Building of Hagia Sophia

Also called: Ayasofya, Church of Holy Wisdom

Justinian rebuilt Constantinople’s cathedral, burned in the Nika riots, as Hagia Sophia with a vast dome, dedicating it in 537.

When the old cathedral of Constantinople burned in the Nika riots of 532, Justinian had the mathematician-architects Anthemius and Isidore build a new church. Dedicated in December 537 after only five years, Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) is the masterpiece of Byzantine architecture, a huge dome about 31 m across set over a square building. Light from the windows at the base of the dome and gold mosaics create a space that seems to float in the sky.

Hagia Sophia was the chief church of Greek Orthodoxy; after the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453 it became a mosque and minarets were added. It was finished at almost the same time as Baekje moved its capital to Sabi (538).