Publisher's Synopsis
The architecture of the great 'Domed Basilicas' of 6th-century Constantinople, Hagia Sophia above all, continues to be a source of wonder, but its origins and evolutions remain unclear. In the absence of late 5th-century monuments from the capital, the churches of Cilicia and Isauria in southern Asia Minor can serve as indicators for the patterns that were developing. These regions have a dense concentration of surviving early monuments, especially from the reign of the Isaurian emperor Zeno (474û91), and the Isaurians were famed for their building skills. - The present volume combines a catalogue of these churches with a detailed analysis of their significance for the development of ecclesiastical architecture in the 4thû6th centuries. Cilician and Isaurian basilicas include transepts, ambulatories, and other modifications to the basic basilical plan which, it is argued, were necessary to adapt it to take account of martyrial needs, and showed the way for the emergence of the more centralised forms of the 6th century. In this volume Stephen Hill includes discussion of major monuments such as Alahan and Meyreml+k, and has made full use of the Gertrude Bell and Michael Gough archives for the study of monuments and features no longer extant.
