Which empire built the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople?

The Byzantine Empire built the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Emperor Justinian I ordered the present structure after earlier churches on the site were destroyed during the Nika riots of 532. The building was completed and consecrated in 537 as the cathedral of Constantinople, the Byzantine capital.

Hagia Sophia means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek. Its enormous dome, pendentives, marble surfaces, and glittering mosaics made it one of the most influential achievements of late antique architecture. The architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus directed the design, combining engineering innovation with the ceremonial needs of imperial Christianity.

After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Hagia Sophia became an imperial mosque. It was opened as a museum in 1935 under the Republic of Turkey and returned to mosque status in 2020. The building is not accurately described as an Ottoman construction, although Ottoman architects later repaired and modified it. Constantinople was renamed Istanbul in common international usage over the following centuries.