Robert

The Shaduf


(The Shaduf) Agriculture began along the Nile River with Egyptian farmers relying solely on the flooding of the Nile River in order to water their crops. As it developed and evolved, farmers began to utilize canals, creating the world’s first irrigation system. However, even with these new innovations, watering the land located well above the flood level remained an arduous task. In order to ease this process, shadufs were implemented. Comprised of a long beam with a weight attached to one end and a bucket on the other, shadufs made the process of fetching water from the river or canal much less strenuous for farmers. With the use of a shaduf, farmers could simply pull the bucket into a water source, push down on the weighted end of the wooden beam and raise the water to a field or canal located on higher grounds. Shadufs became an important part of the Egyptian agriculture during the 16th Century BCE, as many crops required continual watering, even during the months that the Nile had receded. Sawing the crossbeam to scale Marking the location of the cross beam

Attaching the crossbeam Attaching the counter weight

The finished replica of a shaduf A modern shaduf along the nile. (Eigeland)

Citations

Leju, Charles Lugor. //Ancient Egyptian Farming and// Tools. MNSU EMuseum. 2002. []

Irrigation Shaduf. Irrigation Museum. 2010. []

//Shaduf.// History Reference: Ancient History & World History. 2010. [] " _mce_href="http://www.jrank.org/history/pages/4612/irrigation.html">irrigation">

Pictures

Eigeland, Tor. "Shaduf on Nile" The Tools of Muslim Water Technology. []

"The Shaduf". Travellors in Egypt. []

Pictures from Basilica St. Mary



The lines in the pictures are mainly horizontal but there are some smaller vertical lines. Almost all of the shapes in the picture seems to be geometric, with the only organic shapes being the human statues near the top of the image. The majority of the picture is negative space, much like the rest of the Basilica which had a lot of open space. There is not a lot of variation in color, most of the church seems to have lighter colors with high value. The texture is both smooth from the columns and rough from the rest of the structure in the image. The composition of the image focuses on the columns and the interior dome that is placed on top. The image has a low one-point perpective. This portion of the Basilica was the brightest part, and it also had the highest ceiling with the dome located right above. With the statue of St. Mary located on top of the dome, it displays her as the connection between the members and the heavens.



The inside of the Basilica has very clear vertical and horizontal lines created by blocks that give the building a sense of structure and sturdiness an important quality for a Basilicas that many poeple rely on for a sense of security. As stated above the inside has a lot of negative space exposing all of the Basilica when walking in. The openness can also symbolize the acceptance that the church provides, as the guide explained the Basilica held members from many ethnic groups.

Cathedral Pictures



The two columns located next to each of the confession booths provide a sense of added security for those that enter. This combined with the geometric shapes created by the horizontal and vertical lines provide a lot of stability in the cathedral. There is a lot of negative space especially height-wise as if you can look up to the heavens.



Compared to the first image, the cathedral has a lot more color variation and less geometric structures. The fencing that surrounds the altar is also much more intricate and artistic, a sign of power and influence in the area to be able to not only create such a massive structure but also pay attention to the small details as well.

Paper Synopsis

Thesis: With its heavenly and symbolic architecture, the Hagia Sophia remains an iconic structure representing the greatness of Christianity and the political strength at the height of Justinian’s Byzantine Empire.

Completed in 538 C.E., the Hagia Sophia which translates to the Church of Holy Wisdom became the ultimate symbol of power in the city that linked the East and West. There were several key factors that led to Justinian’s decision to begin such a massive project. Justinian’s mission during his rule was to make Constantine’s visions of an ideal Christian Kingdom a reality. In order to do so, Justinian began to make modifications to the infrastructure of the Byzantine Empire and to have military operations to re-conquer the land that near the edges of his empire. However, these actions were done at the expense of the tax payers. The financial plan put in place to fund these major changes that Justinian was making took a toll on the citizens, causing a lot of tension. Eventually a group of citizens decided they had had enough and began a demonstration in front of the Hippodrome. They displayed their support for Hypatius who they felt would make a better emperor. This uprising became known as the Nika riot, for the protesters were chanting Nika, which translates to conqueror. This riot burned down much of the city center and left Justinian to think about his next moves. After discussions with his advisors, Justinian decided to follow in the footsteps of many previous leaders and create a mega-structure to enhance his standings and send a message of his resolve to remain emperor. The completed church was full of symbolism. The architecture itself and the didactic art that filled the Hagia Sophia, displayed and reflected the dogmas of the Orthodox religion. Along with serving a religious purpose, the building was also used as a political gathering place and a central structure that citizens congregated at in times of all sorts of crisis and celebrations. Aware of the political and religious importance of the Hagia Sophia to the Byzantine people, the Ottomans that took over Constantinople began the transformation of the city into their own with the magnificent church. The significance of the structure can be seen even today by the sheer number of churches and mosques that exist today that are modeled after the Hagia Sophia.

Sources

 Hamilton, J. Arnott. //Byzantine architecture and decoration//. London: Batsford, 1956. Print. Herrin, Judith. //Byzantium: the surprising life of a medieval empire//. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print.

Mainstone, R. J.. //Hagia Sophia: architecture, structure, and liturgy of Justinian's great church//. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1988. Print.

Mansel, Philip. //Constantinople City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924//. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1998. Print.

 

This painting shows Justinian (left) offering the Hagia Sophia and Constantine (Right) offering his Empire to young Jesus. This displays the devotion of the two Emperors to making the Byzantine Empire a Kingdom of Heaven as Constatine had envisioned.

//Hagia Sophia Mural //. N.d. Mosaic Art Source, Istanbul. //Madonna and Child, Angel Gabriel & Offerings to Christ Mosaics – Hagia Sophia – Istanbul, Turkey//. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.  Interactive Component

Professor Theofanis Stavrou from the University of Minnesota ﻿provided information about the significance and usage of the Hagia Sophia and the Ottoman conversion of the church into a mosque.

I. You have an opportunity to make some very important points about the centrality of sacred space as a symbol of political power as well as a place of worship. In short, it is about as important for the cementing of society as you can get. This was particularly true of the Hagia Sophia when it was an active church throughout most of the Byzantine period. Besides serving as the place of worship during the liturgy, etc., it was also used for all sorts of other political and religious gatherings, especially in moments of crisis or of celebration. Church architecture remained the most visible expression of the faith and power of the empire. That is why church building received such prominence throughout the Orthodox world. It was not just the structure of the church, that is to say the architecture that touched the Byzantines. Admittedly, the architecture of the orthodox churches, and especially of Hagia Sophia, dazzled visitors and reminded them that it represented the union of God with his creation. But special role must be ascribed to the many icons by which they were decorated thus creating a special aura or spirit of the place. Allegedly, when Russian emmissaries visited the Church of Hagia Sophia in the tenth century, they reported that they were not sure whether they were in the presence of heaven or earth. So splendid was the Byzantine liturgy. In short, the icons and the iconostasis, supplemented the architectural structure of the church and the brilliance of the liturgy or the service, but please keep in mind that the icons in the Orthodox tradition also constituted a theological statement. In short, Hagia Sophia was the perfect combination of architectural, artistic, and spiritual sensibilities of the Orthodox world. That is why when Orthodox Christianity spread from Byzantium to other parts of the Near East and Europe, such as the Balkans and Russia, so spread the passion to emulate the building of churches many of which were based on the Byzantine or the Hagia Sophia prototype. Every major Orthodox city had to have its church of Hagia Sophia. But elsewhere, too, where Orthodoxy spread or where Orthodox Christians emigrated, you will find churches named Hagia Sophia. For example there is one in Washington, D. C. and one in San Francisco. So the real and symbolic significance of Hagia Sophia was huge and continutes.

That is why, one of the first acts of the Turks when they conquered Constantinople in 1453, was to close the church of Hagia Sophia from being an active church and to transform it into a Mosque, and later museum ( after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire). It is amazing how fast they did transform it into a mosque. What better image for their power could they have than to transform the best symbol of Christian worship into a symbol of Islamic worship! Of course, they removed or covered/whitewashed the icons, because they did not believe in images, but the massive and elegant structure was taken over for spiritual and political reasons. You can expand this point hugely in your oral or written report, and even comment where there is such debate in America today about the building of mosques in special places, such as Ground Zero.

﻿Stavrou, Theofanis “RE: History Research Paper” E-mail to the Author. 3 December 2010