typical of the art of the 9th century: large, rather massive heads, squat proportions, large limbs. The drawing, especially in the interpretation of fabrics, is sometimes knocked down, the faces are devoid of subtle spirituality, there is something sluggish and even impersonal in the whitish color scheme.

Austrian art historian Otto Demus points out that this mosaic can only be viewed from below and from a very large angle of view. This is because the mosaic cubes are placed obliquely in the wall to form a right angle with the viewer's eye.

Portrait of Emperor Alexander

Emperor Alexander

On the northwestern pillar of the northern gallery of the cathedral is a mosaic portrait of Emperor Alexander. It was opened during the restoration work in 1958 and has an exact date of 912. The mosaic belongs to the type of votive images and is a lifetime portrait of the emperor.

The figure is depicted in a frontal pose, Alexander is presented in a precious vestment, girded with lore, adorned with precious stones, and a crown with pendants. A cylindrical object (akakia or anaksikakia) is placed in the right hand, and an orb in the left. The mosaic depicts the emperor at the Easter service. According to the book “On Ceremonies”, on this day the emperor from the Grand Palace went to the cathedral, carrying an akakiya in his hand (according to Georgy Kodin, it was a bundle of silk fabric filled with earth), and girded himself with lore.

On the sides of the image are medallions containing the name of the emperor and monograms, deciphered as "Lord, help your servant, Orthodox noble emperor." On the arches adjacent to the mosaic with the image of Emperor Alexander, fragments of mosaics with ornaments, made at the same time as the portrait, have been preserved. However, among them two fragments of the image of acanthus shoots dated from the period of Justinian I were discovered.

Academician V. N. Lazarev notes that a feature of this mosaic is the widespread use of silver cubes (compared to gold ones), which occupy about 1/3 of the background of the mosaic. Also, in some places of the mosaic (for example, the thumb and on the palm of the left hand), the preparatory fresco painting was not covered with mosaic cubes.

Mosaic of the south vestibule

Emperors Constantine and Justinian in front of the Mother of God

The mosaic of the lunette above the door from the southern vestibule to the narthic of the cathedral was created in the second half of the 10th century. It depicts the Mother of God on the throne with the Mother of God on her knees, and on the sides of the emperors Constantine (on the right), bringing the city of Constantinople as a gift, and Justinian (on the left), bringing the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia to the Mother of God. The plot itself, according to V. N. Lazarev, was borrowed from ancient art. According to the art critic V. D. Likhacheva, this mosaic reminds of the portraits of Justinian and Theodora in the Basilica of San Vitale. The room on the same mosaic of Constantine and Justinian does not find analogues in Byzantine art. Andrei Grabar notes that it is possible that the mosaicist copied some ancient pattern, since the emperors, although depicted in ceremonial clothes of the 11th century, do not have beards, although they were in fashion at the time the mosaic was created.

The mosaic is distinguished by an attempt to convey space - the plane of the earth and the perspective in the image of the throne give it depth; also the figures themselves have volume. They note an attempt to create historical portraits of emperors on this mosaic. Academician V. N. Lazarev writes that this mosaic is inferior to other examples of Late Macedonian art, and in comparison with the mosaic of the vestibule, it differs in the use of purple, gold and silver colors, beloved at the imperial court. Also, this mosaic is distinguished by the fact that in its individual elements the linear-patterned interpretation becomes overwhelming technique (for example, the hands of the Virgin and emperors are drawn to the wrists with curved, but depicting nothing lines).

Islamic elements of architecture and decoration

Minbar, from where the imam delivers sermons

Runic inscriptions

One of the runic inscriptions at Hagia Sophia Main article: Runic inscriptions at Hagia Sophia

Runic inscriptions in Hagia Sophia are inscriptions made in Scandinavian runes on the marble parapets of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. They were probably scrawled by warriors from the Varangian guard of the emperor of Byzantium in the Middle Ages. The first of the runic inscriptions was discovered in 1964, then a number of other inscriptions were found. The possibility of the existence of other runic inscriptions is also assumed, but special research of this kind was not carried out in the cathedral.

Temple Liberation Campaign

In 2007, a number of influential American businessmen and politicians led a movement to return Hagia Sophia's original status, the Free Agia Sophia Council. At a Congressional Human Rights Caucus public hearing on June 20, 2007 chaired by Congressional Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, New Hampshire Democratic Party President Raymond Buckley said, in part: : “It is unacceptable to deprive people of the right to pray in their Mother Church<…>It is unacceptable to endure the daily desecration of this sacred place, which is used for trade fairs and concerts. It is unacceptable to continue to allow such open disrespect for Orthodox Christianity, and indeed for all Christianity.”

Chris Spirou, president of the international movement Council for the Liberation of Hagia Sophia, said in an April 2009 interview with the Russian newspaper Zavtra:

We strive for the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia of the Wisdom of God to once again take its rightful place as a temple, sacred to all Christianity, as the mother of all churches, as the royal temple of Orthodoxy - which it was before the capture by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The thing is that Hagia Sophia has never been a mosque and has never been a museum. It has always been a Christian temple, converted into a mosque of the conquering sultan, and then into a museum. I consider it obligatory to return this temple to its original purpose.

The tradition of erecting Assumption churches in Russia began in ancient Kyiv: then, along with the Church of Hagia Sophia, the first Assumption Cathedral in the newly converted country was built, in the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery. According to legend, the Most Holy Theotokos Herself sent architects from Constantinople, gave them gold for construction and promised to come and live in the newly built church. Stolny Kiev began to imitate other Russian cities. Assumption cathedrals appeared in Vladimir, Rostov, Smolensk and other princely centers.

In Moscow, before the reign of Ivan Kalita, the main temple was the Dmitrovsky Cathedral, dedicated to the holy warrior Demetrius of Thessalonica, the patron saint of the defenders of the Fatherland and the heavenly patron of Vladimir Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest. Perhaps this temple was a replica of the Dmitrovsky Cathedral in capital Vladimir, although this version is not shared by all scientists.

At the beginning of the XIV century, Russian metropolitans preferred to live not in Kyiv, but in Vladimir. However, the Prince of Vladimir took a dislike to the then Metropolitan, Saint Peter. With the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita, the saint, on the contrary, developed good relations. And when Metropolitan Peter arrived in Moscow for the funeral of his elder brother Ivan Kalita, who was killed in the Horde, the prince invited him to stay in Moscow forever. The saint accepted the invitation in 1325. And his successors immediately came to live in Moscow, which thus became the de facto church capital of Russia.

Metropolitan Peter at the same time persuaded the Moscow prince to build the Assumption Cathedral on the model of Vladimir, wanting the cathedral dedicated to the Mother of God to become the main temple of Moscow. In August 1326, the saint founded the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. Then it was a modest one-domed temple, but with it Moscow appeared as the heir of ancient Vladimir. The following year, after the laying of the cathedral, Ivan Kalita received a label from the Mongol khan for a great reign, and Moscow became the Russian capital.

The Moscow Assumption Cathedral continued the tradition of the first Russian Sophia churches that stood in Kyiv, Novgorod and Polotsk, which were already comprehended in connection with the Most Holy Theotokos. According to the theological doctrine of Hagia Sophia - the Wisdom of God (translated from the ancient Greek "sophia" means "wisdom"), God, creating man, already knew about his impending fall into sin. According to the Divine plan, Christ, the Savior of the human race, the incarnate Logos - the Word of God, was to come into the world to make a redemptive sacrifice. The Most Holy Theotokos is the Mother of Christ, and therefore the Mother of the whole Church - the mystical body of Christ. On the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, the beginning of Her glorification as the Queen of Heaven is honored, when the Divine plan for the salvation of man is completed in full.

The Byzantine tradition identified Sophia not with the Mother of God, but with Jesus Christ Himself. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople was dedicated to Christ. Since the main Christian temple and the prototype of all Christian churches - the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in Jerusalem was erected on the site of the historical events of the Savior's earthly life, it could not be repeated. That is why they turned to theological interpretation. Thus, in the 6th century, the world's first church of Hagia Sophia appeared in Constantinople as a symbol of the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection of the Lord.

In Russia, a different, Mother of God, interpretation of Hagia Sophia has developed. If the Byzantine tradition identified Hagia Sophia with the Logos-Christ, then in Russia the image of Sophia began to be perceived in connection with the Mother of God, through Whom the Divine plan for the Savior was realized. In Russia, there were two patronal feasts of Hagia Sophia: in Kyiv - on August 15/28, on the feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God, and in Novgorod - on September 8/21, on the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, when they honor the appearance into the world of the One who eventually became the Mother of Jesus Christ. The celebration of Hagia Sophia on the day of the Assumption glorifies the incarnate Wisdom of God through the full realization of the Divine plan, when the Mother of God is glorified as the Queen of Heaven and as the Intercessor of the human race before the heavenly throne of Her Divine Son.

The construction of the Sophia churches proper was typical only for the early period of ancient Russian architecture of the 10th-13th centuries. The capital cities of Kyiv and Novgorod imitated Byzantium in this. And then the tradition of building cathedrals dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Russian image of Hagia Sophia took root. So the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin became the Moscow Sophia. At the same time, it was a theological and urban planning symbol of Sophia of Constantinople, rethought in the Russian tradition, since Moscow - the Third Rome - was also guided by the symbols of the Second Rome. Moscow recognized itself as the home of the Most Pure Mother of God with Her main chamber - the Assumption Cathedral.

"We see heaven!"

On August 4, 1327, the Assumption Cathedral was consecrated, but Saint Peter did not live to see this celebration. He was buried in the newly built cathedral, where, during his lifetime, he carved out a coffin for himself with his own hands.

In 1329, his successor, Metropolitan Theognost, built a chapel in the Assumption Cathedral in honor of the Adoration of the honest chains of the Apostle Peter - on the namesake of the deceased saint. In 1459, St. Jonah built a chapel in the Assumption Cathedral in honor of the Praise of the Mother of God - in gratitude for the victory over the Tatar Khan Sedi-Akhmat. Thus, a throne appeared at the main temple of Russia in honor of the holiday from which the history of Moscow began, for the legendary meeting of the allied princes Yuri Dolgoruky and Svyatoslav Olgovich on April 4, 1147 took place on the eve of the Praise holiday. And in memory of the former cathedral church of Moscow, the Dmitrovsky chapel was consecrated in the Assumption Cathedral. (All these aisles were moved to a new temple built by Aristotle Fioravanti.)

Until the end of the 14th century, the main shrine of the Assumption Cathedral was the Peter's Icon of the Mother of God, painted by St. Peter himself (now it is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery). And in 1395, the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was transferred to the Assumption Cathedral, which saved Moscow from Tamerlane and became for centuries the main shrine of the Russian state.

In 1453, Constantinople fell, and Moscow became the historical and spiritual successor of Byzantium. The Tatar-Mongol yoke was coming to an end. Ivan III, having united the specific Russian principalities under the rule of Moscow into a single state, decided to build a new Assumption Cathedral on the model of Vladimir, which was supposed to symbolize the victory of Moscow.

At first, no one was going to contact the Italian masters. The architect Vasily Yermolin, the first Russian architect, whose name has been preserved in history, was offered to build the cathedral. But he refused because of the “hurtful” condition - to work together with another master, Ivan Golova-Khovrin, and the work was entrusted to Pskov architects Krivtsov and Myshkin, since Pskov suffered the least from the Horde yoke and experienced craftsmen remained in it.

While the new temple was being erected, a wooden church was placed next to it so as not to stop worship. It was in it that on November 12, 1472, Ivan III married the Byzantine princess Sophia Paleolog. Soon after this wedding, disaster struck: in May 1474, the Assumption Cathedral, which was almost erected, collapsed. On the advice of his wife, who lived in Italy before the wedding, Ivan III sent his ambassador Semyon Tolbuzin there with an assignment to find a knowledgeable craftsman, for the Italians were the best builders in Europe. Tolbuzin invited Aristotle Fioravanti.

A native of Bologna, he was said to have received his nickname for his wisdom and skill. He knew how to move buildings, straighten bell towers, and he was considered an architect "unmatched in the whole world," which did not stop him from being accused (as it turned out, in vain) of selling counterfeit coins. Offended by his compatriots, Fioravanti agreed to the proposal of the Russian ambassador to go to Muscovy. There is a version that the architect immediately offered the Moscow prince the already drawn up project of the Assumption Cathedral, but at the insistence of the metropolitan he nevertheless went to Vladimir to study Russian samples. The conditions were set for him - to create a cathedral exclusively in Russian temple traditions and using the most advanced technology, and most importantly, to solve the problem that the Pskov masters could not cope with - to increase the internal space of the Assumption Cathedral several times compared to the former temple of the times of Ivan Kalita.

The new Assumption Cathedral was founded in 1475. According to legend, the architect built a deep crypt under it, where they put the famous liberium brought to Moscow by Sophia Paleolog (it will go down in history as the library of Ivan the Terrible). Three temple chapels are located in the altar part, retaining their dedications (only under Peter I, the Petroverigsky chapel was re-consecrated in the name of the apostles Peter and Paul). In the Dmitrovsky aisle, Russian tsars changed their clothes during the wedding to the throne. And in the aisle of Praise of the Virgin, Russian metropolitans and patriarchs were elected. In the second half of the 17th century, the Pokhvalsky chapel was moved to the very top, to the southeastern dome of the Assumption Cathedral, a spiral staircase was led to it from the altar and served there only on the patronal feast.

The solemn consecration of the Assumption Cathedral took place in August 1479. The following year, Russia was freed from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. This era was partly reflected in the architecture of the Assumption Cathedral, which became a symbol of the Third Rome. Its five powerful heads, symbolizing Christ surrounded by four evangelist apostles, are notable for their helmet-like shape. Poppy, that is, the top of the temple dome, symbolizes the flame - a burning candle and fiery heavenly forces. During the period of the Tatar yoke, the poppy becomes like a military helmet. This is just a slightly different image of fire, since the Russian soldiers revered as their patrons the host of heaven - angelic forces led by Archangel Michael. The helmet of a warrior, on which the image of Archangel Michael was often placed, and the helmet-poppy of a Russian temple merged into a single image.

In ancient times, Greek four-pointed crosses were installed on Orthodox churches: the connection of the four ends in a single center symbolized that the height, depth, longitude and breadth of the world are contained by God's power. Then a Russian eight-pointed cross appeared, which had the prototype of the Cross of the Lord. According to legend, Ivan the Terrible erected the first eight-pointed cross on the central dome of the Assumption Cathedral. Since then, this type of cross has been adopted by the Church everywhere for installation on temple domes.

The idea of ​​Sophia is captured in the painting of the eastern facade facing the belfry, with frescoes in the niches. The New Testament Trinity is depicted in the central place, and in the right niche - Hagia Sophia in the form of a fiery Angel seated on a throne with royal regalia and a scroll. According to the modern researcher of the Kremlin temples I.L. Buseva-Davydova, the image of the Wisdom of God is collectively presented: fire enlightens the soul and incinerates passions, fiery wings lift up from the enemy of the human race, the royal crown and scepter mean dignity, the scroll - Divine secrets. The seven pillars of the throne illustrate the verse from the Holy Scriptures: “Wisdom has made for herself a house, and establish seven pillars” (Prov. 9: 1). On the sides of Sophia are depicted the winged Mother of God and John the Baptist, their wings symbolize purity and angelic life. Contrary to the canonical tradition, the southern façade, facing the Cathedral Square, also glorifies Hagia Sophia, dominates in the Assumption Cathedral. Above its gates is a huge Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God - in honor of the Vladimir Icon, which was within the walls of the cathedral.

The famous Korsun gates are installed in the southern portal of the cathedral. There was a legend that they were brought from Korsun (Sevastopol) by the holy Prince Vladimir. In fact, the gates were made in the 16th century, and the plots embossed on them are dedicated to the birth of the Savior into the world as the embodiment of Divine Wisdom. Therefore, among the depicted characters are the Mother of God, biblical prophets, ancient sibyls and pagan sages who predicted the Nativity of the Savior from the Virgin. The gates are overshadowed by the Savior Not Made by Hands, revered as the defender of the city.

The southern portal was the royal entrance to the Assumption Cathedral, it was called the "red doors". After the coronation of sovereigns, they traditionally showered gold coins here - as a sign of the wish for prosperity and wealth to his state. The western facade served for solemn processions during coronations and religious processions. Previously, it was overshadowed by the image of the Assumption of the Mother of God in accordance with the temple dedication. And the gates of the northern facade, facing the patriarchal chambers, served as the entrance for the higher clergy, since it was the closest to the metropolitan court. In the northwestern corner there is a small white stone cross: this is how the place inside the cathedral is marked, where St. Jonah is buried - the first Russian metropolitan, appointed in Moscow by the cathedral of Russian bishops without the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The interior of the cathedral echoes the general idea. The first painting was made, as soon as the walls dried up, in 1481 by the great icon painter Dionysius. She was so beautiful that when the sovereign with the metropolitan and the boyars examined the cathedral, they exclaimed "We see heaven!" However, the cathedral did not have heating for a long time, sudden changes in temperature harmed the paintings, and in 1642 it was repainted: it is believed that the old frescoes were transferred to paper, and the painting was created anew from them. Interestingly, together with the boyar Repnin, the stolnik Grigory Gavrilovich Pushkin, the poet's ancestor, supervised the work. The painting of the cathedral partly captured its era. In the southwestern dome, God Sabaoth is depicted in an eight-pointed halo, while only seven ends of the halo are visible. After all, the earthly history of mankind will last seven conditional millennia from the creation of the world. The millennium was symbolically identified with the "age". And the seven visible ends mean that God is the ruler of all the "seven centuries" of earthly history, and the invisible eighth end symbolizes the "eighth century" - "the life of the future age" in the eternal Kingdom of God. This topic was very important in Russia at the end of the 15th century, when the fateful seventh thousand years and the end of the world in 1492 were expected.

Most of the southern and northern walls are occupied by the Mother of God cycles - images dedicated to the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos and images on the theme of the akathist to the Mother of God, where the Queen of Heaven is glorified as the Intercessor of the human race. In the lower tier of the walls, seven Ecumenical Councils are depicted. The western wall is canonically given to the image of the Last Judgment, and foreign heretics in European costumes with white round collars are depicted as sinners.

The Assumption Cathedral was a symbol of the unity of Russia, united around capital Moscow. In the local rank of the iconostasis were icons brought from specific principalities, and the most revered icons.

The iconostasis that is now in the cathedral was created in 1653 at the behest of Patriarch Nikon and captured the innovations of his era. In the most honorable place, to the right of the royal gates, where the image of the Lord Jesus Christ is always located, there is an ancient icon of the Golden Robe of the Savior, also known as the Savior of Emperor Manuel. Perhaps even Ivan III took it from the Novgorod church of Hagia Sophia, but it is more likely that Ivan the Terrible brought the icon to Moscow after a campaign against Novgorod in 1570. The name "Golden Robe" comes from the huge gilded frame that used to cover the image of the Savior. In the 17th century, the royal master Kirill Ulanov, while restoring the image, carefully painted the robe of Christ with gold, trying to restore the ancient iconography. According to legend, this image was painted by the Byzantine emperor Manuel. The Savior was depicted according to the canon - blessing, with his right hand raised. But one day the emperor unleashed his wrath on the priest. And then in a dream the Lord appeared to him, pointing his fingers down, as a warning about the humility of pride. Waking up, the shocked emperor saw that the Savior on his icon really lowered his right hand down. Then the emperor allegedly presented the image to the people of Novgorod. Patriarch Nikon deliberately placed this particular icon in the most honorable place in order to establish his teaching about the superiority of spiritual power over secular.

The temple image of the Assumption was painted by Dionysius, although earlier its authorship was attributed to St. Peter. This is an iconographic type of “cloudy Assumption”: here the apostles are miraculously transferred on clouds to the bed of the Most Holy Theotokos, when She wished to see them all before her departure from the world. Behind the southern door is the icon of the “Queen Present”, also taken out of Novgorod. According to legend, it was painted by Alipy, the first famous Russian icon painter, a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery. The Lord is depicted in the vestments of a priest, at the same time reminiscent of the robes of the emperor, which symbolizes the merging of spiritual and secular power in Christ and the symphony of Church and state. Above the rightmost door leading to the Pokhvalsky chapel is the famous “Savior the Fiery Eye”, painted by a Greek artist in the 1340s for the old Assumption Cathedral from the time of Ivan Kalita.

The image to the left of the royal doors is the second place of honor in the iconostasis, where the image of the Mother of God is traditionally placed. It was here from 1395 until the October Revolution that the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God stood, which always chose its own place of residence. In the terrible Moscow fire of 1547, only the Assumption Cathedral, in which the shrine was located, remained unharmed. Metropolitan Macarius, having served, choking in smoke, a prayer service, wanted to take the icon out of the fire, but they could not move it. Now it is located in the Zamoskvorechye church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Tolmachi, the house church of the Tretyakov Gallery, and in the Assumption Cathedral, a list (copy) made by a disciple of Dionysius in 1514 took its place. Above the northern doors of the iconostasis is another image of the Assumption of the Mother of God, written, according to one legend, on a board from the font where the Most Holy Theotokos was baptized, and according to another, on a board from the tomb of St. Alexis of Moscow. From time to time, the board dried up and arched, which is why the icon is called “Bent”.

The leading row in the iconostasis is the Deesis tier. Here, according to the tradition introduced by Patriarch Nikon, all 12 apostles are depicted standing before the Lord - the so-called "apostolic deesis". Previously, in the deesis rank, only the two supreme apostles, Peter and Paul, were depicted, and they were followed by the images of the fathers of the Church. The central icon - "The Savior is in strength" - is also unusual. Symbolic images of the four apostles-evangelists are marked on it with silver halos: a man (Matthew), an eagle (John the Theologian), a lion (Mark) and a calf (Luke). The symbols were borrowed from the Revelation of John the Theologian: “And in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four animals full of eyes in front and behind. And the first animal was like a lion, and the second animal was like a calf, and the third animal had a face like a man, and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle” (Rev. 4:6-7). According to church interpretation, these apocalyptic animals personify the "created world" - the universe with four cardinal points. In Christian iconography, they were symbolically identified with the four apostles-evangelists who preached the good news to the four corners of the world, that is, all over the world.

No less symbolic images are displayed along the walls and in the glazed windows of the cathedral.

On the southern wall is a huge icon of Metropolitan Peter with his life, painted by Dionysius. The Moscow saint is depicted in a white klobuk, which was worn only by Novgorod bishops, while all other bishops had to wear a black klobuk. According to legend, the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Great sent a white klobuk to Pope Sylvester in Rome at a time when Rome had not yet fallen away from Orthodoxy. After the separation of 1054, the angel ordered the Pope of Rome to return the white hood to Constantinople, the capital of Orthodoxy, and from there it was allegedly transferred to Novgorod, to the church of Hagia Sophia. After Moscow conquered Novgorod, the white hood began to mark the greatness of the Third Rome.

Near the southern wall in a showcase is the famous image of the Savior Golden Hair from the beginning of the 13th century: the hair of the Savior is written in gold as a symbol of Divine light. Here you can also see the ancient icon “The Appearance of the Archangel Michael to Joshua”, according to legend, painted for Prince Michael Horobrit, brother of St. Alexander Nevsky, who probably founded the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin in honor of his name day. On the northern wall of the Assumption Cathedral is an unusual icon of the Old Testament Trinity. On the table are depicted not only bread and grapes - symbols of Holy Communion, but also a radish, probably symbolizing an ascetic, fasting lifestyle. The most remarkable icon in the northern showcase is the “Saviour, the Unsleeping Eye”. The young Christ is depicted reclining on a bed with an open eye - as a sign of the Lord's vigilant care for people. On the western wall there is a spare Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God from the beginning of the 15th century: it was worn during religious processions in bad weather in order to preserve the original. It is unusual in that the gaze of the Mother of God is not turned to the one who is praying.

The Assumption Cathedral kept the greatest shrines that were in Russia: the robe of the Lord - a particle of the clothes of Jesus Christ and the true nail of the Lord, one of those with which the hands and feet of the Savior were pierced on the cross. Both shrines were brought to Moscow from Georgia in the 17th century. According to legend, the robe of the Lord was brought to Georgia by a warrior who was present at the crucifixion of Christ. It was kept there until 1625, when the Persian Shah Abass, who conquered Georgia, sent the riza as a gift to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, and with a warning: if the weak touches the shrine with faith, God will have mercy on him, and if without faith, he will go blind. The Robe of the Lord was met in Moscow at the Donskoy Monastery outside the Kaluga Gates and “verified” its authenticity: on the orders of Patriarch Filaret, a week-long fast with prayers was laid, and then the robe was placed on the seriously ill, and they all received healing. And then the Lord's robe was brought to the Assumption Cathedral and placed in a copper openwork tent, symbolizing Golgotha, which now overshadows the tomb of the holy Patriarch Hermogenes.

At the end of the 17th century, the nail of the Lord was laid on the altar of the Assumption Cathedral, one of those that the Byzantine Empress Helen found on Mount Golgotha. Her son Emperor Constantine presented this nail to the Georgian king Miriam, who was baptized. And when in 1688 the Georgian king Archil moved to Moscow, he took the shrine with him. After his death, the nail was sent to Georgia, but Peter I ordered to stop the procession with the shrine and transfer it to the Assumption Cathedral. According to legend, the nail of the Lord keeps the place where it stays.

And there were also relics from the Holy Land in the Assumption Cathedral. Boyar Tatishchev, the ancestor of the famous historian, donated to the cathedral a piece of stone from Calvary, stained with the blood of the Lord, and a stone from the tomb of the Mother of God. Prince Vasily Golitsyn presented a part of the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, which he brought from the Crimean campaign. Mikhail Fedorovich was sent as a gift the right hand of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. His fingers were folded into a three-fingered sign of the cross, which later made it possible to denounce the schismatic Old Believers.

The sacristy kept the “August crabia” - a vessel made of jasper, according to legend, belonged to the Roman emperor Augustus Octavian. According to another legend, the Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos sent this crab to the Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh along with royal regalia, a crown and barms. Russian monarchs were anointed with holy chrism from crabia in the sacrament of crowning the throne. Until 1812, the pectoral cross of Constantine, sent from Athos to Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, was also kept here. According to legend, it belonged to Emperor Constantine the Great. In Moscow, according to tradition, this cross was released with the sovereign on military campaigns, and he saved the life of Peter I in the Battle of Poltava: it left a mark from a bullet that was supposed to pierce the royal chest, but hit the cross. A relic was also a spoon made of "fish bone" - a walrus tusk, which belonged to St. Peter. Even date branches were kept in the cathedral, braided with velvet and brocade. They were brought to Moscow from the Holy Land, so that crowned persons celebrated Palm Sunday with them.

Under the shadow of the Assumption Cathedral

The tradition of burial in the Assumption Cathedral of Russian archpastors began with its founder, St. Metropolitan Peter. When his relics were transferred to the new cathedral, the saint performed his first posthumous miracle: he rose in the coffin and blessed the Muscovites. Now he rests in the altar part behind the iconostasis. Scientists believe that his tomb remained closed until the invasion of Khan Tokhtamysh in 1382, when he opened the burial place of the saint in search of gold, and since then the relics of the saint have long rested openly. At the tomb of Metropolitan Peter, the specific princes, boyars and all the ranks swore allegiance to the sovereign. However, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the tomb was sealed again. According to legend, St. Peter appeared in a dream to Empress Anastasia and commanded that she forbid opening his coffin and put her seal on it. Anastasia, fulfilling her revealed will, sealed the relics of St. Peter, and the coffin stood hidden until 1812. According to custom, pood wax candles were lit in front of him.

In the southeast corner, also under a bushel, rest the relics of St. Philip (Kolychev), a martyr from the time of Ivan the Terrible, buried under Alexei Mikhailovich exactly in the place where he was captured by guardsmen. The last patriarch of the Petrine era, Adrian, "the confidante of the tsar", whom the young Peter revered, is buried near the western wall. Contemporaries said that it was no coincidence that the tsar founded a new Russian capital after the death of the patriarch. He would certainly persuade the sovereign not to create the main city of Russia without Moscow shrines.

The messianic idea of ​​God's chosen Moscow is reminiscent of the royal place - the famous "Monomakhov's Throne", placed by order of Ivan the Terrible at the southern doors near the royal entrance to the cathedral. This is a miniature symbol of the idea of ​​Moscow - the Third Rome. According to legend, this throne was made in the time of Vladimir Monomakh, and he was on it during divine services in the Kiev church of Hagia Sophia. Andrei Bogolyubsky allegedly took the throne with him to Vladimir, and Ivan Kalita ordered it to be moved to Moscow. Scientists have established that the throne was made in 1551 by Novgorod masters in glorification of the first Russian tsar, who had just been crowned the throne. 12 bas-reliefs are carved on its walls and doors, conveying plots from the “Tale of the Princes of Vladimir” - a literary monument at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries, where it was stated that the Rurik dynasty comes from the family of the Roman Emperor Augustus Octavian, during whose reign the Savior was born in Palestine. The central place is occupied by the story of how the royal regalia were brought to Russia from Byzantium - a crown and barmas, as if sent by Emperor Konstantin Monomakh to his grandson, Prince of Kiev Vladimir Monomakh. (In fact, Konstantin Monomakh died when his grandson was about two years old, and the tradition that claimed that the regalia was sent to Russia by another Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos is closer to reality.) In any case, all this testified to the continuity of Moscow power from the First and Second Rome. The tent canopy of the throne, erected as a sign of the sacredness of the shaded place, resembles the shape of Monomakh's hat. And the throne itself stands on four pillars in the form of fantastic predatory animals, symbolizing state power and its strength. In 1724, they wanted to remove the Monomakh throne from the Assumption Cathedral, but Peter I did not allow it: "I esteem this place more precious than gold for its antiquity, and because all the sovereign ancestors - Russian sovereigns stood on it."

The place for the queens at the left pillar was transferred under Alexei Mikhailovich from the palace church of the Nativity of the Virgin on Senya. Then the icons of the Nativity of the Mother of God, the Nativity of Christ and the Nativity of John the Baptist were placed over it, in commemoration of the prayer for the continuation of the royal family. And at the right southeast pillar is the patriarchal seat. Near the patriarchal place stood the staff of St. Peter. It was given to all archpastors appointed to the metropolitan and then to the patriarchal see. In 1722, when the patriarchate was abolished, the staff was removed. Due to its venerable age, it needs museum storage conditions and is now located in the Armory.

The main celebration, which took place under the vaults of the Assumption Cathedral, was the wedding of Russian sovereigns to the kingdom. The "landing" on the throne of the first Moscow princes and Ivan Kalita himself took place in the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir. There is evidence that this tradition was first changed by Vasily II during the time of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. In 1432, he was solemnly “placed on the throne” at the doors of the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral by the Horde prince Mansyr-Ulan, and then entered the cathedral, where the Moscow clergy offered up prayers for him. Ivan the Terrible was the first to be crowned with the sacrament of the Church, and the holy Metropolitan Macarius presented him with a cross and a crown as signs of royal dignity.

Here, in the Assumption Cathedral, in February 1613, the first Romanov was publicly proclaimed king. According to legend, the young man, having come to the Assumption Cathedral for the wedding, stopped on the porch, shedding tears before accepting the burden of power, and the people kissed the hems of his clothes, begging to ascend the throne. In 1724, Peter crowned his second wife Marta Skavronskaya, the future Empress Catherine I, here. Now scientists believe that he was going to transfer the throne to her, for which he arranged this coronation. After all, the sovereign canceled the previous order of succession to the throne, and did not have time to draw up a will, but, apparently, chose his wife as his successor.

Sometimes monarchs intervened in the coronation ceremony. Anna Ioannovna, for example, demanded for herself a European crown and an ermine mantle. Catherine II laid the crown on herself. Paul I was crowned in military uniform. For the sovereigns, a throne place was placed at the coronation in the Assumption Cathedral, however, according to tradition, all of them, by tradition, necessarily ascended the throne of Monomakh.

The last coronation celebrations in the Assumption Cathedral took place on May 14, 1896. Sovereign Nicholas II was in the form of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna - in a brocade dress embroidered by the nuns of the Moscow Ioannovsky Monastery. It is amazing that the last Romanov wished to be crowned on the throne of Mikhail Fedorovich - the first Romanov, and for the empress he ordered to put a throne that belonged, according to legend, to Ivan III - the very one that Sofia Paleolog brought as a gift to her husband.

The marriages of sovereigns were also performed in the Assumption Cathedral. Vasily III got married here with Elena Glinskaya, Ivan the Terrible - with Anastasia Romanova. The pious Alexei Mikhailovich began to baptize his children here. (The heir to the throne was also announced for the first time in the Assumption Cathedral, when he was 10 years old.) And Empress Catherine II accepted Orthodoxy in the Assumption Cathedral in June 1744: the young Princess Fike was named Ekaterina Alekseevna and the next day she became engaged here to the future sovereign Peter III.

Many great celebrations were celebrated under the arches of the cathedral: the fall of the Horde yoke, the conquest of Kazan, victories in the Northern War and over Turkey.

In the formidable July 1812, Emperor Alexander I, venerating the relics of the saints in the Assumption Cathedral, vowed to repel Napoleon here. The enemy briefly entered the walls of the Kremlin. Then, in search of treasure, they opened the shrine of St. Peter, sealed by Empress Anastasia. Since then, it was no longer closed until the very revolution - "to the glory of the shrine, untouched by wickedness." They also opened the shrine of St. Philip. Thus, the prediction of Metropolitan Platon, who occupied the cathedra during the time of Catherine II, was fulfilled, that the relics of St. Philip would appear when the enemies took Moscow. Only the silver shrine with the relics of St. Jonah remained untouched. According to legend, the French tried to open it several times, but each time they fell into indescribable fear. Napoleon allegedly found out about this and personally went to the cathedral, but he was seized by such horror that he, shuddering, ran out of the cathedral, ordered to lock it and put a sentry to guard the doors. Another legend says that, having opened the shrine of Metropolitan Jonah, the invaders saw the finger of the saint threatening them. This frightened Napoleon, and he ordered not to touch this tomb. Leaving the Kremlin, Napoleon nevertheless ordered the Assumption Cathedral to be blown up, but the wicks that had been set on fire were extinguished by the miraculously pouring rain. In the same October, returning to Moscow with the shrines, Archbishop Augustine entered the cathedral through the "bishop's" northern doors. Then they feared the last enemy intrigue, whether a mine was laid in these doors, which should explode when the doors are opened. But the archbishop sang the psalm “Let God arise and his enemies be scattered” and calmly entered the temple.

After the victory, the Assumption Cathedral was decorated with a giant chandelier "Harvest", cast from captured silver captured in Moscow by the Napoleonic hordes and beaten off by the Cossacks. Its secular name is full of religious meaning: a sheaf of wheat ears is twined with garlands of grapes - these are symbols of Holy Communion. On April 23, 1814, a “song of praise to the Lord” was sung in the Assumption Cathedral in honor of the capture of Paris and the deposition of Napoleon.

And then, under the vaults of the Assumption Cathedral, another significant historical event took place. His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin once presented to this temple an ark-tabernacle in the form of the sacred Mount Sinai. At the foot of the ark in the altar, the most important state documents were kept, such as a letter of election to the throne of Mikhail Romanov, Catherine II's order for the Legislative Commission and Paul I's act of succession to the throne. One of the documents was an act of abdication from the throne of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, brother of Alexander I. In 1822, he renounced the throne for the sake of a love marriage. Alexander I bequeathed the throne to his younger brother Nicholas, about which he also drew up an appropriate act and placed it in the Assumption Cathedral. All this was kept in strict confidence. Therefore, after the sudden death of Tsar Alexander I in November 1825, the oath was given to Konstantin Pavlovich. When he refused for the second time, it was necessary to swear allegiance to another sovereign - Nicholas I. This, as you know, was the reason for the Decembrist uprising. And on December 18 of the same year, in the Assumption Cathedral, in the presence of members of the Senate, military officials and ordinary Muscovites, Archbishop Filaret, the future Metropolitan of Moscow, took out from the altar the testament of Alexander I on the transfer of the throne to Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich and announced it. After reading the document, Muscovites began to take the oath to the legitimate sovereign Nicholas I.

Here, in the Assumption Cathedral in February 1903, the act of excommunication of Leo Tolstoy from the Church was read. That is why Lenin wanted to erect a monument to the writer not just anywhere, but in the Kremlin.

After the Bolshevik government moved to Moscow in March 1918, worship services in all Kremlin cathedrals were banned, but by special permission from Lenin, a service was still held in the Assumption Cathedral at Easter. It was headed by Bishop Trifon (Turkestanov) of Dmitrov, and the end of this Paschal liturgy became the plot of Pavel Korin's unfinished painting "Russia is Departing". Lenin himself came out to look at the procession and dropped to one of his comrades-in-arms: “They go for the last time!” This was by no means a demonstration of the religious tolerance of the Soviet authorities, but a rather cynical step. Lenin gave permission for the last Easter service in the Kremlin to stop the spread of rumors that the Bolsheviks were defiling, destroying and selling Orthodox Russian shrines abroad. And it was just not far off. The sacristy of the cathedral paid an indemnity for the Peace of Brest, and the value of a thing was determined not by its value, but by weight. In 1922, 65 pounds of silver were seized from the Assumption Cathedral. Many icons ended up in the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Armory.

There is a legend that in the winter of 1941, when the Nazis stood near Moscow, Stalin ordered a secret prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral to save the country from the invasion of foreign tribes.

Since the 1990s, divine services have been regularly held in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Assumption Cathedral has always been the most important cathedral of the Russian state. It occupies a special place in the historical past of Russia. For many centuries this church was the state and religious center. Here, weddings to the principality of the great princes and oaths of vassal loyalty to the specific princes took place, here they crowned kings, and then emperors ...

They say that every city founded in antiquity or in the Middle Ages has its own secret name. According to legend, only a few people could know him. The city's secret name contained its DNA. Having learned the "password" of the city, the enemy could easily take possession of it.

According to the ancient urban planning tradition, at the beginning the secret name of the city was born, then there was a corresponding place, the “heart of the city”, which symbolized the World Tree. Moreover, it is not necessary that the navel of the city should be located in the "geometric" center of the future city.

The city is almost like Koshchei’s: “... his death is at the end of a needle, that needle is in an egg, that egg is in a duck, that duck is in a hare, that hare is in a chest, and the chest stands on a tall oak, and that Koschei tree, like its own eye, protects ".

Interestingly, ancient and medieval city planners always left hints. Love for puzzles distinguished many professional guilds. Some Freemasons are worth something.

Before the profanation of heraldry in the Enlightenment, the role of these rebuses was performed by the coats of arms of cities. But this is in Europe. In Russia, until the 17th century, there was no tradition at all to encrypt the essence of the city, its secret name, in the coat of arms or some other symbol.

State seal of Grand Duke John III of 1497

For example, George the Victorious migrated to the coat of arms of Moscow from the seals of the great Moscow princes, and even earlier - from the seals of the Tver principality. It had nothing to do with the city. In Russia, the starting point for the construction of the city was the temple. It was the axis of any settlement.

In Moscow, this function was performed by the Assumption Cathedral for centuries. In turn, according to the Byzantine tradition, the temple was to be built on the relics of the saint. At the same time, the relics were usually placed under the altar (sometimes also on one side of the altar or at the entrance to the temple).

It was the relics that represented the “heart of the city”. The name of the saint, apparently, was the very "secret name". In other words, if St. Basil's Cathedral was the "founding stone" of Moscow, then the "secret name" of the city would be "Vasilyev" or "Vasilyev-grad".

However, we do not know whose relics lie at the base of the Assumption Cathedral. There is not a single mention of this in the annals. Probably the saint's name was kept secret.

At the end of the 12th century, a wooden church stood on the site of the current Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. A hundred years later, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich built the first Assumption Cathedral on this site. However, for unknown reasons, after 25 years, Ivan Kalita builds a new cathedral on this site.

It is interesting that the temple was built on the model of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky. It's not entirely clear why? St. George's Cathedral can hardly be called a masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture. So there was something else?

Reconstruction of the original view of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky

The model temple in Yuryev-Polsky was built in 1234 by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich on the site on the foundation of the white stone church of George, which was built in 1152 when the city was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Apparently, some increased attention was paid to this place. And the construction of the same temple in Moscow, perhaps, was supposed to emphasize some kind of continuity.

The Assumption Cathedral in Moscow stood for less than 150 years, and then Ivan III suddenly decided to rebuild it. The formal reason is the dilapidation of the structure. Although one and a half hundred years for a stone temple is not God knows how long.

The temple was dismantled, and in its place in 1472 the construction of a new cathedral began. However, on May 20, 1474, an earthquake occurred in Moscow. The unfinished cathedral was seriously damaged, and Ivan decides to dismantle the remains and start building a new temple.

Architects from Pskov are invited for construction, but for mysterious reasons, they categorically refuse to build. Then Ivan III, at the insistence of his second wife Sophia Palaiologos, sends emissaries to Italy, who were supposed to bring the Italian architect and engineer Aristotle Fioravanti to the capital. By the way, in his homeland he was called the “new Archimedes”.

It looks absolutely fantastic, because for the first time in the history of Russia, a Catholic architect is invited to build an Orthodox church, the main church of the Moscow State! From the point of view of the then tradition - a heretic.

Why an Italian was invited, who had never seen a single Orthodox church, remains a mystery. Maybe because not a single Russian architect wanted to deal with this project.

The construction of the temple under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti began in 1475 and ended in 1479. It is interesting that the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was chosen as a model.

Historians explain that Ivan III wanted to show the continuity of the Muscovite state from the former "capital city" of Vladimir. But this again does not look very convincing, since in the second half of the 15th century, the former authority of Vladimir could hardly have had any image value.

Perhaps this was due to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which in 1395 was transported from the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir to the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, built by Ivan Kalita. However, history has not preserved direct indications of this.

One of the hypotheses why Russian architects did not get down to business, and an Italian architect was invited, is connected with the personality of the second wife of John III, the Byzantine Sophia Palaiologos.

Sofia Paleolog enters Moscow. Miniature of the Front Chronicle.

As you know, Pope Paul II actively promoted the Greek princess as a wife to Ivan III. In 1465 her father, Thomas Palaiologos, brought her with his other children to Rome. The family settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV. A few days after their arrival, Thomas died, having converted to Catholicism before his death.

History has left us no information that Sophia converted to the "Latin faith", but it is unlikely that the Palaiologos could remain Orthodox while living at the court of the Pope. In other words, Ivan III, most likely, wooed a Catholic. Moreover, not a single chronicle reports that Sophia converted to Orthodoxy before the wedding.

The wedding took place in November 1472. In theory, it was supposed to take place in the Assumption Cathedral. However, shortly before this, the temple was dismantled to the foundation in order to begin new construction. This looks very strange, because about a year before that, it was known about the upcoming wedding.

It is also surprising that the wedding took place in a specially built wooden church near the Assumption Cathedral, which was demolished immediately after the ceremony. Why no other Kremlin cathedral was chosen remains a mystery.

Let's get back to the refusal of Pskov architects to restore the destroyed Assumption Cathedral. One of the Moscow chronicles says that the Pskovites allegedly did not take up the work because of its complexity. However, it is hard to believe that Russian architects could refuse Ivan III, a rather harsh man, on such an occasion.

The reason for the categorical refusal should have been very weighty. It was probably related to some heresy. A heresy that only a Catholic could bear - Fioravanti. What could it be?

Moscow Kremlin under Ivan III

The Assumption Cathedral, built by an Italian architect, does not have any "seditious" deviations from the Russian tradition of architecture. The only thing that could cause a categorical refusal is the holy relics.

Perhaps the relics of a non-Orthodox saint could become a "mortgage" relic. As you know, Sophia brought many relics as a dowry, including Orthodox icons and a library. But, probably, we do not know about all the relics. It is no coincidence that Pope Paul II lobbied for this marriage so much.

If during the reconstruction of the temple there was a change of relics, then, according to the Russian tradition of urban planning, the “secret name” and, most importantly, the fate of the city changed. People who understand history well and subtly know that it was with Ivan III that the change in the rhythm of Russia began. Then still Russia.

Alexey Pleshanov

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Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople (532-537) - the most grandiose and most outstanding work of Byzantine architecture - is one of the most significant monuments of world architecture.

The builders of Constantinople Sophia - Anthimius from Thrall and Isidore from Miletus were outstanding engineers and architects, very developed, highly educated people who owned the entire amount of knowledge of their era. Both of them had a very broad architectural and general outlook. This allowed them to freely choose in the past what could be useful in the construction of the greatest building of our time.

Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople is one of those works of architecture that are deeply connected with the past, in which all the main achievements of the architecture of previous eras are taken into account, but in which the new dominates. A new purpose, new constructive techniques and new architectural and artistic features prevail in Sofia so much that they come to the fore, pushing the traditional and overshadowing it with themselves.

Sophia of Constantinople was the main building of the entire Byzantine Empire. It was a church at the public center of the capital and a patriarchal church. Due to the fact that in Byzantium religion played a huge role in the life of the state, Sofia was the main public building of the empire. This outstanding significance of Sophia was very clearly expressed in the choice of a place for her and in the very setting of her among the dominant buildings of the Byzantine capital. The main streets of the city converged from several city gates to the main street (Mesi).

The most outstanding architectural achievement of the two builders of Sofia is the technique by which they linked together in their work the Basilica of Maxentius and the dome of the Pantheon. This technique is one of the most daring and successful ideas in the architecture of the past. This ingenious solution embraced the functional, constructive and artistic aspects of architecture at the same time. It resulted in a surprisingly full-fledged complex architectural image.

Anthimius and Isidore invented a system of semi-domes linking the dome of Sophia with its basilica base. This system includes two large semi-domes and five small ones. In principle, there should have been six small semi-domes, but one of them was replaced by a barrel vault over the main entrance to the central part of the interior from the narthex. This departure from the general system splendidly highlighted the main entrance portal and two smaller portals on its sides. Through these portals, processions entered from the narthex, the emperor and the patriarch passed through the main portal. The semi-domes perfectly connected the basilica and the dome. This created a domed basilica of a completely new type, the only representative of which is Sophia of Constantinople.

The side naves intended for the people look like palace halls. As studies of the Grand Palace of Constantinople show, this similarity really took place and, moving from the palace to Sofia, noble parishioners saw in front of them, as it were, a continuation of the suite of palace halls. Each side nave of Sofia is perceived as a picturesque space somewhat unclear in its boundaries and dimensions. The transverse walls with arches cover not only the outer walls, but also the colonnades of the middle nave. As you move along the nave, the transverse walls and columns form a variety of combinations, visible from various angles and diverse mutual intersections. When larger pieces of the outer walls are exposed, their openwork character emerges. Below, they are denser, as they are cut through only by three large windows in each division of the wall. Above these windows, solid glazing opens under the semi-circular curve of the vault, so that light flows freely into the interior. On the opposite side of the nave, this corresponds to the colonnades opening into the middle nave.

Old view approximately - Reconstruction of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, behind it is the Church of Hagia Sophia. (From Helen and Richard Leacroft, The Buildings of Byzantium, Brockhampton Press 1977) https://www.the-romans.co.uk/fall.htm

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More: Complex of temples in Deir el-Bahri

Deir el-Bahri- an archaeological zone in the vicinity of Luxor (ancient Thebes), the first important finds in which were made by Gaston Maspero in 1881. Subsequent research discovered three memorial temples belonging to the pharaohs Mentuhotep II (XXI century BC, surrounded by a colonnade and topped pyramid), Hatshepsut (XV century BC, on three terraces with a hypostyle) and Thutmose III (XV century BC). Together with other monuments of Thebes, it is protected as a World Heritage Site.

Erected at the rocks of the Libyan highlands, abruptly breaking off to the Nile Valley. Part of the premises is cut into the rock (semi-rock). In front of the facade was a huge front yard. The hypostyle hall is huge. On the facade and on the sides of the temple, rising in two terraces, there were porticos. The terraces were led by gentle slopes - ramps.




The columns in the portico were in the form of tetrahedral pillars, on which the names of Pharaoh Mentuhotep I were carved (on the first row of columns, the hieroglyphs were painted yellow, on the second - blue). The wall of the portico, lined with limestone, was covered with colored reliefs with scenes of wars and royal hunting. Above, on the terrace, stood a second portico, surrounding the hall of columns on three sides. The tomb of the pharaoh was carved under the hypostyle hall. Under the floor of an open courtyard with a colonnade, 6 tombs of women of the Mentuhotep I family were arranged, and their funeral chapels were in the western part of the pillared hall. Behind the main part of the temple there was an open courtyard carved into the rock, surrounded by a colonnade, and a covered second hypostyle hall. Funeral temple in the rock.




In the place where the waters of the Nile reached during the flood, there was a lower temple, or propylaea. A paved road, 1200 m long, fenced on both sides by walls, led from it to the mortuary temple. Along it, at an even distance from each other, painted stone statues of the king were installed. In front of the facade, along the axis with all the rooms, there is a front yard.




garden in the courtyard, 2 large ponds on the roof of the lower terrace; pyramid symbol at the top

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More: Forum of Trajan, Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, Architecture of Saint - Chapelle in Paris, Plan and sections of the Church of St. Sophia of Constantinople, Complex of temples in Deir - El - Bahri, Greek architecture of the late classic period, etc.
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