Which empire built the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Justinian I?

The Byzantine Empire built the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Justinian I.

The present Hagia Sophia was completed in 537 under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I and his wife, Theodora. It replaced earlier churches destroyed during the Nika riots of 532. The architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus designed a revolutionary structure combining a vast central dome with pendentives, allowing the circular dome to rest over a square plan.

For nearly a thousand years, Hagia Sophia served as the cathedral of Constantinople and the principal church of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire. Its mosaics, marble revetments, and enormous interior made it one of the most influential buildings in architectural history.

After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the building became a mosque, and minarets and other Islamic features were added. It became a museum in 1935 and was reconverted into a mosque in 2020. “Hagia Sophia” means “Holy Wisdom,” not the name of a saint.