Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, Turkey
Hagia Sophia or the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, originally a patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, today a museum was built on orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-565) in 532 after the Nika Riot.
Sophia was constructed by the greatest mathematicians, masons and mosaic artist. It was consecrated by Patriarch Menas on December 27, 537. Earthquakes in 553 and 557 caused cracks in the main dome and the eastern half-dome. The main dome collapsed in earthquake in 558 and the Byzantine Emperor called for immediate restoration. Hagia Sophia was rebuilt, while the original design was improved without any visible alterations. The basilica was damages several times over the following centuries: by a great fire in 859, by earthquakes in 869 and 989, ransacked and desecrated during the Fourth Crusade and during the Latin occupation of Constantinople (1204–1261) when it was turned into a Roman Catholic Cathedral. Every time it was restored until the Turks conquered the Constantinople in 1453 and converted the basilica into a mosque. It remained a mosque until 1935 when it was converted into a museum by the secular Republic of Turkey.
Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch in Constantinople for nearly a millennium and represented the masterpiece of Byzantine architecture which had a great influence on the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Muslim architecture worldwide. Today Hagia Sophia is considered an epitome of Byzantine architecture and one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
