<A>
pendentive cupola: *
see illustration
in masonry the pendentives receive the weight of the dome, concentrating it at the 4 corners where it can be received by the piers beneath.ü
<B>
architrave and column: * see Endnote<B>
see illustration
<C>
spherical and polygonal forms: *
​a circle fits nicely inside the octagon
see illustration
​
<D>
S. Vitale (Ravenna): *
uses an octagonal plan; combines Roman elements (dome, shape of doorways, stepped towers) with Byzantine elements (polygonal apse, capitals, narrow bricks, early flying buttresses).
<E>
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem: *
built on the site of the Roman temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which was built on the site of the Second Jewish Temple (destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE); the original dome collapsed in 1015, rebuilt in 1022–23. It is one of the oldest extant works of Islamic architecture.
<F>
bull tablet (1st Dynasty, Egypt): * see Endnote <>
commemorates either defeat of Bedouins from desert or capture of cities of Upper Egypt (Asyut, Koptos, Hermopolis, Panopolis). Banners may have symbolized allied cities under the ruler named Bull; Height 27.5 cm.
<G>
Aachen Minster: *
The octagon in the centre of the Cathedral was erected as the chapel of the Palace of Aachen between 796 and 805 on the model of other contemporary Byzantine buildings (the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna and the Little Hagia Sophia in Constantinople). The architect was Odo of Metz, and the original design was of a domed octagonal inner room enveloped by a 16 sided outer wall. The span and height of Charlemagne's Palatine chapel was unsurpassed north of the Alps for over two hundred years.
needs illustrations
