Byzantine

The Byzantine era took place in 330-1453 C.E. It was the longest political entity in European history. During this time, secular leadership and religion was prominent. This meant that there was a leader for the government and a separate leader for religious aspects. Byzantine's people associated with the Eastern culture. This meant that they were heavily influenced by the Greeks. This time period called for very ornate features which all stemmed from the inspiration of past historic eras. To put things in retrospective, Istanbul in today's time used to be Constantinople. Constantinople was the capitol of the Roman empire.

During this time, the Christian liturgy changed from procession of clergy down the nave to the celebration of Mass. They ended up combining the layouts of the past to create a more centralized plan. It was a combination of a dome from the east and the square base of the classical temple of the west. This new architectural type was known as "domed basilica." This sparked the creation of pendentives. Pendentives were a big invention during this time. The people of the Byzantine era figured out how to place a dome on top of a square. It was a new architectural element that ended up being used extensively in larger creations. Since marble was not readily available, a lot of the pendentives were made out of bricks or light porous stones. They coated these elements with plaster and real gold. The creators were very strategic about their window placements; lighting was heavily important to the overall design. Because of this, the overall feel ended up being very mystical; almost heavenly-like. A very popular example of the pendentive being used is the Hagia Sophia structure.

Like stated earlier, the Byzantine's were influenced by the Greeks. Because of this, ornate features were used extensively throughout interiors. Floor was typically tiled in marble; often in geometric designs. The surfaces on the walls or ceilings included ornate marble; frescos, mosaics, and alabaster are examples of this.

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