Middle Byzantine

Refers to the style following the Iconoclastic crisis, from the mid-ninth century through the early 13th century. The style is mainly evident in the eastern Roman empire, and spread along with the Orthodox faith to the Balkans and Russia after the loss of Asia Minor to the Seljuk Turks in 1071. The style is characterized by its evolution from earlier Byzantine art, including a reduction in the size of churches and monasteries, frequent use of the Greek cross plan, interiors encrusted with rich marble, mosaics, painting, and ivory carvings, which were typically more austere, linear, and abstract compositions in a rigid iconographic system.