Mediterranean World Continuities

Monuments such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and San Vitale in Ravenna, perform a great importance in Byzantine and Islamic architecture. Both of these structures did not exclusively represent the main place of worship, but most importantly as a symbol of achievement and growth within the current times of construction. Starting in 524, under the influence of Orthodox bishop Ecclesius, the development of San Vitale was to represent the achievements of the emperor Justinian. Julius Argentarius was the sponsor for this structure and it was dedicated by Bishop Maximian in 547. The Dome of the Rock is built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in 692 with the help of Abd al-Malik with the suspected intention to symbolize Islams influence in

For example, had the Islamic and Arab nations succeeded in defeating the Christian nations in their religious efforts, the European culture would have had a very dramatic change. Artwork would be different, religious dominance and power distribution would be swayed in favor of Islam, and even the common language would have become Arabic. Whereas in contrast, as it stands now that the Christians succeeded, that the culture, language, art, and every aspect that goes along with the Christian religion and development of its presence.

Religion has played a huge role in the history of the world of architecture. We can get a deeper look in the minds and attitudes of people when we look at their beliefs – specifically their religion. But even though religion played a huge role in the approach to architecture, the pursuit of beauty and power can also explain to us the approaches and the outlooks of those who built or designed buildings from the ancient world.

The Mediterranean region encompasses the Mediterranean Ocean and the surrounding land outside of it. Medieval Europe is a time period, sometimes referred to as the ‘dark ages’, where because of various reasons, many cultural changes occurred. From the decline of the West Roman Empire and its empirical structures (circa 647 C.E.) and the creation of the political system, feudalism, new societies emerged with new cultural elements such as an almost complete loss of education and literacy, while other cultural aspects remained such as the social status of women and the importance of religion, mainly Christianity.

Much of past civilizations have endured many failures and triumphs throughout their existence. In the third century, there were many civilizations that started to flourish. One of these civilizations that started to expand was the Byzantine civilization. The Byzantine civilization, also regarded as Byzantium, was part of the Roman Empire which was divided in 395 AD. Byzantium had shared the same attitude, as the Roman Empire, toward exercising its authority over its citizens and throughout its empire. The Islamic civilization had started thrive in the fifth century. The Islamic civilization was unified together as unison by Islam and it has expanded its civilization throughout parts of Europe through jihad. Because of their expansions

HVIII. ARCHITECTURE: Mosques in the old days were decorated beautifully with calligraphy and tile. They also had their own kind of domes that they used on the most important buildings. Used minarets. The specific geometric forms decorating the walls (known as Arabesque) represent the infinite.

During the first century BCE, the Roman Empire seen the diffusion of Christianity throughout its empire ("Crusaders Arrive at Constantinople"). Once the empire expanded into Jerusalem and Palestine, Christianity became the predominant religion in these areas ("Crusaders Arrive at Constantinople"). During the seventh century CE, the rise of Islam occurred,

One political influence was the spread of Christianity. Differences had emerged in time over church leadership. The Byzantine Christians rejected the pope’s claim of authority over all Christians. During the Middle Ages the two branches, the Roman Church and the Byzantine church, drifted apart. In 1054 the Great Schism occurred, separating the Byzantine church, which became known as the Eastern, or Greek Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. Europe also had many economical impacts. One extremely vital impact on Europe was the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of creativity and great change. It marked the shift to an urban society in which trade had a huge effect. During the Renaissance new technology and ideas were being traded. Because of Italy’s location on the Mediterranean Sea trade was encouraged with the Muslim world. Italian merchants led the growth of trade across Europe. Trade also provided the wealth that fueled the Renaissance. There were many cultural influences in Europe, one influence was from the Roman empire. At the center of the city, Byzantine emperors and empresses lived in splendor. They dressed in extravagant silk and attended chariot races at the Hippodrome arena. The arena was a reminder of Roman heritage. As the heir to Roam it blended ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian influences with other customs of the Mediterranean world. Because of all these influences

The Pantheon is an iconic part of architecture, particularly in the mediterranean. Constructed in Imperial Rome, the Pantheon was an incredible piece that forever influenced the basics of architecture. A similar piece, contemporary to the Pantheon, would be the Dome of the Rock. Found in Jerusalem, the Umayyad caliph built the shrine in the seventh century to serve a function as an Islamic shrine. Being the oldest extant Islamic monument known to man, the Dome of the Rock is sacred to both the Muslim and jewish religions.While being in completely different cultures, the Pantheon and the Dome of the Rock share numerous similarities varying from their functionality to the characteristic style of the domes.

the most historical mosques, Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock, are built for different

Architecture comes with many significant meanings, including religious significance. The Pantheon, built from 118 to 125 CE in Rome, Italy, was a temple made to worship the Roman gods and goddesses. This temple is one of the most important buildings both in history and architecture, influencing many other monuments with its form, such as The Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock, built from 687 to 692 CE, was the first great Islamic building. Located in Jerusalem, it is a shrine still very significant to many religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, today. Though not resembling each other in appearance, these buildings are extremely similar, in terms of religious meaning. The Pantheon and the Dome of the Rock, through their own distinctive form and similar location backgrounds, illuminate religion as the most important factor in each society, as these monuments symbolize a sense of unification throughout the city.

Western European people had endured a series of changes during the late medieval period. Changes can be categorized into two aspects: politically and socially. On politics, Popes were not as strong as they were due to conflicts between the state and the church. Socially, people began to live a religion- dominated life, and experienced active sexism towards women. These changes, either positive or negative, have become an undivided part of European History.

and people often used columns to support the roof. The ancient Romans created an arch that

Mosques are found all over the world. In addition to worship, mosques can be used for education and information. A main feature of the mosque is the domed roof. The domed roof has two functions: it is positioned over the prayer hall to allow the air to circulate and it helps to amplify the voice of the imam so he can be heard by everyone in the mosque. The star and crescent is also a major feature because it is the symbol of Islam and is the only external way to show that the building is a mosque. The architecture of the mosque depends on when the mosque was built. For example, in medieval times, mosques had a large open courtyard at the entrance and a hole in the wall of the prayer hall to show the direction of Mecca. In Baghdad, the hole would be to the west; but in Jerusalem, the hole would be to the south. Many mosques have minarets, which are tall towers and are found usually in the corners of the mosque. Minarets are used for the call to prayer, azan.

Before complex religions of the classical and postclassical period controlled the empires of this time, various forms of polytheism reigned supreme. Grecian and Roman mythology with gods such as Hermes, Athena, and Jupiter were idolized by people before the rise Christianity. In the Arabian regions, animism and less distant forms of polytheism were practiced by its inhabitants. From 600-1450, Islam and Christianity placed an emphasis on missionary work and its leaders used the religions in order to consolidate power from people. However, Islam emphasized intellectual achievements and developments while Christianity discouraged this with a focus in theology.