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Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Küçük Ayasofya Camii
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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 Sea Walls

The Monastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus at Hormisdas (Μονὴ τῶν Άγίων Σεργίου καί Βάκχου ὲν τοῖς Ὸρμίσδου) was built during the reign of Justinian. It is located near the Sea Wall by the Marmara Sea south of the Hippodrome of Constantinople. It was built on the grounds of the Palace of Hormisdas next to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. The church was dedicated to the saints Sergius and Bacchus, Roman soldiers who were martyred under Emperor Maximian around 300. Its association with Hagia Sophia is reflected in its Turkish name, Küçük Ayasofya Camii (“Little Hagia Sophia Mosque”).

The Church of Ss. Sergius and Bacchus was built on the grounds of the Palace of Hormisdas, which was named after a Sassanid prince who was received at the court of Emperor Constantine after fleeing from Persia in 324. The palace was the residence of Justinian when his uncle Justin I (518-527) was the ruling emperor. After consecrated the Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul at the palace in 518-519, he asked Pope Hormisdas for the relics of the two apostles in Rome. The precise date of Sergius and Bacchus is controversial. Traditionally it was been argued that it was a palatine chapel built by Justinian and Theodora built around 527 when the imperial couple moved to the Great Palace complex. However, it has also been argued that it was built by the year 536 for Syrian Monophysite monks who were being supported by Empress Theodora. It is known that the palace accommodated over 500 Monophysite refugees during this period. The church was first attested – as a monastery under Abbot Paul – in 536 when the anti-Monophysite council of 536 was held here. Following the death of Theodora in 548, its Monophysite inhabitants were moved to the house of Urbicius. Around 547, Pope Vigilius, fearing Justinian’s wrath during the Three Chapters Controversy (related to the Nestorian heresy), sought refuge at the monastery and attempts to remove him by force failed due to the protests of the populace. It also has stylistic affinities with the Church of St. Polyeuctus built by Anicia Juliana built a short time earlier.

This church remained a monastery throughout the Byzantine era. The church was a center of Iconoclasm under its hegoumenos (abbot) and future Patriarch John VII Grammatikos during the reigns of Leo V and Theophilus. As hegoumenos (c. 815-37) he interrogated many prominent supporters of icons, including Theodore of Stoudios and Theophanes the Confessor, at Sergius and Bacchus. Sergius and Bacchus was restored by Basil I after 867 and was granted to the See of Rome in 880 during the reign of Basil I, though it seems to have already been placed in the service of the Pope earlier. The future Patraich Euthymios rejected Leo VI’s attempt to make him the hegoumenos. Its fate during the Latin occupation of the city is unknown, but it is mentioned by pilgrims visiting the city following the Byzantine reconquest of the city in 1261. In the early 16th century, the church was converted into a mosque by Hüseyin Agha, the chief eunuch of the harem of Bayezid II. His türbe (tomb) is now in the middle of the cemetery north of the mosque, which is often named after him as well. The building was restored in 1740 and again after the fire of 1758. It housed refugees from the Balkan in the early 20th century and was restored again in 1956.

Serigus and Bacchus, along with its more famous and impressive counterpart Hagia Sophia, reveals the inventiveness of Justinian’s construction projects in Constantinople. It has often been considered an important precursor of Hagia Sophia, but as its date is controversial, this is far from certain. It shared the same atrium with the adjacent church of Ss. Peter and Paul that was probably a basilica. It has been argued that this accounts for its irregular plan. While it is not very large (measuring around 30 x 34 meters), it is designed in such a way that produces a sense of spaciousness inside. This structure can be compared with the churches of San Vitale in Ravenna and the non-extant St. John Prodromos at Hebdomon.

The brick-and-mortar building has an octagonal nave set within a irregular rectangle. It has a double-storied arcade that supporting a pumpkin dome (17 meters in diameter) with 16 alternating curved and flat wedges. The flat surfaces are pierced by windows, while the curved wedges coincide with the corners of the octagon. There is a broad arch over the apse on its east side and seven narrower arches over the other piers. The arches of the octagon frame two-story niches of alternating rectangular and semicircular plan, while the angles of the octagonal nave are marked by eight wedge-shaped piers. Paired columns of verde antico and red-veined Synnada marble support a richly carved horizontal entablature made of Proconnesian marble at the gallery level. These columns are capped with delicately undercut “melon” or “folded” capitals, which emphasize the crosses and imperial monograms in the center. The columns of the gallery also include Ionic impost capitals. Along its entire length is an inscribed epigram with expertly carved letters in honor of Justinian and Theodora. The entablature also includes the traditional egg-and-dart, bead-and-reel and acanthus rinceau. While it would have originally been decorated with mosaics and polychrome marble revetment on its walls and piers, it is now mostly covered with plaster. 

Inscription 

[Ἄλλοι μὲν βα]σιλῆες ἐτιμήσαντο θανόντας

ἀνέρας, ὧν ἀνόνητος ἔην πόνος· ἡμέτερος δὲ

εὐσεβίην σκηπτοῦχος Ἰουστινιανὸς ἀέξων

Σέργιον αἰγλήεντι δόμῳ θεράποντα γεραίρει

5         Χριστοῦ παγγενέταο· τὸν οὐ πυρὸς ἀτμὸς ἀνάπτων,

οὐ ξίφος, οὐχ ἑτέρη βασάνων ἐτάραξεν ἀνάγκη,

ἀλλὰ θεοῦ τέτληκεν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῖο δαμῆναι

αἵματι κερδαίνων δόμον οὐρανόν. ἀλλ᾽ ἐνὶ πᾶσιν

κοιρανίην βασιλῆος ἀκοιμήτοιο φυλάξοι

10      καὶ κράτος αὐξήσειε θεοστεφέος Θεοδώρης,

ἧς νόος εὐσεβίῃ φαιδρύνεται, ἧς πόνος ἀεὶ

ἀκτεάνων θρεπτῆρες ἀφειδέες εἰσὶν ἀγῶνες.

 

Other sovereigns have honored dead men whose labor was unprofitable, but our sceptered Justinian, fostering piety, honors with a splendid abode the Servant of Christ, Begetter of all things, Sergius; whom not the burning breath of fire, nor the sword, nor any other constraint of torments disturbed; but who endured to be slain for the sake of Christ, the God, gaining by his blood heaven as his home. May he in all things guard the rule of the sleepless sovereign and increase the power of the God-crowned Theodora whose mind is adorned with piety, whose constant toil lies in unsparing efforts to nourish the destitute.                                  (Translated by Cyril Mango)

“Justinian” [IOVCTINIANOC] and “Theodora” [ϴƐOΔꞶΡΗC] from Entablature Inscription

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Mosaics of Justinian and Theodora in San Vitale

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”.

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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.

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

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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 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,19 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

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.

Icon of Saints Sergius and Bacchus,

Sinai, seven-century 

Khanenko Museum in Kyiv

Church of St. Peter and Paul at Hormisdas

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

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Aerial photos by Kadir Kır

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Aerial photos by István Pi Tóth

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.

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

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)

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From Paspates (1877)

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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

Photos by Sébah

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Plan by Müller-Wiener

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Reconstructed marble revetment and floors of the naos

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Plan of San Vitale

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Plan of St. John Prodromos at Hebdomon by Mathews

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

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References

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

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)

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

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

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)

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

O. Feld, “Beobachtungen in der Küçük Ayasofya” (Istanbuler Mitteilungen 18)

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
)

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

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. 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 

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

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)

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

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

Mango, Scott, & Greatrex (trans.)The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor 

Wortley, J. (trans.) John Skylitzes:​ A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057

Nesbitt, J. (trans.) Byzantium in the Time of Troubles. The Continuation of the Chronicle of John Skylitzes (1057-1079)

Majeska, G. (trans.) Russian Travelers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Crane, H. (trans.) The Garden of the Mosques: Hafiz Hüseyin al-Ayvansarayî’s Guide to the Muslim Monuments of Ottoman Istanbul

Resources

Sergius and Bacchus Photo Album (Byzantine Legacy Flickr)

Byzantine Churches of Constantinople (Byzantine Legacy Google Map) 

Küçük Ayasofya Cami Kazısı (Sergius and Bacchus) Excavation (Blog by M. Metin Gökçay)

Saints Sergios and Bacchos (Byzantium 1200)

Sts. Sergius and Bacchus (Nicholas V. Artamonoff Collection)

Photos of Sergius and Bacchus (BSA Digital Collections)

Sergius & Bacchus the Great Martyrs of Syria (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

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