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360
The First Church
The first church was construted by Emperor Constantine in 360 A.D but was burned down in 404 A.D by a riot due to the exile of Istanbul’s patriarch Ioannes Chrysostomos -
415
The Second Church
Under Emperor Theodosius, a second church was built in replace of the first one. -
532
The Third Church
Under Justinian's reign, Nika "Victory" riots raided Constantinople to try and over throw Justinian, whom was only ruler for five years at that point, becasue of the high taxes and burned the Church to the ground. -
532
A New Beginning
Justinian was able to win against the rebellion. He then instructed architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus the Elder to construct a new church. -
537
Finishing Touches
By 537 A.D, the construction of the new Hagia Sophia was finished. It took 5 years, 10 months, and 4 days to complete, setting a new record for archietectural completion for that time. Of course, this was with the help of 10,000 men. -
May 29, 1453
A New Look
In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire which was under the rule of Sultan Mehmet II. Under his reign he decided to turn the church into a mosque. With that, he added four minarets (pencil-like towers) that were a record of 200 feet tall. -
Hagia Sophia Today
In 1935, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern day Turkey, securalized the mosque and decided to turn it into a museum so everyone could see it's history. Today it stands at the 4th largest cathedral in the world, lasting 1,400 years.
