Byzantine

Byzantine Empire was founded in 330 AD on May 11th. It is influenced by the Greeks and Orient and predominately Greek speaking. Though the western half of the Roman Empire fell in 476, the eastern half survived for 1,000 more years. The Byzantine Empire finally fell in 1453.
During this era, the long and narrow basilica style changed to a more centralized style.

Hagia Sophia, church of the holy wisdom is an example of this. This central plan has a lot of circle windows along with a massive tile dome that gives a sense of importance to the exterior. To create a circular dome on a square base, the pendentive method was the contraction type they used.

Hagia Sophia Floor Plan

Interior 

Tile Dome

Byzantine Interiors
- Flooring was tiled in marble- often geometric designs
- The surfaces on walls or ceilings were marble, frescos, mosaics and alabaster
- Buildings that remain are churches or temples 

Byzantine Interiors Today:

Discussion:

Kristina P's was a blog I looked like and I really liked her pictures she found of Byzantine construction because they were labeled. She showed the exterior of a dome with the pendentive and the interior of one as well. On Melanie's blog I enjoyed reading the differences she wrote from the Byzantine design period to the Early Christian period. They seemed very similuar so I definitely learned something from reading her blog.