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Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church

Rowland J. Mainstone was a structural engineer as well as an architectural historian, and this Thames and Hudson book is his academic monograph on the architecture, structural engineering and liturgical use of Justinian's Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Its strength is Mainstone's unusual dual expertise, he could analyze the building's actual structural engineering, including its famous dome and the repairs it required after partial collapse, with the same rigor he brought to its architectural and liturgical history. Its limit is that it is focused on the building's Byzantine-era construction and use, so a claim about its later history as a mosque or museum under Ottoman and Turkish administration needs a source addressing that later period specifically.

Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier
1
Rowland J. Mainstone was a structural engineer who conducted direct technical study of the building; the standard reference on its architecture and structure, treated at the top tier as that standard technical study despite issuing through an illustrated trade press.
Notes
Academic monograph on the architecture, structural engineering and liturgical use of Justinian's Hagia Sophia.
Citation
Author
Rowland J. Mainstone
Publisher
Thames and Hudson, London
Publication Year
1988
Source Type
academic monograph
Connections

Associated With

Constantinople, Cities

This source names Constantinople directly: "use of Justinian's Hagia Sophia in Constantinople."

Source Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great ChurchRowland J. Mainstone
Sophia, Deities

This source names Sophia directly: "liturgical use of Justinian's Hagia Sophia in Constantinople."

Source Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great ChurchRowland J. Mainstone
Claims Backed By This Source (34 claims)

This source backs 34 claims across the atlas. As facts: 24 well-attested. As cited relationships: 6 holds. Plus 4 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

  • Sacred Sites, 12 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
  • Sources, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 holds.
  • Articles, 7 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 general references.
  • Cities, 4 claims: 1 well-attested, 2 holds, 1 general references.
  • Historical Figures, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
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