Hagia Sophia – The Holy Wisdom

Hagia Sophia means holy wisdom. because this spectacular cathedral was dedicated to the wisdom of God which was referring to the holy trinity. It also means the word of God or The message of God. It is one of the oldest and biggest cathedrals in history. It was built in 532-537 Ad during the reign of emperor Justinianus the Great who was a bloodthirsty general and then became an emperor.

Hagia Sophia, at the time when it was constructed at 6 th century to 15 th century, was the biggest temple in the world and had the biggest dome size in the world for almost a thousand years. This current Hagia Sophia is actually the third Hagia Sophia built in the same place. The most fascinating fact about the Hagia Sophia is the dome that is covering a massive square space without using any columns at the center. That was a miracle and a huge revolution in architecture and engineering. with its form Hagia Sophia became an inspiration for many biggest cathedrals of the West, but also for some biggest imperial mosques. For example, St Peter’s Cathedral, the süleymaniye mosque, and the Taç Mahal all got inspiration from this incredible building.

Interior view from the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia became the embodiment of Christianity in a form and was the center of early Christianity then became the center of Greek Orthodox Christianity. It served as a cathedral for almost 9 centuries from the 6th to the 15th century. Then in the 15th century, it was converted into an imperial mosque by the Ottomans. Course Ottomans were Turkish and Muslims. This amazing cathedral became a mosque for 450 years until 1935. In 1935 it was converted into a museum with the decree of Atatürk. He was the first president and founder of the Turkish Republic. Before the conversion to a museum, the restoration and archeological excavations started in the same year and were done by professors from Chicago University Byzantine Institute and Istanbul University. During these excavations, the scientist discovered the layout and remains of the second Hagia Sophia.

According to written history, the oldest city was found on the first hill of the historical peninsula which was the Acropolis of the ancient city-state Byzantium. Byzantium survived from the 7th century bc until to 3 century AD for almost a thousand years. During the period of the Byzantine city-state, here at the place of Hagia Sophia, there were temples of Aphrodite, Apollo, and Zeus. But when the Romans took over this ancient city-state in the 3rd century. They completely destroyed the previous city and its temples. Then They built their own temples in the same spot. From the third century to 4 th century this Roman city still named Byzantium was an ordinary city until 4 th century. In the 4th century, Emperor Constantine the Great made two big decisions that changed world history. One was that this pagan emperor became Christian and converted some of the previous Roman temples into churches and transformed this pagan city into a Christian one.

The second major decision He made was moving the capital of the ancient Roman Empire, ancient Rome, to Byzantium and then changing the name of the city to Nova Roma which means New Rome. However, the citizens of this great city named it the city of Constantine that is Constantinopolis Which remained as the name of the city until the 1930s. Along with that Constantine the Great had built the first Hagia Sophia here at the same place on the ruins of the previous pagan temples. This first Hagia Sophia was built in 360 AD and survived until 416 ad. a rebellion broke out this year between the pagans and Christians destroying the whole city and its buildings so that the first Hagia Sophia was also completely burnt down by the rebellious. The emperor of the time Theodosius took control of the city after using his army and had built the second Hagia Sophia at the exact same location. This second Hagia Sophia was built in 416 by architect Ruphinos out of marble. For that reason When We enter the current Hagia Sophia, We can easily see the marble blocks, the remains of the second Hagia Sophia in the garden. These remains were discovered during the restoration work I mentioned before.

The second one served as a church until the 532 reigns of Emperor Justinian the Great. The East Roman Empire later in the 19th century named the Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire lived its golden age during Justinian’s reign after a bloody rebellion that shook the throne of the emperor. This rebellion is known in history as the Nika Rebellion. Nika means victory because people who rebelled during 532 ad against emperor Justinian was screaming as Nika at the streets of Constantinople. This Nika revolt was much more bloody and worse than the previous rebellion because back then there were famous chariot teams and fractions People were fighting with each other for their teams. there was a big rivalry between them.

Justinian was also a part of this fraction and supported a team. it was very important for the people of Constantinople to go to the hippodrome and watch the chariot races and the gladiator fights to entertain themselves. But because of Justianian’s bloody campaigns at the eastern frontier with Persians and at the western frontier with many different tribes called Barbarians, the cost of living was rising. because Justinian tried to charge people more with extra taxes and the prices of everything rising were the factors that affected people very badly. Besides the high inflation, there were other social problems; Justinian tried to dictate to people how to dress, how to live, etc, and made the final terrible decision, that, shot down the hippodrome which was the center of social life, and prohibited people to go and watch the chariot racing that was the straw that broke the camel’s back and a terrible rebellion started against the emperor.

Even the rival groups, aristocracy, middle class, and low class, people who hated each other united and started this rebellion. This Rebellion shook the throne of the emperor Justinian and He tried to run away from the city by using the secret tunnels connecting the Great Palace to Hippodrome, Hippodrome to Hagia Sophia, and Hagia Sophia To the Hippodrome. The moment when Justinian tried to run away, Empress Theodora stopped him from running away and convinced him to stay and fight for his Throne. She made a speech and at the end of her speech, She famously said, “Those who have worn the crown should never survive its loss. Never will I see the day, when I’m not saluted as empress” who is born into the light of day must sooner or later die; and how could an emperor ever allow himself to be a fugitive”. Royalty is a fine burial shroud.

After this speech, Justinian was convinced to fight for his throne so They made a plan. Justinian sent messengers to the rebellious and asked them to stop this madness and told them that He is going to solve all the problems and it is time to make peace. People suffered so much during this rebellion so They decided to make peace as well, the peace talks started at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, and all the people united there for the peace talks but at the same time, Justinian called the main army to come to the city. while negotiations continued, the army was marching to the city, and finally, after several hours when the army was ready right in front of the gates of the hippodrome, some soldiers sneaked into the hippodrome and they were holding the gates and when the whole army was ready to attach The soldiers entered inside the hippodrome and They massacred everybody at the hippodrome without questioning if they are old, women or children. This was a very bloody way to suppress the rebellion and after the rebellion was suppressed, Justinian immediately started a big construction problem, during this construction program, The Romans almost rebuilt the city which was completely burnt down. As a part of this construction program Justinian also built the Hagia Sophia the current one, The third Hagia Sophia was built by the best architects of the time; Isidorus the Elder and Anthemus.

The construction of the third Hagia Sophia was like a miracle and a great revolution in Architecture because The Romans with this third Hagia Sophia succeeded to construct a massive square building covered with a massive dome that had a diameter of 32 meters without using any columns to support that gigantic dome. This was a great progress and revolution. and to do this these genius architects used very creative and different techniques. For example, They supported the massive dome at the center with the half domes at the side, and these half domes were supported by let’s say three-quarter domes at the sides to support the half domes. So quarter domes were supporting two big half domes on two sides in the east-west direction and two big half domes were supporting the gigantic central dome. This way the architects shared the weight and enlarged the space for warships. Besides, they used a very light material for the bricks of the main dome to reduce the weight of the dome; that was potsalana, a concrete made of volcanic ash, that was very light, elastic, and strong. With this material, the Romans also created resistance against earthquakes. The dome was made of elastic material so that it would move but wouldn’t be damaged by the earthquakes.

Hagia Sophia has the most beautiful mosaics, especially the Leon mosaic at the main gate from 10 th century in which you can see Leon the 6. was depicted as bowing down in front of Jesus to get blessings as if He was guilty and sinful. The offering mosaic above the southern exit gate is also very important. Most people who are not careful are missing this gorgeous mosaic because when you exit from the southern gate. You have to turn back and look above to see it. This mosaic also dates back to 10 th century. In this mosaic, You see two emperors depicted. One on the right side is the emperor Constantine the Great depicted with a model of the city Constantinopolisthe showing that Constantine the Great is dedicating the city to Mother Mary and Jesus the infant sitting in her lap cause He was the founder of the city Constantinopolis. One on the left side is the emperor Justinian depicted with a model of Hagia Sophia and He is dedicating the Hagia Sophia to Mother Mary and Jesus the infant in the middle of the mosaic. As you remember he had built the third Hagia Sophia.

There are some more very important mosaics at the upper gallery as well such as the last judgment day mosaic from 13 th century. Empress Zoe mosaic from 11 th century. But one of the most important mosaics is the Mother Mary mosaic at the apsis of the church. This Mother Mary mosaic is called pieta which means pitying. Mother Mary was depicted sitting on her throne and holding Jesus the infant in her lap. This mosaic is very important as it is the oldest Mother Mary mosaic in history and dates back to 9 th century. And One shouldn’t forget to check the seraphim freaks out. There are four of them, each angel depicted at one pendentive are Micheal, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. If you are a good person with a good heart then You can see the angels 🙂

Interior view from the Hagia Sophia

Shortly Hagia Sophia is one of the oldest cathedrals, the quickest-built cathedral, is the temple that was used the longest for warships. And it doesn’t only bear the Christian and Islamic features but also some pagan features. For example, You can see the dolphins and the trident of Poseidon in one big marble panel. This means You can see three different belief systems in the same building. Finally, Hagia Sophia was converted back to a mosque again in 2020 after being a museum for 85 years so now You can see Hagia Sophia as a museum. You must take your shoes off when You enter inside and Women must cover their hair with a scarf. And also shoulders must be covered, lastly, miniskirts and short pants are not allowed. You can wear short pants if it is as short as covering your knee. So please be prepared 🙂 Hagia Sophia is waiting for You for a unique and amazing journey into history and art. We are ready and waiting for You to give You our best service…