Hagia Sophia
Ayasofya · Ayasofya-i Kebir Câmii · Church of Holy Wisdom
Late Antiquity / Byzantine 532–537 CE, Ottoman additions 1453–·Byzantine Greek to Ottoman Islamic·🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey
About
About Hagia Sophia
Byzantine cathedral par excellence (537 CE) by Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus for Justinian I: 31 m dome seemingly floating on pendentives, 82 m long basilica, later Ottoman mosque after 1453 with minarets and mihrab, museum 1935–2020 and mosque again 2020. Engineering wonder influencing all domed architecture to Ottomans and Renaissance.
Why it mattersPinnacle of Late Antique engineering; progenitor model for Ottoman mosques and Western domed churches
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01How original dome collapsed 558 and redesign raised height
- 02Mortar chemistry enabling tensile strength
Theories
- 01Justinian propaganda of surpassing Solomon narrative
- 02Penditive invention attribution to Isidore/Anthemius vs earlier prototypes
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 532–537 CE under Justinian I after Nika riots
- Period
- Late Antiquity / Byzantine 532–537 CE, Ottoman additions 1453–
- Culture
- Byzantine Greek to Ottoman Islamic
- Purpose
- Eastern Orthodox patriarchal cathedral, imperial church; Ottoman mosque
- Excavation
- Excavated
537 CE
Consecration Hagia Sophia
558 CE
Dome collapse and reconstruction by Isidore the Younger
1453
Mehmed II conversion to mosque
1935
Atatürk museum secularization
2020
Re-converted to mosque
On the ground
Structures & features
41.0086° N · 28.9803° E · 28 m · 3 mapped features
Main Dome
dome31 m brick dome on pendentives 55.6 m high, original 6th c.
41.0086° N · 28.9802° EJustinian Mosaics (Deesis)
mosaic13th c. Deesis mosaic Christ-Virgin-John Baptist
41.0087° N · 28.9805° EOttoman Minarets & Mihrab
mosque additionFour minarets (14th-16th c.) and mihrab oriented to Mecca
41.0084° N · 28.9800° E
Gallery