Hagia Sophia contains the famous eleventh-century mosaic of Emperor Constantine IX and Empress Zoe.
The mosaic is located on the south gallery of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It shows Christ enthroned between Constantine IX Monomachos and Empress Zoe, who present gifts. The imperial couple’s portraits are important evidence of how Byzantine rulers used the cathedral to express devotion, legitimacy, and continuity with sacred imperial tradition.
The panel was altered after Zoe’s first husband, Romanos III, died. His image was replaced by that of Constantine IX, whom Zoe married in 1042. The mosaic therefore preserves a visible record of dynastic change within the same monumental setting.
Hagia Sophia was completed under Justinian I in 537 and served as Constantinople’s cathedral and patriarchal church for centuries. The Constantine-and-Zoe panel should not be confused with the nearby Deesis mosaic, which shows Christ with the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist and dates to a later period.