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Dorffner, Lionel 
  
2 HISTORY OF HAGIA SOPHIA 
"Although there are no artifacts confirming it, it is said that Hagia Sophia was built on the site of an ancient pagan 
temple. Hagia Sophia underwent two phases of construction before attaining its present state. Documents indicate that 
the first Hagia Sophia was built by Emperor Constantius, son of Emperor Constantinos I, and was opened for services in 
360 AD. Although very little is known about this church, it is assumed that it was a basilica-type structure with a 
rectangular floor plan, circular apse and timbered roof. It was similar to St.Studios, a basilica in Istanbul, the ruins of 
which still exist. Ancient sources emphasize that the eastern wall was circular. Constantius donated gold and silver as 
well as religious objects to his church. But Arians vandalized these during the Council of 381 AD. Hagia Sophia was 
first named "Megale Ekklesia" (The Great Church), as it was the largest church in Constantinople. The historian 
Socrates indicated that the church was named Sophia during the reign of Emperor Constantius. The name given to the 
church symbolized the second divine attribute of the Holy Trinity. Originally, Sophia, which means "Holy Wisdom", 
was a name given to Christ by 4th century theologians. Both names, Megale Ekklesia and Hagia Sophia are used today. 
The original church was destroyed in 404 AD by mobs, during the riots, when Emperor Arcadius sent the Patriarch of 
Constantinople, John Chrysostom, into exile for his open criticism of the Empress. 
Emperor Theodosius II built a new church, which was completed in 415 AD. The architect of this second church was 
Ruffinos. The edifice was constructed in basilica-style and had five naves. In common with other basilicas of that age, it 
had a covered roof. The remains of this church, excavated in 1935, show that a staircase of five steps led to a columned 
propylaeum in front of the entrance of the building. Including the imperial entrance, there were three doorways in the 
facade. The results of excavations indicate that Hagia Sophia was 60 meters wide. The length is unknown, since further 
excavations inside the present-day edifice are not permitted. During the rebellion of Monophysites in 532, Hagia Sophia 
was destroyed along with many other important buildings, among which were the Church of St. Eirene, Zorzip Bath and 
Samsun Hospital. After resorting to bloodshed, Emperor Justinian succeeded in saving his throne. This revolt is known 
as the "Nike Revolt" in Byzantine history, since the rebels repeatedly shouted "Nike", the name of the goddess of 
victory. 
Following these events, Emperor Justinian ordered the construction of a new church, which was to surpass in 
magnificence all earlier churches. His ambition to make this new church unique, spurred him on to unremitting effort. 
Historians write that he personally supervised the construction and made full use of all his empire could offer. The two 
most famous architects of the age; Anthemius of Tralles (Aydin) and Isidorus of Miletus, were entrusted with the 
construction of the building. They supervised one hundred master builders and ten thousand labourers. The finest and 
rarest materials from the four corners of the empire were brought to Constantinople to be used in the construction of 
Hagia Sophia. The porphyry columns previously taken to Rome from an Egyptian temple in Heliopolis, ivory and gold 
icons and ornaments from ancient temples in Ephesus, Kizikos and Baalbek were among them. The construction was 
completed in a very short time. It took five years, ten months and four days, from February 23rd 532 to December 27th 
537. During the dedication ceremony, Emperor Justinian put aside formalities of state and entered the church excitedly, 
to say a prayer of thanks to God for allowing him to fulfill his dearest wish. He cried with pride, remembering the 
temple in Jerusalem "Oh, Solomon, I have surpassed thee". 
Later, the church was damaged many times by earthquakes and fires, and had to be repaired and reinforced. On August 
15th 553, January 14th 557 and May 7th 559, earthquakes destroyed the eastern side of the dome. The nephew of the 
original architect, Isidorus, repaired the damage. He increased the height of the dome by 2.65 meters and built 
buttresses in the form of towers to support the dome. On February 9th 869, during the reign of Emperor Basil I (867- 
886), an earthquake damaged the western side of the building. It was repaired in 870. On October 25th 986, a violent 
earthquake resulted in the collapse of the western apse and caused partial damage to the dome. The church had to be 
closed until the architect Tridat finished repairing it in 994. In 1204, the Fourth Crusaders sacked the church. During the 
Palaeologian age, Emperor Michael VIII (1261-1282) had Hagia Sophia repaired by the architect Ruchas, and the 
buttresses in the southwest were added at that time. In 1317, during the reign of Emperor Andronicus II, the north- 
eastern and south-western walls were reinforced on the exterior by pyramid-shaped buttresses. In 1348, the eastern half 
of the dome collapsed and was afterwards repaired. In the first half of the 15th century, travelers and other sources 
described Hagia Sophia as being in a state of disrepair. 
When the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, the church was converted into a mosque, a place of Islamic 
worship. To begin with, Turks preserved the frescoes and mosaic figures of Christian saints, which decorated the walls. 
However, in the 16th century, these were completely covered by plaster, since the Islamic code forbids figural 
representation. After it became a mosque, the following changes, necessitated by Islamic architectural standards, were 
made: Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" built an altar (mihrap) in the east, since the apse should be in the direction of 
Mecca and the brick minaret on the south-east corner of the edifice. Sultan Bayezid (1484-15 12) added a minaret on the 
northeast corner. The Turkish architect Sinan, built the two minarets in front of the church during the reign of Sultan 
  
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B5. Amsterdam 2000. 173