The island

Glossary (3)

Paleo-Christian (early Christian) era: in Byzantine history, the period that typically starts in 330 AD, when Constantine the Great transferred the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his newly-founded city of Constantinople, and ends with the death of Justinian in 565.
basilica: type of large church, divided internally into three or more naves. The central nave was usually covered by a raised roof with windows that illuminated the space.
conch (Sanctuary niche): Niche in the eastern end of a basilica. Semicircular on the inside, with a horseshoe shaped, rectangular or polygonal exterior.

Information Texts (3)

The city: Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was built on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, on the triangular peninsula formed by the Golden Horn, the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara. This was an excellent location that controlled trade routes linking the Aegean to the Black Sea. Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople in 330 AD as a city to rival Rome in splendour, wealth and power. The city grew fast, leading to problems of space and facilities, so Theodosius I extended it to the west by building new strong walls that protected Constantinople until the end of the Byzantine Empire. The city was laid out after Rome. A main road, the Mese Odos, linked the palace to the Golden Gate. On this road was the Forum, a circular plaza with a statue of Constantine mounted on a column, surrounded by public buildings. Theodosius I and Arcadius later built more forums decorated with their own statues. Following the Nika riots in the 6th century, Justinian adorned Constantinople with magnificent edifices, palaces, baths and public buildings. This time also saw the construction of Agia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom), the church which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the Byzantine period. During the 7th and 8th centuries Constantinople faced major problems that threw it into disarray: attacks by the Avars (a siege in 674) and Arabs (attacks in 674 and 717-718); natural disasters (a powerful, destructive earthquake in 740); and epidemics (plague in 747). Limited building activity resumed in the 8th and 9th century, mainly concentrated on strengthening the city's fortifications. With the recovery of the Byzantine Empire from the 9th to the 11th century, Constantinople became the most populated city in Christendom; the majority of inhabitants were Greek-speaking, but many other ethnic groups lived alongside them, such as Jews, Armenians, Russians, Italians merchants, Arabs and mercenaries from Western Europe and Scandinavia. Many public, private and church-owned buildings were erected at the time, with an emphasis on establishing charitable institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages and schools. Higher education flourished, thanks to the care of the state and the emergence of important scholars. This renaissance lasted until the mid-11th century, when economic problems due to poor management set in, compounded by the adverse outcome of imperial operations beyond the borders. The Crusaders left Constantinople entirely unscathed when first passing through, but in the Fourth Crusade of 1204 the Franks conquered and ransacked the city, slaughtering those inhabitants they did not take prisoner or drive out. In 1261 the city was retaken by Michael VIII Palaeologus, who rebuilt most of the monuments and the walls but proved unable to restore the city to its former splendour and glory. Enfeebled as it was, the empire was incapable of checking the advance of the Ottomans, and in 1453 Constantinople finally fell into their hands. The fall signalled the end of the empire. Nevertheless, the Byzantine intellectual tradition remained significant, as many scholars settled in the Venetian dominions of Crete and the Peloponnese, as well as in European countries, conveying Greek learning to the West.
The castle: The turmoil and insecurity of the Arab raids against the Aegean islands in early 10th century declined significantly after the re-conquest of Crete by Emperor Nicephorus Phocas in 961. During the period that followed, the seaways became more secure boosting trade and the large ports were fortified as part of the projects of the capital to secure order in the Aegean. The construction of the Castle of Chios dates back to the last years of the 10th century, although almost none of the Byzantine fortifications survive. The castle is of an irregular pentagonal shape and encloses an area of ​​180,000 square meters and was built by the Genoese in the early 14th century. The fortified wall dividing the city into the Civitas Chii, the area inside the city walls which was the seat of political and military authority, and the Vorgo, the city outside the of walls. Its present form is due partly to the additions and successive interventions of the Genoese, the Venetians and the Ottomans, and extensive damage caused in the 19th century, by the bombing of 1828, the earthquake of 1881 and the demolition of the southern part of the construction of the new harbor in 1896. Both the land and sea walls of the castle were reinforced with nine bastions, of which eight still survive today. The land walls were surrounded by a moat. Three gates provided access to the interior of the castle: the Central Gate (Porta Maggiore), at the southern end, the West Gate (Portello) and the Water Gate (Porta di Marina), which has not survived. Interesting buildings and monuments are preserved within the walls, including the Palace Giustiniani, a two-storey building dated to the 15th century, the seat of the Genoese administration, the Dark Prison, a place where in 1822 74 island notables were jailed and then hanged, the Ottoman cemetery Kara Ali- the tower-observatory also known as Koulas, and the Cold Fountain, the main cistern of the castle. Finally, inside the castle the church of St. George which was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman occupation still survives.From this phase also survive the Medrese and the fountain in the church courtyard.
The monastery complex of Nea Moni of Chios: In the place of a small church built by three Chian monks, John, Nikitas and Joseph to house the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, was founded in the mid 11th century the magnificent monastery complex of Nea Moni of Chios. The construction of Nea Moni relates, according to tradition, to the prophecy of the three monks about the rise of Constantine IX Monomachos (1042-1055) to the imperial throne. After his coronation Constantine, as a reward for the prophecy, build a new church for the Virgin Mary, satisfying the monks’ request. The catholicon was built and decorated with the lavish imperial sponsorship, and inaugurated in 1045; later the monastery received many privileges and donations from Constantine Monomachos and the emperors after him. Nea Moni was modeled after the little church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople; it is an octagonal-type church with a narthex and exonarthex, also known as nisiotikos. It is the oldest and most complete example of the type and displays the strong architectural influence of the capital. The characteristic of this type is that the octagonal shape of the church is not surrounded by the perimeter of the building, but is formed as the square nave is converted into an octagon in the upper floors, through four narrow squinches in the corners, on which the twelve-sided dome in based; the dome rests on the exterior walls without the mediation of internal supports, thus offering an impressive result. Similar to the architectural character of the monument is the interior decoration. The luxurious marble revetments combined with the brilliant mosaic compositions attest to the economic prosperity and welfare, and the imperial care to help the monasteries and the religious institutions of this period. The mosaics of Nea Moni, works of high artistic quality which reflect the trends of the capital, as far from the spirituality and abstraction of the decoration of the Monasteries of Daphni and St. Luke. The correct use of color, the golden background and the structuring of the multi-person compositions give expressiveness and deep spirituality to the forms. As a typical example of a Byzantine monastic complex, Nea Moni was protected by high walls, which enclosed the catholic, the refectory, the cistern and the cells. Nea Moni sustained significant damage in 1822, when it was burned and looted by the Ottomans, and by the 1881 strong earthquake. In 1990 Nea Moni, the Monastery of Daphni and Hosios Loukas were included in the International List of World Heritage of UNESCO, as a unique artistic achievement and an excellent example of an architectural whole.

Bibliography (7)

Comments (0)