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Events on Friday 27 December 537 3
532 – 537Hagia Sophia -- built in five yearsJustinian commissions a completely new Hagia Sophia immediately after the Nika Riots destroy the previous church. The architects Anthemius of Tralles (a mathematician) and Isidore of Miletus (a physicist and engineer) design a building of unprecedented ambition: a central dome 31.24 metres in diameter, raised 55.6 metres above the floor, floating on four pendentives that transfer its weight to four massive piers. 10,000 workers build it in five years. On its dedication (27 December 537), Justinian reportedly exclaims: 'Glory to God who has thought me worthy to finish this work. Solomon, I have surpassed you.' It remains the world's largest cathedral for nearly 1,000 years.
537Dedication -- Solomon, I have surpassed youHagia Sophia is dedicated on 27 December 537. Justinian enters on horseback, dismounts and runs to the centre of the nave. He raises his hands to heaven and says: 'Glory to God who has thought me worthy to finish this work. Solomon, I have surpassed you.' The comparison to Solomon's Temple is deliberate: Justinian sees himself as the builder of the supreme house of God, surpassing the greatest building of the Old Testament. The dedication ceremony involves the Patriarch, the entire court and thousands of clergy. The building is immediately recognised as unprecedented -- nothing like it exists anywhere in the world.
537 – 2024Hagia SophiaHagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople is the most consequential building in the history of world architecture -- the church that defined Byzantine civilisation for 916 years (537-1453), became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest (1453-1934), served as a museum (1934-2020) and is now a mosque again (2020-). Its central dome, 31.24 metres in diameter and raised 55.6 metres above the floor, appeared to contemporaries to float miraculously on light. It was the world's largest cathedral for nearly 1,000 years, the model for Ottoman mosque architecture, a source of inspiration for architects from Michelangelo to Christopher Wren, and the most visited monument in Turkey. Its history is the history of three civilisations.