Who Built Hagia Sophia And Why

The emperor needed a spectacular means of.
Who built hagia sophia and why. Built in the sixth century by the byzantine emperor justinian this marvel of architecture and aesthetics was never just a religious enterprise. Holy wisdom officially the hagia sophia grand mosque turkish. Mustafa kemal ataturk the founding leader of the secular turkish. Built by the byzantine emperor justinian in 537 hagia sophia was turned into a mosque with the 1453 ottoman conquest of istanbul.
The iconic domed building sits in istanbul s fatih district on the west bank of the bosporus overlooking the golden horn harbour. It is considered to be the most important byzantine structure in the world and one of the world s great monuments. The emperor needed a spectacular means of. Hagia sophia greek ἁγία σοφία for holy wisdom was designed to be the major basilica of the byzantine empire and held the record for the largest dome in the world until the duomo was built in florence in the 15th century ce.
Additionally hagia sophia became more important with time as subsequent architects became inspired by the dome when building later churches and mosques. Hagia sophia cathedral built at constantinople now istanbul turkey in the 6th century ce under the direction of the byzantine emperor justinian i. Tatiana popova shutterstock the hagia sophia whose name means holy wisdom. Hagia sophia ˈ h ɑː ɡ i ə s oʊ ˈ f iː ə.
Built in the sixth century by a byzantine emperor justinian i as the premier cathedral of the roman empire and dedicated to holy wisdom it was for almost 1 000 years the largest church in the. The hagia sophia is a domed monument built as a cathedral and is now a museum in istanbul turkey.