Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (Küçük Ayasofya Camii)

Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Küçük Ayasofya Camii

The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus was built during the reign of Justinian. It was built on the grounds of the Palace of Hormisdas near the Sea Wall by the Marmara Sea south of the Hippodrome of Constantinople. It was converted into a mosque known as Küçük Ayasofya Camii (“Little Hagia Sophia Mosque”) in the 16th century.

The former Sergius and Bacchus and Marmara (Propontis) Sea Walls

History

The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus was located within the Hormisdas Palace complex, which was the residence of Justinian (527-65) during the reign of his uncle Justin I (518-27) before his own accession to the throne in 527. The Church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus was preceded by the construction of another church built by Justinian dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The Church of SS. Peter and Paul, which had a basilica plan, was built around 518/19 to house relics of the two Roman saints sent to Justinian as a gift by the pope. The Church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus and the adjacent SS. Peter and Paul shared a narthex and atrium.

Both the date and circumstances of the foundation of SS. Sergius and Bacchus are disputed. It is commonly claimed that it was a palace chapel built when Justinian lived in the Palace of Hormisdas before he became emperor in 527. This construction date is seen as Justinian’s immediate response to the Church of St. Polyeuktos, which began to be constructed by Anicia Juliana in the early 520s. Accordingly, the entablature inscription of SS. Sergius and Bacchus is considered to be in dialogue with the similar inscription of St. Polyeuktos. However, it has also been argued that it was built by Justinian sometime after his accession to the throne in 527, shortly after the Palace of Hormisdas was connected to the nearby Great Palace. This work seems to have taken place after the Nika Riots of 532. Furthermore, the Church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus has been associated with non-Chalcedonians (Monophysites) in Constantinople; Theodora housed a group of non-Chalcedonian monks at the Palace of Hormisdas after they were condemned in a council held in 536. It has even been suggested that it was built for the non-Chalcedonian bishops who attended theological discussions held in the Palace of Hormisdas in 532.

The significance of its dedication to the saints Sergius and Bacchus is also linked to these debates. Justinian could have dedicated the church to the military saints Sergius and Bacchus who were martyred near the frontier of Persia to invoke their power against the Persians. If this were true, it could be related to the events of the Persian Wars, and perhaps even be symbolically related to the Column of Justinian, which faced eastwards towards Persia. Conversely, SS. Sergius and Bacchus were also important saints for non-Chalcedonian Christians. If the non-Chalcedonian delegates were given a church next to the Church of St. Peter and Paul, then it can be symbolically viewed as the efforts of Justinian and Theodora to unite the Church.

Throughout the Byzantine era, SS. Sergius and Bacchus frequently appears in sources as a functioning monastery. Around 547, Pope Vigilius, fearing Justinian’s wrath during the Three Chapters controversy (involving theological disputes about non-Chalcedonian doctrines), sought refuge at the monastery. The monastery was a center of Iconoclasm under its hegoumenos (abbot), the future Patriarch John VII Grammatikos. John the Grammarian, who began his career as a young monk at the Hormisdas Monastery, prepared an inquiry of the council convened by Leo V in 814/15 that condemned icons. He then became the hegoumenos of the monastery. As hegoumenos (c. 815-37), John the Grammarian made the monastery a center for the dissemination of iconoclast ideas. Many prominent supporters of icons who refused to conform to the new dogma, including Theodore of Stoudios, Theophanes the Confessor, and Plato of Sakkoudion, were interrogated there. During the reign of Michael II (820-29), he tutored Theophilos, under whose reign he would later become the patriarch.

During the reign of Basil I (867-86), SS. Sergius and Bacchus, which is described as declining from its former glory due to Iconoclasm, was restored at the prompting of Patriarch Ignatios. In 880, Pope Julius VIII sent a letter thanking Basil I for permitting Latin clergy to officiate again in the church, suggesting there was already a custom of Latin clergy using it for services. The future patriarch Euthymios refused Leo VI’s offer to be its hegoumenos. The tenth-century Book of Ceremonies indicates the church played a significant ceremonial role, with emperors visiting the church on Easter Tuesday. It mentions that there was a chapel dedicated to the Theotokos in the gallery and the emperor attended the service in an imperial lodge in the gallery overlooking the sanctuary. The emperor would then go through to the gallery which led down to a hall where he would invite guests to dine with him. The feast of Saints Sergius and Bacchus was also commemorated at the church on October 7.

Its hegoumenos John discovered the relics of Saint Sergius at the monastery during the reign of Basil I. The relics of the heads of both saints are mentioned by several pilgrims. Several pilgrims to Constantinople visited SS. Sergius and Bacchus in both the Middle and Late Byzantine eras, including an anonymous English pilgrim around 1190, Anthony of Novgorod in 1200, Stephen of Novgorod around 1350, and Alexander the Clerk in 1393. Constantine Bodin, who led a Bulgarian rebellion, was captured in 1073 and was confined at the monastery before being banished to Antioch. Its fate during the Latin occupation of the city is unknown, but it was an active monastery following the Byzantine reconquest of the city in 1261, as indicated in the mentions by pilgrims visiting the city. It is possible it was still functioning as a church or monastery in the second half of the fifteenth century after the Ottoman conquest in 1453.

Monograms

The monograms of Justinian, Theodora and basileos (emperor) at Sergius and Bacchus are box monograms. The monograms of Justinian (IOYCTINIANOY) are based on the letter N, with the letter I contained in its upright. Both the letters T and a square C (Sigma) are to the right, with the letter A inserted within the left side of the N (in more than one variation), and the OY diphthong crowning the monogram. The monograms of Theodora (ϴƐOΔꞶΡΗC) are based around P (Rho) and E, with the Ꞷ (Omega) on the verticals, ϴ (Theta) as the center letter (with incorporated letter O), and the A at the bottom. In some cases the Δ is formed by added a bar beneath the A. There are also monograms of ΒΑCΙΛΕꞶC (basileos, “emperor”) based on B and E with Ꞷ (Omega) above. Unlike Hagia Sophia and Hagia Eirene, there are no monograms of Theodora’s title, “Augusta”.

From Buildings by Procopius

His faith in the Apostles of Christ he displayed in the following manner. First he built a church of Peter and Paul, which had not previously existed in Byzantium, alongside the imperial residence which in former times was called by the name of Hormisdas. For he had contrived that this building, which was his private residence, should both seem to be a palace, and by the magnificence of its structure be as handsome as one; and when he became Emperor of the Romans he joined it to the Palace proper. There too he built another shrine to the famous Saints Sergius and Bacchus, and then also another shrine which stood at an angle to this one. These two churches do not face each other, but stand at an angle to one another, being at the same time joined to each other and rivalling each other; and they share the same entrances and are like each other in all respects, even to the open spaces by which they are surrounded; and each of them is found to be neither superior nor inferior to the other either in beauty or in size or in any other respect. Indeed each equally outshines the sun by the gleam of its stones, and each is equally adorned throughout with an abundance of gold and teems with offerings. In just one respect, however, they do differ. For the long axis of one of them is built straight, while in the other church the columns stand for the most part in a semi-circle. But whereas they possess a single colonnaded stoa, called a narthex because of its great length, for each one of their porches, they have their propylaea entirely in common, and they share a single court, and the same doors leading in from the court, and they are alike in that they belong to the Palace. These two churches are so admirable that they manifestly form an adornment of the whole city, and not merely of the Palace.

At this point, only this shall be set down, that this Emperor’s work includes the propylaea (propylaia) of the Palace and the so‑called Bronze Gate as far as what is called the House of Ares, and beyond the Palace both the Baths of Zeuxippus and the great colonnaded stoas and indeed everything on either side of them as far as the market-place which bears the name of Constantine. And besides these he remodeled the building known as the House of Hormisdas, which is close by the Palace, so altering and transforming it altogether into a more noble structure as to be really in keeping with the royal residence, to which he joined it, making it greater in width and consequently much more admirable.

John of Ephesus on the non-Chalcedonian refugees at Hormisdas

On the subject therefore of the community of blessed men which was gathered together in the royal city by the believing queen at the time of the persecution, out of many peoples and various local tongues, we wish to leave a record at short length; and the history of it is sufficient to cause discerning men to marvel at it, since it was indeed composed of many blessed men who did not fall short of the number of five hundred…one day, when a great crowd was assembled and it was filled from end to end, on account of the great weight of the people suddenly at the time of the celebration that chamber broke in and fell, thousands of people going down with it. And, when shrieking and terror and panic suddenly arose, so that the sound of the shrieking was heard a long distance, as far as the great palace, and a sudden report went about “Many thousands of those who do not assent to the synod have been killed”, then indeed the descent of God’s mercifulness descended, and was made manifest upon these multitudes by the prayers of the saints themselves, so that not one soul among them perished, and there was not a hurt on the body of any of them, although many fell on the top of one another, among them women carrying their children; and thus they all rose from that fall, and it was only from the terror and panic that some of them received a shock. And they came out thanking and praising and blessing God who saved them from death, and all who saw them wondered at this great miracle of deliverance from death which had happened to them; while this story filled the king and queen and the magnates also, and the rest of the people throughout the city with astonishment, and called forth praise and thanksgiving to God, and rendered the community of the blessed men itself honourable in the eyes of everyone, so that at last the king sent, and made the hall itself that fell a portico...

After the death of the believing Theodora the queen, when this community had also lost some of its earlier numbers, the adversaries were stirred up with envy against it, and induced the king to eject them from the former place, and remove them to another place belonging to the crown called the house of Urbicus. And, while a few of the holy old men were in these cells, the adversaries introduced some women with their husbands, and others who were not chaste, and filled the place where the blessed men lived, where the sacrament and the service of God used to be performed; and, whereas these men thought to defile the saints’ dwelling, God purified it by a sudden fire, in that fire fell and burnt the whole of that place, only a small portion of it escaping, while the fire also caught some of these women themselves and burnt them. And so at last it was given to the martyrs’ chapel of the holy Mar Sergius, and a monastery was built on that spot; and it remains to the present time to the glory of God...

The Patria
Saints Sergios and Bacchos. The place called Ta Hormisdou was a small harbor where the ships anchored before Ta Sophias was built. Neglected for a long time, it was filled up. There lived Justinian the Great, the founder of Hagia Sophia. There too was his dwelling which he called Sergios and Bacchos. It was [a church] of the Holy Apostles at the time when he received the oracle at the foot of the steps [of the tribune] when he carried out the massacre in the Hippodrome.

The huge buildings at Saint Sergios were the residence of Justinian the Great, when he was still a patrician.

Reused Proconnesian Marble Screens from the Classical Ottoman minbar

Proconnesian Marble Transenna from San Vitale

National Museum of Ravenna

Late Antique Mason’s Marks from Column Bases

Late Antique Mason’s Marks from Spolia from Ottoman portico pavement and gallery staircase

Reused Byzantine relief over entry to the gallery staircase

Spolia from Ottoman portico pavement and gallery staircase

Spolia from the muezzin’s lodge

Spolia from the Classical Ottoman Muezzin’s Lodge

From The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor

[In 546/47] Pope Vigilius arrived in Constantinople and after being received with great honour by the emperor, he promised to unite the catholic Church and anathematize the Three Chapters. He was so greatly honoured by the emperor that he became puffed up and excommunicated Menas, bishop of Constantinople, for four months by way of penance. Menas replied by imposing the same penance on Vigilius. The emperor, annoyed by Vigilius because of the penance and the delay in fulfilling his promises about uniting the Church, dispatched men to arrest him. Vigilius, fearing the emperor's wrath, sought refuge in the sanctuary of Sergius the martyr in the monastery of Hormisdas. As he was being dragged from there, he held on to the columns supporting the altar, and brought them down, for he was a large heavy man. The emperor repented and received Pope Vigilius who, in turn, at the request of the Augusta Theodora, received Menas, patriarch of Constantinople, on 29 June, the day of the Holy Apostles.

From The Life of Theodore of Stoudios

Constantine sent for the Domestic of the Schools and dispatched him, along with the military governor of Opsikion, to the saintly men to mistreat them. When they reached the monastery, they flogged Theodore, who for the sake of Christ had always been thirsting for this treatment, with ox tendon whips until they were satisfied; they also flogged three others of the leading brethren. Then they banished him, along with ten others from among the most notable of the brotherhood, to Thessalonike. They ordered their escorts to keep them securely confined, not all together in the same place but each separately and apart from each other in different dwellings so that there was no opportunity for them to visit one another. The blessed Plato, however, they sent away to the monastery of holy Sergios, with orders to keep him confined there.

From Synopsis of Histories by John Skylitzes

Jannes was a product of this great city which takes precedence over all others, a scion of the Morocharzianoi family. He was already somewhat advanced in years when the monastery of the victorious martyrs, Sergios and Bacchus, got him as hegoumenos (like a serpent lurking in the church!). This firm adherent of the godless heresy of the enemies of the icons had ascended the ecclesiastical ladder rather quickly. A lifelong adept in wizardry and dish-divining, he was held in high esteem by Michael the Stammerer, the father of Theophilos. Either because they shared the same heretical opinions or on account of the great reputation he had for learning, Jannes became tutor to Theophilos. When the son took the reins of power into his own hands, he promoted him to be protosynkellos and, subsequently, patriarch of Constantinople. This was because, by dish-divining and wizardry, he had been able to foretell some things.

Many of the sacred churches had been damaged by previous disruptions and shaken by earthquakes, while some had been completely wrecked. The emperor Basil took this matter in hand. Some he replaced with new buildings; of others he made good the damage, while in other cases he conferred additional beauty and ornamentation... The sacred church of the holy martyrs Sergios and Bacchos had sadly declined from its former glory, the holy icons therein having been effaced when John, formerly superior of the monks living there, became patriarch in the reign of the former emperor Theophilos. At the prompting of the blessed patriarch Ignatios, Basil decorated this church with sacred icons and made good the other deficiencies of the structure. They call this Hormisdas’ church; it was first constructed by Justinian on the plan of the Great Church, as an inscription running round the inside of the church itself testifies.

From The Book of Ceremonies by Constantine Porphyrogennetos

What it is necessary to observe on the Tuesday of Renewal Week at the Church of St Sergios

...The emperor goes out into the Hippodrome, escorted by all of these and those mentioned previously, and goes through the Hippodrome while the crowds of people stand in the Hippodrome praying for the emperor. Escorted by everyone, the emperor goes through the Old Imperial Bureaux and goes away into the Church of St Sergios.

When the emperor is about to go into the gallery, the patricians and strategoi remain outside the door, and the abbot of the said church receives the emperor there near the door, carrying a censer and censing in front of the emperor. The emperor, having gone into the gallery, lights candles opposite the sanctuary above the imperial doors and prays there. Having prayed in the Chapel of the Most Holy Theotokos which is in the gallery, and having lit candles there and prayed, he goes out and stands in the private box of the sanctuary where it is usual for him to stand for each procession and to participate in the divine liturgy, and he lights candles there. Having prayed in the Chapel of the Most Holy Theotokos which is in the gallery, and having lit candles there and prayed, he goes out and stands in the private box of the sanctuary where it is usual for him to stand for each procession and to participate in the divine liturgy, and he lights candles there.

At the time for the holy communion the [officiating] priest goes up, along with the rest of the priests, hearing the precious gift, and when the priest goes in with the precious gift, the emperor receives communion in the chapel and, going out, goes into the robing-room. When all the members of the kouboukleion have received communion, the priests go away and place the precious gift on the portable altar which is opposite the sanctuary above the imperial doors. The patricians, strategoi and the senate, having been summoned by the master of ceremonies, receive communion, and then the priests go down for the completion of the divine liturgy. When the divine liturgy bas been completed, the emperor goes though the gallery and goes down to the hall and sits at his precious table along with whichever guests he orders to be invited. Having breakfasted, he stands up and puts on the tzitzakion and, escorted by the archons of the kouboukleion and manglabitai and the rest of the household, he goes through the gallery. When the emperor goes out the said door, the patricians and strategoi receive him at the said door where they waited also at the emperor's entry, and the emperor, escorted by those previously mentioned in the same order, goes through the Old Imperial Bureaux and the Hippodrome, and the patricians remain at the Skyla, praying for the emperor.

Architectural elements found in the narthex (from St. Peter and Paul?)

From excavation blog by M. Metin Gökçay

Remains of floor pavement and cruciform crypt

Excavation blog by M. Metin Gökçay

From Bayülgen

Stephen of Novgorod (Pilgrim to Constantinople around 1350)

The residence called the “Palace of the Orthodox Emperor Constantine” is there. It is as large as a town, and it has very high walls, higher than the city walls. It stands below the hippodrome, by the sea. The Monastery of Sergius and Bacchus where we kissed their heads is nearby. All this is if you follow the direction of the sun, keeping the city wall along the sea on the left hand.

Saints Sergius and Bacchus

The martyr saints Sergius and Bacchus were Roman soldiers who were executed in the early fourth century during the reign of Maximian. Accused of being Christians, they were stripped of their military insignia, put in chains, and paraded in female garments throughout the city. They were sent to the Syrian frontier, where St. Bacchus was beaten to death in Barbalisson, Syria. A few days later St. Sergius was beheaded in Rusafah, Syria. Their feast day is on October 7.

Icon of Saints Sergius and Bacchus,

Sinai, seven-century

Khanenko Museum in Kyiv

Palace of Hormisdas and the Church of St. Peter and Paul

Possible locations of the Palace of Hormisdas and the Church of St. Peter and Paul

Structural remains by the south wall

Excavation blog by M. Metin Gökçay

The Suda

And a story circulates concerning Hormisdas the Persian, who deserted to Constantine the Great. For he, when he had gone out to the hunt and returned to the palace, when those who had been invited to dinner had not risen according to the established custom, threatened to inflict the death of Marsyas on them. Those of the Persians who had learned what this meant from someone who had heard proclaimed the younger [i.e. Adarnarses] king after the death of his father, and he [Hormisdas] they shut in a cell and fettered in irons. His wife, having brought him a file through the device of the fish, got him out, and, after he had fled, he came as a suppliant to Constantine. The story is well known.

Epigram of the Church of St. Peter and Paul from The Greek Anthology

Honouring Christ, the king of all, by the toils of his love, Justinian built this glorious temple for Peter and Paul. Indeed, by offering prayer to his servants, one brings great glory to the master himself. Here is ready profit for the soul and for the eyes. So let each obtain by prayer what they need, and delight in beholding the beauty and the splendour of the house.

Translation by Paton, modified by Rizos

The Church of St. John the Baptist of the Stoudios Monastery is as a mid-fifth century basilica, built in Constantinople around 50 years before the Church of Saints Peter and Paul was built by Justininian.

A letter from papal legates in Constantinople to Pope Hormisdas in Rome reports that Justinian seeks relics of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and of Laurence for his basilica of Peter and Paul in Constantinople

Your son Justinian, of magnificus rank, acting as befits his faith, has built a basilica of the Holy Apostles, in which he also wishes there to be relics of the blessed martyr Laurence. He hopes that, by the mediation of our humbleness, you will quickly grant relics of the said saints. The petition of the said man was according to the custom of the Greeks, and we explained to him that it was against the custom of the Apostolic See. He accepted our reasoning. And since the fervour of his faith is of a kind that merits whatever it requests from the Apostolic See, and what it hopes for is the kind of thing from which both the salvation of the soul and the feeling of faith are increased, he beseeches that the things requested with such desire be not declined. Hence, if Your Beatitude approves, order that sanctuaria [lit. 'holy things'] of the blessed Peter and Paul be granted to him according to custom, and it is for you to decide if it is possible to place the same sanctuaria at the second opening. He also requests something from the chains of the Holy Apostles, if it is possible, and of the griddle of the blessed martyr Laurence. These are wishes of the said man; towards these his faith has been incited. For this reason, he has sent to your city the magistrianus Eulogius, of spectabilis rank, considering that he will be satisfied if, from the very source from which sanctuaria of the Apostles are given all over the earth, he too may be worthy to receive relics. And you do well for the interests of the church, and greatly in bearing witness to God, by trusting such a man, whose sincerity and integrity with regard to the Catholic religion is known to all men. They wished to make and send from here silver cases (*), but later they thought that he should receive this too from your See, as a blessing. So we suggest that separate cases should be made for the relics of each of the Apostles. Given on the third day before the Kalends of July at Constantinople.

Sergius and Bacchus Poster

Inscription from Psalms and Habakkuk

ἐπιβήσῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους σου κ[αὶ] ἡ ἱππασία σου σω[τηρ]ία

…when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory?

Habakkuk 3:8

ὅτι ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐλπίζει ἐπὶ Κ[ύριο]ν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐλέει τοῦ ὑψίστου οὐ μὴ σαλευθῇ.

For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.

Psalm 21:7

οὐκ ὠφελήσει ἐχθρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ, κ[αὶ] υἱὸς ἀνομίας οὐ προσθήσει τοῦ κακῶσαι αὐτόν·

The enemy will not get the better of him; the wicked will not oppress him.

Psalms 89:22

αἰνῶν ἐπικαλέσομαι (Κ[ύριο]ν), ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου σωθήσομαι.

I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.

Psalm 18:3

ἐξουδένωται ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ πονηρευόμενος, τοὺς δὲ φοβου(μένους Κ[ύριο]ν) δοξάζει.

who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD
Psalm 15:4

From the archives of Söylemezoğlu Family (1961)

Salt Research

The Book of Ceremonies refers to the Sphendone of the Hippodrome as the “Hippodrome of St Sergios”. SS. Sergius and Bacchus is around 150 m southwest of the Sphendone.

Sphendone (Hippodrome of Constantinople)

Aerial photos by Kadir Kır

Aerial photo by István Pi Tóth

Aerial photo by István Pi Tóth

Küçük Ayasofya Camii in the Ottoman era

Hüseyin Ağa Madrasa and Küçük Ayasofya Mosque

Küçük Ayasofya Camii (“Little Hagia Sophia Mosque”), which was originally the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, was restored and converted into a mosque by Hüseyin Ağa, the Chief Eunuch (Kapıağası) of Bayezid II between 1506 and 1513. Hüseyin Ağa established a wealthy religious foundation (waqf) with numerous properties around the city. The complex (külliye) consisted of a zawiya (Sufi lodge), imaret (“soup kitchen”), school, and hamam. Throughout the Ottoman era, it functioned as a Sufi lodge first for the Khalwati order, then later other Sufi orders. The complex was used for housing by refugees of the Balkan Wars and World War I. It then functioned solely as a mosque following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The mahalle (“neighborhood”) that grew up around the mosque is still an official administrative division of the city.

While the interior of the church was originally covered with marble revetment and mosaics when it was built, it is uncertain how it looked before it was converted. At least one major repair was made during the reign of Basil I, and it has even been suggested that the current dome is not the original. While it seems it was still functioning as a church after the Ottoman conquest in 1453, though it is possible it had lost many original features or was even in relative disrepair when it was converted.

Initially, several additions were made to the building in the Classical Ottoman style. When the church was converted into a mosque, a portico was added in front of the narthex on its western end. It has five domes supported by six columns with lozenge (baklavalı) capitals and pointed arches. Whatever remained of the Byzantine liturgical furniture would have been replaced when it was converted. The Classical Ottoman marble minbar (“pulpit”) with conical baldachin dates to the early sixteenth century. Two Late Antique marble panels were used as the sides of the platform. The muezzin’s lodge and the Ottoman staircase to the gallery also have spolia.

Some of the key changes that took place over the course of the Ottoman era included altering the windows, placing hexagonal bricks on the floor, and covering the dome with lead. Repairs and restorations were also made following earthquakes in 1648 and 1763. The shadirvan (fountain) and a school were rebuilt by the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha around 1740. The minaret is a separate structure near the southwestern corner of the former church. Its style indicates it was built after the 1750s. The upper section of the minaret was demolished for an unknown reason in 1936, leaving only the base intact. It was rebuilt in 1995. Sometime during the Late Ottoman era, a pump was installed inside the building, which was apparently used by the local fire brigade when fighting fires. There is a large cemetery north and east of the mosque. The octagonal mausoleum (türbe) of Hüseyin Ağa is north of the mosque in the cemetery of the complex.

Hüseyin Ağa Medresesi was originally a zawiya (“Sufi lodge”) of the Halveti order and was later used by the Jelveti order. The building, made of brick and stone masonry, surrounds the shadirvan (fountain) courtyard on three sides. It has a domed entrance on the western side. It apparently had a portico, which was lost as the building fell into disrepair over time. While it reportedly had 36 cells, it only has 24 vaulted cells today. It was restored in the 1950s and is now used by a religious foundation.

Çardaklı Hamam is a double bath built in 1503/4 by Kapıağası Küçük Hüseyin Ağa as an income-producing property of the Küçük Ayasofya complex. It was in relatively good condition and still in use when it was documented in the early twentieth century. It has since fallen into ruin, with the women’s section partially collapsing. During the early Republican era, it was first used as a warehouse and then as a workshop, during which time its marble floors and basins were removed. It seems that the women’s section was only added later, thus it was originally built as a single bath. The hamam’s plan is not symmetrical, as can be seen in an offset seven-sided room in the women’s section and the cruciform room of the men’s section. It has been suggested these peculiarities could indicate that the hamam incorporated the remains of an older Byzantine structure. There is also a Byzantine panel under an inscription of the entrance of the men’s section.

Hadith inscription over complex entrance

“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Whoever performs ablution in an excellent manner, comes to Friday prayer, and listens while remaining quiet, his sins will be forgiven until the next Friday and an additional three days, but whoever plays with pebbles has behaved frivolously.’”

Classical Ottoman portico of the mosque

Inscriptions over main entrance

(Left) Ottoman inscription recording conversion and repairs by Kapıağası Hüseyin Ağa H. 908-911 (1502-1505)

(Right) Hadith Inscription

“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘If any one of you improve his Islamic religion then his good deeds will be rewarded ten times to seven hundred times for each good deed and a bad deed will be recorded as it is.’”

Hadith inscription from side entrance

“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘I have prepared for My righteous slaves (such excellent things) as no eye has ever seen, nor an ear has ever heard nor a human heart can ever think of.’”

Shahada inscription on the minbar

“There is no God, but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

From The Garden of the Mosques by Hafiz Hüseyin Al-Ayvansarayî

It was converted from a church. Its founder was the babüssaade ağası Hüseyin Ağa, who was executed in the days of Sultan Bayezid and is buried there. He has a separate tomb.

Classical Ottoman mihrab and minbar

Base of minaret

Classical Ottoman muezzin’s lodge

Late Ottoman water pump for fighting fires

Traces of hand-drawn ornamental decorations from the early Ottoman era

16th-century türbe (mausoleum) of Hüseyin Ağa

Çardaklı Hamam

Byzantine relief of Cardakli Hamam

Ottoman Inscription recording construction by Kapıağası Hüseyin Ağa H. 909 (1503/4)

Rüstem Pasha Fountain

H. 957 (1550/51)

Mehemmed Efendi Fountain

H. 1118 (1706/7)

Region of Küçük Ayasofya Mosque and the Hippodrome

Matrakçı Nasuh (1533)

From Paspates (1877)

Ebersolt & Thiers (1910)

Sébah & Joaillier (c. 1880s)

Getty

Sébah & Joaillier (c. 1880s)

LOC

Sébah & Joaillier (c. 1890s)

LOC

From Alexander Van Millingen (1899)

Photos by Gertrude Bell (1905)

Gertrude Bell Archive

SALT Research

From the Nicholas V. Artamonoff Collection (1935)

Photos by Sébah

Salt Research

Postcard (1970)

Salt Research

Plan from Mathews

Reconstructed marble revetment and floors of the naos

Plan of San Vitale

Plan of St. John Prodromos at Hebdomon by Mathews

Pervititch. Plan d’assurances. Kutchuk-Aghia Sofia (1924)

Click to see map of Byzantine Churches of Constantinople

References

Mango, C. “The Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus One Again” (Byzantinische Zeitschrift 88.2)

Mango, C. “The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus at Constantinople and its alleged tradition of Octagonal Palatine Churches” (Jahrbuch der Österreichen Byzantinistik 21)

Bardill, J. “The Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople and the Monophysite Refugees” (Dumbarton Oaks Papers 54)

Bardill, J. “The Date, Dedication, and Design of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople” (Journal of Late Antiquity 10)

Swainson, H. “Monograms on the Capitals of S. Sergius at Constantinople” (Byzantinische Zeitschrift 4.1)

Croke, B. “Justinian, Theodora, and the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus” (Dumbarton Oaks Papers 60)

Connor, CL. “The Epigram in the Church of Hagios Polyeuktos in Constantinople and Its Byzantine Response” (Byzantion 69)

Ousterhout, R. “Politics and Aesthetics in the Architecture of Justinian” (Constantinople Réelle et Imaginaire: autour de l’oeuvre de Gilbert Dagron)

Shahîd, I. “The Church of Sts Sergios and Bakhos at Constantinople, Some New Perspectives” (Byzantium State and Society: In Memory of Nikos Oikonomides)

Karydis, N. “The Case of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus and Its Transformations through Time” (The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City)

Kostenec, J. “South façade of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus (Küçük Ayasofya Camii) in Istanbul” (BOREAS 28-29)

Bolognesi Recchi Franceschini, E. “The Western Boundaries of the Great Palace Area: Some Observations about Küçük Aya Sofya Camii and Çardaklı Hamam” (Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 21.2)O. Feld, “Beobachtungen in der Küçük Ayasofya” (Istanbuler Mitteilungen 18)

Grossmann, P. “Beobachtungen zum ursprünglichen Grundriß der Sergios und Bakchoskirche in Konstantinopel” (Istanbuler Mitteilungen 39)

Svenshon, H. & Stichel, R., “Neue Beobachtungen an der ehemaligen Kirche der Heiligen Sergios und Bakchos (Küçük Ayasofya Camisi)” (Istanbuler Mitteilungen 50)

Feist, S. “Längs- und Zentralbau in justinianischer Zeit: Die Doppelkirchenanlage der Heiligen Petrus und Paulus und Sergius und Bacchus in Istanbul” (Anekdota Byzantina: Studien zur byzantinischen)

Sanpaolesi, P. “La chiesa dei SS. Sergio e Bacco a Costantinopoli” (Rivista dell’Istituto Nazionale d’Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte XIX)

Gökçay, M. & Rahmi, A. “Küçük Ayasofya Cami Kazısı-Little Hagia Sophia Mosque (Sergius and Bacchus) Excavation” (Uluslararası İstanbul Tarihi Yarımada Sempozyumu 2013)

Alkis, A. et al. “Deformation Observations at the Church of Sergios and Bakchos by Photogrammetric Tools” (Studies in Ancient Structures: Proceedings
of the Second International Congress)

Detseli, N. “Küçük Ayasofya Camii Kalemişleri Üzerine Bir İnceleme” (Geleneğin Mirası)

Semavi, E. “Küçük Ayasofya Külliyesi” (Islam Ansiklopedisi)

Semavi, E. “Çardaklı Hamam” (Islam Ansiklopedisi)

Kostenec, J. “Church of Sts Sergios and Bakchos (Küçük Ayasofya Camii)” (Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Constantinople)

Mathews, T. The Early Churches of Constantinople: Architecture and Liturgy

Mango, C. Byzantine Architecture

Bardill, J. Brickstamps of Constantinople

Ćurčić, S. Architecture in the Balkans: From Diocletian to Süleyman the Magnificent

Mango, C. Studies on Constantinople

Niewöhner, P. Byzantine Ornaments in Stone

Stroth, F. Monogrammkapitelle: Die justinianische Bauskulptur Konstantinopels als Texträger

Müller-Wiener, W. Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul bis zum Beginn d. 17. Jh

Millingen, A. Byzantine Churches in Constantinople: Their History and Architecture

Janin, R. La géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin

Krautheimer, R. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture

Ebersolt, J. & Thiers, A. Les Eglises de Constantinople

Mathews, T. The Byzantine Churches of Istanbul: A Photographic Survey

Kirimtayif, S. Converted Byzantine Churches in Istanbul: Their Transformation Into Mosques and Masjids

Bayülgen, B. & Saner, T. Architectural Description of Byzantine Remains in İstanbul / Excavations and Surveys in the City Within The Walls (1927-2021)

Tutkun, M. Sergios-Bakhos Kilisesi: Küçük Ayasofya Camii

Bayülgen, B. Hagıoı Sergıos Ve Bakkhos Kilisesi: Yeni Mimari Bulgular Ve Tipoloji (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis)

Gunduz-Polat, İ. Küçük Ayasofya and the Foundation of Babüssaade Ağası Hüseyin Ağa (Unpublished Master's Thesis)

Yıldırım, K. Bizans Mimarisinde Oktagon Plan Tipi: İstanbul Azizler Sergios ve Bakkhos Kilisesi (Küçük Ayasofya Camii) Örneği (Unpublished Master's Thesis)

Maas, M. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian

Primary Sources

Dewing, H.B. (trans.) Buildings by Procopius

Brooks, E.W. (trans.) Lives of the Eastern Saints: John of Ephesus

Berger, A. (trans.) Accounts of Medieval Constantinople: The Patria

The Suda Encyclopedia (Topos Text)

Paton, W. (trans.) The Greek Anthology

Greek epigram, probably recording the dedication of a church to the Apostles Peter and Paul translated by Paton, modified by Rizos (University of Oxford)

A letter from papal legates in Constantinople to Pope Hormisdas in Rome translated by Rizos and Lambert (University of Oxford)

Jordan, R. & Morris, R. (trans) The Life and Death of Theodore of Stoudios

Moffatt, A. & Maxeme Tall, M. (trans.) Constantine Porphyrogennetos: The Book of Ceremonies

Jeffreys, E. Jeffreys, M. & and Scott, R. The Chronicle of John Malalas