Aya İrini (Hagia Eirene)

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İstanbul'da bulunan, camiye çevrilmemiş en büyük Bizans kilisesidir. Eski kaynaklara göre, burada bulunan Roma döneminden kalma Artemis, Afrodit ve Apollon mabetlerinin kalıntılarından yararlanılarak, 4. yüzyılın başlarında I. Konstantin (324-337) zamanında yapıldı. Ayasofya'yla aynı avlu duvarı içinde bulunan Aya İrini, 532'deki Nika Ayaklanması sırasında yanındaki Sempson Zenon'la birlikte yanmıştır. İmparator I. Justinianus, Ayasofya'nın yanı sıra Aya İrini'yi de yeniden yaptırmıştır. 532'de yapımına başlanmışsa da bitiş tarihi kesin olarak bilinmemektedir. 8. ve 9. yüzyıllarda yaşanan şiddetli depremler binada önemli hasarlara neden olmuştur. Bizanslıların patrikhane şapeli diye niteledikleri Aya İrini, İstanbul'un fethinden sonra Topkapı Sarayı'nı çevreleyen Sur-ı Sultani içerisinde kalmış, bu yüzden camiye çevrilmediği için önemli bir mimari değişiklik olmamıştır. Önce iç cephane, sonra da Harbiye Nezareti'nin silah ambarı olarak kullanılmıştır. Hagia Irene or Hagia Eirene (Byzantine Greek: Ἁγία Εἰρήνη Greek pronunciation: [aˈʝia iˈrini], "Holy Peace", Turkish: Aya İrini), sometimes known also as Saint Irene, is a Greek Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. It is one of the few churches in Istanbul that has not been converted into a mosque, as it was used as an arsenal for storing weapons until the 19th century.[1] The Hagia Irene today operates as a museum and concert hall. The building reputedly stands on the site of a pre-Christian temple. It ranks as the first church completed in Constantinople, before Hagia Sophia, during its transfiguration from a Greek trading colony to the eastern capital of the Roman Empire. According to later tradition, the Roman emperor Constantine I commissioned the first Hagia Irene church in the 4th century, which was completed by the end of his reign (337). It served as the church of the Patriarchate before Hagia Sophia was completed in 360 under Constantius II.[3] During the Nika revolt in 532, Hagia Irene was burned down. Emperor Justinian I had the church rebuilt in 548. It was then damaged again by the 740 Constantinople earthquake on October 20, 740, about six months before the death of Leo III. The Emperor Constantine V ordered the restorations and had its interior decorated with mosaics and frescoes. Some restorations from this time have survived to the present. Reconstruction during the reign of Justinian I shows change in the architecture of the atrium and narthex, which stayed intact after the earthquake. Restoration after the earthquake created a stronger foundation for the church. Before being rebuilt, the foundation had significant structural problems. This restoration established a cross-domed plan on the gallery level while still being able to keep the original basilica plan at the ground level. The narthex can be found to the west, preceded by the atrium, and then the apse on the east side.Hagia Irene still holds its dome and has peaked roofs on the north, west, and south sides of the church. The dome itself is 15m wide and 35m high and has twenty windows. Hagia Irene has the typical form of a Roman basilica, consisting of a nave and two aisles, which are divided by three pairs of piers. This helps support the galleries above the narthex. Semicircular arches are also attached to the capitals which also helps give support to the galleries above.