Byzantine Pendentive Dome Construction

Timeline

1. 527–536Constantinople · Istanbul ProvinceAfter Justinian I's accession, the architects Anthemius and Isidore first applied pendentive structure on a large scale in the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (Little Hagia Sophia), building a dome over an octagonal base and providing a technical rehearsal for Hagia Sophia.
2. 532–537Hagia Sophia · Istanbul ProvinceAbove the 32.6-meter-square nave of Hagia Sophia, four pendentives transferred the load to corner piers, supporting a central dome about 31 meters in diameter and 55 meters high. The pendentives fused the circular dome with the square plan, creating an open column-free interior and representing the highest achievement of Byzantine architectural technique.
3. 537–600Territory of the Byzantine Empire · Byzantine EmpireAfter Hagia Sophia's completion, pendentive dome technique spread rapidly to churches and palaces across the Byzantine Empire, and via trade and missionary routes reached Armenia, Syria, and later the Islamic world, becoming one of the standard structural schemes for large medieval religious buildings.