The dome of the Saint Sophia cathedral in Constantinople collapses. Emperor Justinian I orders reconstruction.
Behind the construction of the church are two architects – Isidore of Miletus and Antimius of Tralles. Until the construction of the cathedral in Seville in 1520, “Saint Sophia” in Constantinople was the largest cathedral in the world.
"Saint Sophia" was built in an extremely short time - less than six years. This is a huge achievement for its time, given the scale of the project. For comparison, we should note the fact that, for example, for the construction of “Notre Dame” in Paris it took almost a century, although the Paris Cathedral was built much later. However, the construction of the cathedral, colossal for its time, did not go smoothly.
As Procopius, one of the famous chroniclers of the era, wrote, the builders were faced with the difficult task of strengthening the huge dome of the building, which almost completely collapsed shortly before the cathedral was completed. To solve the problem, the architects designed a special system of bridge supports to evenly distribute the colossal weight of the structure.
Unfortunately, this roof also did not last and after about two centuries it collapsed again. After the main repair works, the new dome lasted more than 1400 years, until today.
At the time of the opening of the cathedral, the decorations inside were quite simple (mostly images of crosses), and over time, complex and highly detailed mosaics, portraits of the imperial family and of Jesus Christ were added. For a short period of time (late 8th century to early 9th century) the placement of decorations other than crosses was forbidden by imperial decree for fear that worshipers would be distracted from their prayers by looking at the frescoes. After the middle of the 9th century, the decoration of the interior was resumed, with each successive emperor adding his image. One of the most famous mosaics is located in the apse of the church, 30 meters high, and is a 4-meter figure of the Mother of God holding baby Jesus in her arms.
It is said that after the completion of Hagia Sophia, Emperor Justinian exclaimed “Solomon, I have surpassed you”, referring to King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
After Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmed II in 1453, it ended the existence of the Byzantine Empire. However, the Sultan was so impressed by the imposing structure that he decided to turn it into a mosque, which it remained until 1931. Four 60m high minarets were added, which are some of the tallest ever built. Changes in the interior are also significant. The builders covered all the mosaics with yellow paint, leaving only the image of the Mother of God in the apse. Also, the monograms of the four caliphs of the Ottoman Empire were added on the supporting columns under the apse. In 1934, the Turkish government nationalized the church property and turned it into a museum.