Editing Byzantine architecture (section)

===Early architecture===
[[File:SantApollininner.jpg|thumb|left|The [[basilica]] of [[Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]] in [[Ravenna]] (6th century)]]
Prime examples of early Byzantine architecture date from the Emperor [[Justinian I]]'s reign and survive in [[Ravenna]] and Istanbul, as well as in [[Sofia]] (the [[Church of St Sophia, Sofia|Church of St Sophia]]). [[File:Basilica of Hagia Sofia, Bulgaria.jpg|thumb|left|[[Saint Sofia Church, Sofia|Saint Sofia Church, Bulgaria]], 6th century AD]] One of the great breakthroughs in the history of Western architecture occurred when Justinian's architects invented a complex system providing for a smooth transition from a square plan of the church to a circular dome (or domes) by means of [[pendentive]]s.

In Ravenna, the longitudinal [[basilica]] of [[Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]], and the octagonal, centralized structure of the church of [[Basilica of San Vitale|San Vitale]], commissioned by Emperor Justinian but never seen by him, was built. Justinian's monuments in Istanbul include the domed churches of [[Hagia Sophia]] and [[Hagia Irene]] (both discussed in more detail below), but there is also an earlier, smaller church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (locally referred to as "[[Little Hagia Sophia]]"), which might have served as a model for both in that it combined the elements of a longitudinal basilica with those of a centralized building.

[[File:Millingen H Eirene section.svg|thumb|The 6th-century church of [[Hagia Irene]] in [[Istanbul]] was substantially rebuilt after an earthquake in the 8th century.]]

Other structures include the ruins of the [[Great Palace of Constantinople]], the innovative [[walls of Constantinople]] (with 192 towers) and [[Basilica Cistern]] (with hundreds of recycled classical columns). A mosaic in the church begun [[Ostrogoth|by the Ostrogoths]], San Apollinare in Nuovo in Ravenna, depicts an early Byzantine palace.

[[Hagios Demetrios]] in [[Thessaloniki]], [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] on [[Mount Sinai]], [[Jvari (monastery)|Jvari Monastery]] in present-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], and three [[Armenia]]n churches of [[Echmiadzin]] all date primarily from the 7th century and provide a glimpse on architectural developments in the Byzantine provinces following the age of Justinian.

Remarkable engineering feats include the 430 m long [[Sangarius Bridge]], the pointed arch of [[Karamagara Bridge]], as well as the dome of the Church of [[Hagia Sophia]].