Monogrammkapitelle

In this study, the capital series of the Hagia Sophia, the Sergios and Bakchos Churches and the Irene Church are systematically examined for the first time. In addition, the founder epigrams of the Sergios and Bakchos Churches as well as the Polyeuktos Church are included in the study, whose material execution has received too little attention so far. The research approach tested here, namely to focus on the Justinianic building sculpture of Constantinople as a text carrier, is unusual, but at second glance it has proven to be obvious and rich in results in many ways. The presentation of more than 150 early Byzantine capitals of these prominent churches of Constantinople in more than 850 photographs and 50 drawings makes a fundamental contribution to Byzantine archaeology.