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{{Short description|Mosque and former church in Istanbul, Turkey}}
{{Redirect-several|dab=off|Hagia Sophia (disambiguation)|List of churches dedicated to Holy Wisdom|Sophia of Rome#Churches}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox monument
|monument_name    = Hagia Sophia
|native_name      = {{ubl|{{nativename|tr|Ayasofya}}|
{{nativename|el|Ἁγία Σοφία}}|
{{nativename|la|Sancta Sapientia}}|{{nativename|ota|آیا صوفیا}}}}
|native_name_lang = Turkish
|image            = Hagia Sophia (228968325).jpeg
|image_size       = 300px
|caption          = Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, Istanbul
|location         = [[Fatih]], Istanbul, Turkey
|coordinates      = {{Coord|41|00|30|N|28|58|48|E|type:landmark_region:TR-34|display=inline,title}}
|designer         = {{ubl|[[Isidore of Miletus]]|[[Anthemius of Tralles]]}}
|type             =
* [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] church ({{circa|360 AD}}–1204; 1261–1453)
* [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] church (1204–1261)
* [[Sunni Muslim]] [[mosque]] (1453–1934; 2020–present)
* [[Museum]] (1935–2020)
|material         = [[Ashlar]], [[Roman brick]]
|length           = {{cvt|82|m|ft}}
|width            = {{cvt|73|m|ft}}
|height           = {{cvt|55|m|ft}}
|begin            = {{circa|346}}
|complete         = {{start date and age|360}}
|open             =
|dedicated_to     = The ''[[Holy Wisdom]]'', a reference to the [[God the Son|second]] [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|person]] of the [[Trinity]], or [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]]<ref name="CurtaHolt2016">{{cite book |last1=Curta |first1=Florin |last2=Holt |first2=Andrew |title=Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religious History [3 volumes] |date=2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-566-4 |page=299 |language=en |quote=Hagia Sophia was consecrated on December 27, 537, five years after construction had begun. The church was dedicated to the Wisdom of God, referring to the [[Logos]] (the second entity of the Trinity) or, alternatively, Christ as the Logos incarnate.}}</ref>
| mapframe-wikidata = yes
| website        = 

|inaugurated=
|restore={{ubl|415|23 February 532 – 27 February 537|1847–1849|2002–2006}}
|dedicated=15 February 360<!--<br/>II: 10 October 415<br/>III: 23 February 532-->
|dismantled=<!--I: 404. II: 13–14 January 532.-->||extra={{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
 |Part_of  = [[Historic Areas of Istanbul]]
 |Criteria = Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv
 |ID       = 356
 |Year     = 1985
 |child    = yes
 }}}}
'''Hagia Sophia''',{{efn|{{Langx|tr|Ayasofya}}; {{Langx|ota|آیا صوفیا}}; {{Langx|el|Ἁγία Σοφία|Hagía Sophía}}; {{Langx|la|Sancta Sapientia}}; {{literal translation|lk=yes|[[Holy Wisdom]]}}}} officially the '''Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque''',{{efn|{{langx|tr|Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi|}}; {{Langx|ota|آیا صوفیه کبیر جامع شریفى}}}} is a mosque serving as a major cultural and historical site in [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]. It was formerly a [[Church (building)|church]] (360–1453) and a [[museum]] (1935–2020). The last of three church buildings to be successively erected on the site by the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]], it was completed in AD 537, becoming the world's largest interior space and among [[History of Roman and Byzantine domes|the first]] to employ a fully [[pendentive]] dome. It is considered the epitome of [[Byzantine architecture]]<ref name="BAT">{{cite book |last1=Fazio |first1=Michael |title=Buildings Across Time |last2=Moffett |first2=Marian |last3=Wodehouse |first3=Lawrence |publisher=McGraw-Hill Higher Education |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-07-305304-2 |edition=3rd}}</ref> and is said to have "changed the history of architecture".<ref name="nytimes22">{{cite news |last=Simons |first=Marlise |date=22 August 1993 |title=Center of Ottoman Power |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/22/travel/center-of-ottoman-power.html |access-date=4 June 2009}}</ref> From its dedication in 360 until 1453 Hagia Sophia served as the [[cathedral]] of [[Constantinople]] in the [[Divine Liturgy#Byzantine Rite|Byzantine liturgical tradition]], except for the period 1204–1261 when the [[Latin Empire|Latin Crusaders]] installed their own [[Hierarchy of the Catholic Church|hierarchy]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Phillips |first=Jonathan |title=The Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople |date=2005 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-1-101-12188-7 |oclc=607531385}}</ref> After the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, it served as a mosque, having its [[Minaret|minarets]] added soon after. The site became a museum in 1935, and was redesignated as a mosque in 2020.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Emerson |first1=William |last2=van Nice |first2=Robert L. |title=Hagia Sophia and the First Minaret Erected after the Conquest of Constantinople |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=1950 |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=28–40 |doi=10.2307/500639 |jstor=500639 |s2cid=193099976 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/500639 |issn=0002-9114|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The current structure was built by the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Justinian I]] as the Christian cathedral of Constantinople between 532–537 and was designed by the Greek [[List of geometers|geometers]] [[Isidore of Miletus]] and [[Anthemius of Tralles]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kleiner |first=Fred S. |title=Gardner's Art Through the Ages: Volume I, Chapters 1–18|title-link=Gardner's Art Through the Ages |author2=Christin J. Mamiya |publisher=Wadsworth |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-495-46740-3 |edition=12th |location=Mason, OH |page=329}}</ref> It was formally called the '''Temple of God's Holy Wisdom''', ({{Langx|el|Ναὸς τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας|Naòs tês Hagías toû Theoû Sophías|links=no}})<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Downey |first=Glanville |date=January 1959 |title=The Name of the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s001781600002664x |journal=Harvard Theological Review |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=37–41 |doi=10.1017/s001781600002664x |s2cid=163442071 |issn=0017-8160|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Hamm20102">{{cite book |last1=Hamm |first1=Jean S. |title=Term Paper Resource Guide to Medieval History |date=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-35967-5 |page=39 |language=en |quote=Hagia Sophia, or the Church of Holy Wisdom, is one of the world's most spectacular churches, representing not only great beauty, but also masterful engineering.}}</ref> the third church of the same name to occupy the site, as the prior one had been destroyed in the [[Nika riots]]. As the [[episcopal see]] of the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople]], it remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until the [[Seville Cathedral]] was completed in 1520.

Hagia Sophia became the quintessential model for [[Eastern Orthodox church architecture]], and its architectural style was emulated by [[Ottoman architecture|Ottoman mosques]] a thousand years later.<ref name="Heinle & Schlaich 1996">{{harvnb|Heinle|Schlaich|1996}}</ref> The Hagia Sophia served as an architectural inspiration for many other religious buildings including the [[Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki|Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki]], [[Panagia Ekatontapiliani]], the [[Şehzade Mosque]], the [[Süleymaniye Mosque]], the [[Rüstem Pasha Mosque]] and the [[Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex]].

As the religious and spiritual centre of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] for nearly one thousand years, the church was [[Consecrations in Eastern Christianity|dedicated]] to [[Holy Wisdom]].<ref name="ja4712">Janin (1953), p. 471.</ref><ref name="Binns20022">{{cite book |last=Binns |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MOA5vfSl3dwC&pg=PA57 |title=An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-521-66738-8 |page=57}}</ref><ref name="McKenzieGraham19982">{{cite book |last1=McKenzie |first1=Steven L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&pg=PA149 |title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues |last2=Graham |first2=Matt Patrick |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-664-25652-4 |page=149}}</ref> The church has been described as "holding a unique position in the [[Christian world]]",<ref name="Heinle & Schlaich 1996" /> and as "an architectural and cultural icon of Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox civilization".<ref name="Heinle & Schlaich 1996" /><ref>{{harvnb|Cameron|2009}}.</ref><ref name="M130">{{harvnb|Meyendorff|1982}}.</ref> It was where the [[excommunication]] of Patriarch [[Michael I Cerularius]] was officially delivered by [[Humbert of Silva Candida]], the envoy of [[Pope Leo IX]] in 1054, an act considered the start of the [[East–West Schism]]. In 1204, it was converted during the [[Fourth Crusade]] into a Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire, before being restored to the Eastern Orthodox Church upon the restoration of the Byzantine Empire in 1261. [[Enrico Dandolo]], the [[doge of Venice]] who led the Fourth Crusade and the 1204 [[Sack of Constantinople]], was buried in the church.

After the fall of Constantinople to the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1453,<ref name="mw1122">Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 112.</ref> it was [[Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques|converted to a mosque]] by [[Mehmed the Conqueror]] and became the [[Congregational mosque|principal mosque]] of Istanbul until the 1616 construction of the [[Sultan Ahmed Mosque]].<ref name="http://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html |title=Hagia Sophia: Facts, History & Architecture |first=Owen |last=Jarus |date=1 March 2013 |website=livescience.com |access-date=15 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="archnet.org2">{{Cite web |url=http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=2966 |title=Hagia Sophia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105062813/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=2966 |archive-date=5 January 2009 |website=ArchNet}}</ref> The patriarchate moved to the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], which became the city's cathedral. The complex remained a mosque until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum under the [[Secular state|secular]] Republic of Turkey, and the building was Turkey's most visited tourist attraction {{As of|2019|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hagia Sophia still Istanbul's top tourist attraction |publisher=hurriyet |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hagia-sophia-still-istanbuls-top-tourist-attraction.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94210&NewsCatID=379}}</ref> In 2020, the [[Council of State (Turkey)|Council of State]] annulled the 1934 decision to establish the museum, and the Hagia Sophia was reclassified as a mosque. The decision was highly controversial, sparking divided opinions and drawing condemnation from the Turkish opposition, [[UNESCO]], the [[World Council of Churches]] and the [[International Association of Byzantine Studies]], as well as numerous international leaders, while several Muslim leaders in Turkey and other countries welcomed its conversion.

==History==
===Church of Constantius II===
[[File:Constantinople imperial district.png|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of the administrative heart of Constantinople. The Hagia Sophia and the structures of the [[Great Palace]] are shown in their approximate position as derived from literary sources. Surviving structures are in black.]]

The first church on the site was known as the {{Langx|la|Magna Ecclesia|label=none}} ({{Langx|grc|Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία |translit=Megálē Ekklēsíā|label=none|lit=Great Church}})<ref name="mw84">Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 84.</ref><ref name="Great Church">{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualworldheritage.org/papers/3181_976-Virtual_Hagia_Sophia.pdf |title=Virtual Hagia Sophia: Restitution, Visualization and Virtual Life Simulation |access-date=3 July 2007 |author1=Alessandro E. Foni |author2=George Papagiannakis |author3=Nadia Magnentat-Thalmann |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709194035/http://www.virtualworldheritage.org/papers/3181_976-Virtual_Hagia_Sophia.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=9 July 2007}}</ref> because of its size compared to the sizes of the contemporary churches in the city.<ref name="ja4712" /> According to the ''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'', the church was [[consecrated]] on 15 February 360, during the reign of the emperor [[Constantius II]] ({{Reign|337|361}}) by the [[Arianism|Arian]] bishop [[Eudoxius of Antioch]].<ref name="ja472">Janin (1953), p. 472.</ref><ref name="Dark-2019c">{{Cite book |last1=Dark |first1=Ken R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TU7lswEACAAJ |title=Hagia Sophia in Context: An Archaeological Re-examination of the Cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople |last2=Kostenec |first2=Jan |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78925-030-5 |location=Oxford |pages=11–12 |language=en}}</ref> It was built next to the area where the [[Great Palace of Constantinople|Great Palace]] was being developed.<ref name="Mainstone-1997"/>

According to the 5th-century ecclesiastical historian [[Socrates of Constantinople]], the emperor Constantius had {{circa|346}} "constructed the Great Church alongside that called Irene which because it was too small, the emperor's father [Constantine] had enlarged and beautified".<ref name="Mainstone-1997">{{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=buQRK64RlPgC |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8 |location=London |pages=131 |language=en|orig-year=1988}}</ref><ref name="ja472" /> A tradition which is not older than the 7th or 8th century reports that the edifice was built by Constantius' father, [[Constantine I|Constantine the Great]] ({{Reign|306|337}}).<ref name="ja472" /> 

[[Hesychius of Miletus]] wrote that Constantine built Hagia Sophia with a wooden roof and removed 427 (mostly pagan) statues from the site.<ref>''[[Patria of Constantinople]]''</ref> The 12th-century chronicler [[Joannes Zonaras]] reconciles the two opinions, writing that Constantius had repaired the edifice consecrated by [[Eusebius of Nicomedia]], after it had collapsed.<ref name="ja472" /> Since Eusebius was the [[bishop]] of Constantinople from 339 to 341, and Constantine died in 337, it seems that the first church was erected by Constantius.<ref name="ja472" />

The nearby [[Hagia Irene]] ("Holy Peace") church was completed earlier and served as cathedral until the Great Church was completed. Besides Hagia Irene, there is no record of major churches in the city-centre before the late 4th century.<ref name="Dark-2019c" /> Rowland Mainstone argued the 4th-century church was not yet known as Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=buQRK64RlPgC |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8 |location=London |page=132 |language=en|orig-year=1988}}</ref>

The church is known to have had a timber roof, curtains, columns, and an entrance that faced west.<ref name="Dark-2019c" /> It likely had a [[narthex]] and is described as being shaped like a [[Roman circus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=buQRK64RlPgC |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8 |location=London |pages=137 |language=en|orig-year=1988}}</ref> This may mean that it had a U-shaped plan like the basilicas of [[Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano|San Marcellino e Pietro]] and [[Sant'Agnese fuori le mura]] in [[Rome]].<ref name="Dark-2019c" /> However, it may also have been a more conventional three-, four-, or five-aisled basilica, perhaps resembling the original [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] in [[Jerusalem]] or the [[Church of the Nativity]] in [[Bethlehem]].<ref name="Dark-2019c" /> The building was likely preceded by an [[atrium (architecture)|atrium]], as in the later churches on the site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmad |first=Tufail |title=Hagia Sophia History {{!}} Explore and Learn About This Monument |url=https://hagiasophiatickets.com/history |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Hagia Sophia Tickets |language=en}}</ref>

According to [[Ken Dark]] and Jan Kostenec, a further remnant of the 4th century basilica may exist in a wall of alternating brick and stone banded masonry immediately to the west of the Justinianic church.<ref name="Dark-2019d" /> The top part of the wall is constructed with bricks stamped with brick-stamps dating from the 5th century, but the lower part is of constructed with bricks typical of the 4th century.<ref name="Dark-2019d" /> This wall was probably part of the [[propylaeum]] at the west front of both the Constantinian and Theodosian Great Churches.<ref name="Dark-2019d" />

The building was accompanied by a [[baptistery]] and a ''[[skeuophylakion]]''.<ref name="Dark-2019c" /> A [[hypogeum]], perhaps with an [[martyrium]] above it, was discovered before 1946, and the remnants of a brick wall with traces of marble revetment were identified in 2004.<ref name="Dark-2019d">{{Cite book |last1=Dark |first1=Ken R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TU7lswEACAAJ |title=Hagia Sophia in Context: An Archaeological Re-examination of the Cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople |last2=Kostenec |first2=Jan |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78925-030-5 |location=Oxford |pages=12–15 |language=en}}</ref> The hypogeum was a tomb which may have been part of the 4th-century church or may have been from the pre-Constantinian city of [[Byzantium]].<ref name="Dark-2019d" /> The ''skeuophylakion'' is said by [[Palladius of Galatia|Palladius]] to have had a circular floor plan, and since some U-shaped basilicas in Rome were funerary churches with attached circular mausolea (the [[Mausoleum of Constantina]] and the [[Mausoleum of Helena]]), it is possible it originally had a funerary function, though by 405 its use had changed.<ref name="Dark-2019d" /> A later account credited a woman called Anna with donating the land on which the church was built in return for the right to be buried there.<ref name="Dark-2019d" />

Excavations on the western side of the site of the first church under the propylaeum wall reveal that the first church was built atop a road about {{cvt|8|m|ft}} wide.<ref name="Dark-2019d" /> According to early accounts, the first Hagia Sophia was built on the site of an ancient pagan temple,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=Hagia Sophia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hagia-Sophia |quote=The original church on the site of the Hagia Sophia is said to have been ordered to be built by Constantine I in 325 on the foundations of a pagan temple. |title=Hagia Sophia &#124; History, Facts, & Significance|date=14 August 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=Hagia Sophia (Constantinople) |author=Ljudmila Djukic |title=The Byzantine Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=9 September 2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6KsDwAAQBAJ&q=%22hagia+sophia%22+%22pagan+temple%22&pg=RA1-PA195 |page=195 |volume=2 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1-4408-5147-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Sharon La Boda |title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe |year=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74JI2UlcU8AC&q=%22hagia+sophia%22+%22pagan+temple%22&pg=PA343 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |page=343 |isbn=978-1-884964-02-2}}</ref> although there are no artefacts to confirm this.<ref name="Ellington" />

The Patriarch of Constantinople [[John Chrysostom]] came into a conflict with Empress [[Aelia Eudoxia]], wife of the emperor [[Arcadius]] ({{Reign|383|408}}), and was sent into exile on 20 June 404. During the subsequent riots, this first church was largely burnt down.<ref name="ja472" /> Palladius noted that the 4th-century ''skeuophylakion'' survived the fire.<ref name="Dark-2019e">{{Cite book |last1=Dark |first1=Ken R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TU7lswEACAAJ |title=Hagia Sophia in Context: An Archaeological Re-examination of the Cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople |last2=Kostenec |first2=Jan |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78925-030-5 |location=Oxford |pages=15–20 |language=en}}</ref> According to Dark and Kostenec, the fire may only have affected the main basilica, leaving the ancillary buildings intact.<ref name="Dark-2019e" />

===Church of Theodosius II===
[[File:Hagia Szophia - Isztambul, 2014.10.23 (14).JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|A Theodosian capital for a [[column]], one of the few remains of the church of [[Theodosius II]]]]

A second church on the site was ordered by [[Theodosius II]] ({{Reign|402|450}}), who inaugurated it on 10 October 415.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crawford |first=Peter |title=Roman Emperor Zeno: The Perils of Power Politics in Fifth-Century Constantinople. |date=2019 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |isbn=978-1-4738-5927-2 |location=Newburyport |pages=14 |oclc=1206400173}}</ref> The ''[[Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae]],'' a fifth-century list of monuments, names Hagia Sophia as {{Langx|la|Magna Ecclesia|lit=Great Church|label=none}}, while the former cathedral Hagia Irene is referred to as {{Langx|la|Ecclesia Antiqua|links=no|lit=Old Church|label=none}}. At the time of Socrates of Constantinople around 440, "both churches [were] enclosed by a single wall and served by the same clergy".<ref name="Mainstone-1997" /> Thus, the complex would have encompassed a large area including the future site of the [[Sampson the Hospitable|Hospital of Samson]].<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> If the fire of 404 destroyed only the 4th-century main basilica church, then the 5th century Theodosian basilica could have been built surrounded by a complex constructed primarily during the fourth century.<ref name="Dark-2019e" />

During the reign of Theodosius II, the emperor's elder sister, the ''Augusta'' [[Pulcheria]] ({{Reign|414|453}}) was challenged by the patriarch [[Nestorius]] ({{Reign|10 April 428|22 June 431}}).<ref name="Gregory-2005a">{{Citation |last=Gregory |first=Timothy E. |title=Nestorios |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001/acref-9780195046526-e-3768 |work=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |year=2005 |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander P.|orig-year=1991 |edition=online |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6 |access-date=2020-10-01|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Gregory-2005b">{{Citation |last1=Gregory |first1=Timothy E. |title=Pulcheria |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001/acref-9780195046526-e-4581 |work=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |year=2005 |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander P.|orig-year=1991 |edition=online |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6 |access-date=2020-10-01 |last2=Culter |first2=Anthony|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The patriarch denied the ''Augusta'' access to the sanctuary of the "Great Church", likely on 15 April 428.<ref name="Gregory-2005b" /> According to the anonymous ''Letter to Cosmas'', the virgin empress, a promoter of the [[Mary, Mother of Jesus|cult of the Virgin Mary]] who habitually partook in the [[Eucharist]] at the sanctuary of Nestorius's predecessors, claimed right of entry because of her equivalent position to the ''[[Theotokos]]'' – the Virgin Mary – "having given birth to God".<ref name="Krawiec-2008">{{Citation |last=Krawiec |first=Rebecca |title=Pulcheria |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195148909.001.0001/acref-9780195148909-e-874 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History |year=2008 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Bonnie G. |edition=online |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195148909.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-514890-9 |access-date=2020-10-01|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Gregory-2005b" /> Pulcheria along with [[Pope Celestine I|Pope Celestine&nbsp;I]] and Patriarch [[Cyril of Alexandria]] had Nestorius overthrown, condemned at the ecumenical council, and exiled.<ref name="Krawiec-2008" /><ref name="Gregory-2005a" />

The area of the western entrance to the Justinianic Hagia Sophia revealed the western remains of its Theodosian predecessor, as well as some fragments of the Constantinian church.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> German archaeologist [[Alfons Maria Schneider]] began conducting [[archaeological excavations]] during the mid-1930s, publishing his final report in 1941.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> Excavations in the area that had once been the 6th-century atrium of the Justinianic church revealed the monumental western entrance and atrium, along with columns and sculptural fragments from both 4th- and 5th-century churches.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> Further digging was abandoned for fear of harming the structural integrity of the Justinianic building, but parts of the excavation trenches remain uncovered, laying bare the foundations of the Theodosian building.

The basilica was built by architect Rufinus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Δετοράκης |first=Θεοχάρης Ε |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znPqAAAAMAAJ |title=Αγια Σοφια: ο ναος της Αγιας του Θεου Σοφιας |date=2004 |publisher=Εκδόσεις Έφεσος |isbn=978-960-8326-14-9 |pages=20 |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Exterior, Walls and Architectural Elements |url=https://jstor.org/stable/community.15279815 |quote=Earlier second church ordered by Theodosius II, built by architect Rufinus, current Church was ordered by Emperor Justinian and designed by Greek scientists Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles |last1=Theodosius |first1=Earlier Second Church Ordered by I. I. |last2=Rufinus |first2=Built by Architect |last3=Justinian |first3=Current Church was Ordered by Emperor |last4=Tralles |first4=Designed by Greek Scientists Isidore of Miletus Anthemius of }}</ref> The church's main entrance, which may have had gilded doors, faced west, and there was an additional entrance to the east.<ref name="Mainstone-1997b">{{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=buQRK64RlPgC |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8 |location=London |pages=135 |language=en|orig-year=1988}}</ref> There was a central [[pulpit]] and likely an upper gallery, possibly employed as a [[matroneum]] (women's section).<ref name="Mainstone-1997b" /> The exterior was decorated with elaborate carvings of rich Theodosian-era designs, fragments of which have survived, while the floor just inside the portico was embellished with polychrome mosaics.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> The surviving carved gable end from the centre of the western façade is decorated with a cross-roundel.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> Fragments of a [[frieze]] of [[relief]]s with 12 lambs representing the [[12 apostles]] also remain; unlike Justinian's 6th-century church, the Theodosian Hagia Sophia had both colourful floor mosaics and external decorative sculpture.<ref name="Dark-2019e" />

At the western end, surviving stone fragments of the structure show there was [[vaulting]], at least at the western end.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> The Theodosian building had a monumental propylaeum hall with a portico that may account for this vaulting, which was thought by the original excavators in the 1930s to be part of the western entrance of the church itself.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> The propylaeum opened onto an atrium which lay in front of the basilica church itself. Preceding the propylaeum was a steep monumental staircase following the contours of the ground as it sloped away westwards in the direction of the [[Strategion]], the Basilica, and the harbours of the [[Golden Horn]].<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> This arrangement would have resembled the steps outside the atrium of the Constantinian [[Old St Peter's Basilica]] in Rome.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> Near the staircase, there was a cistern, perhaps to supply a fountain in the atrium or for worshippers to wash with before entering.<ref name="Dark-2019e" />

The 4th-century ''skeuophylakion'' was replaced in the 5th century by the present-day structure, a [[Rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] constructed of banded masonry in the lower two levels and of plain brick masonry in the third.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> Originally this rotunda, probably employed as a treasury for liturgical objects, had a second-floor internal gallery accessed by an external spiral staircase and two levels of niches for storage.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> A further row of windows with marble window frames on the third level remain bricked up.<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> The gallery was supported on monumental [[Console (architecture)|consoles]] with carved [[Acanthus (ornament)|acanthus]] designs, similar to those used on the late 5th-century [[Column of Leo]].<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> A large [[lintel]] of the ''skeuophylakion''<nowiki/>'s western entrance – bricked up during the Ottoman era – was discovered inside the rotunda when it was archaeologically cleared to its foundations in 1979, during which time the brickwork was also [[repointed]].<ref name="Dark-2019e" /> The ''skeuophylakion'' was again restored in 2014 by the [[Directorate General of Foundations (Turkey)|Vakıflar]].<ref name="Dark-2019e" />

A fire started during the tumult of the [[Nika riots|Nika Revolt]], which had begun nearby in the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]], and the second Hagia Sophia was burnt to the ground on 13–14 January 532. The court historian [[Procopius]] wrote:<ref name="Loeb-1940" />

{{Blockquote|text=And by way of shewing that it was not against the Emperor alone that they [the rioters] had taken up arms, but no less against God himself, unholy wretches that they were, they had the hardihood to fire the Church of the Christians, which the people of Byzantium call "Sophia", an epithet which they have most appropriately invented for God, by which they call His temple; and God permitted them to accomplish this impiety, foreseeing into what an object of beauty this shrine was destined to be transformed. So the whole church at that time lay a charred mass of ruins. |author=Procopius|title=''De aedificiis''|source=I.1.21{{endash}}22}}

<gallery caption="Remains of the Theodosian Hagia Sophia" class="center" widths="200px" heights="180px" >
File:Hagia Sophia Theodosius 2007 002.jpg|A column and capital with a [[Greek cross]]
File:Theodosius's Hagia Sophia 3.jpg|[[Porphyry (geology)|Porphyry]] column; column capital; [[impost block]]
File:Hagia Sophia Theodosius 2007 007.jpg|[[Soffit]]s and a [[cornice]]
File:CapCorBizPil1SSofiaTeod-19Lato.jpg|A theodosian capital
File:CapCorBizPil1SSofiaTeod-19.jpg|A theodosian capital for a [[pilaster]], one of the few remains of the church of Theodosius II
File:Theodosius's Hagia Sophia 17.jpg|[[Soffit]]s
</gallery>

===Church of Justinian I (current structure)===
[[File:Saint Sophia, Constantinopolis.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The 6th-century Hagia Sophia (532–537) by [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Justinian I|Justinian the Great]] was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the 1507 completion of the [[Seville Cathedral]] in [[Spain]].|alt=A reddish building topped by a large dome and surrounded by smaller domes and four towers]] 
[[File:38-manasses-chronicle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The construction of church depicted in the 14th century codex, the [[Constantine Manasses]]]]

On 23 February 532, only a few weeks after the destruction of the second basilica, Emperor [[Justinian I]] inaugurated the construction of a third and entirely different basilica, larger and more majestic than its predecessors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kaldellis |first=Anthony |date=2013 |title=The Making of Hagia Sophia and the Last Pagans of New Rome |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/journal_of_late_antiquity/v006/6.2.kaldellis.html |journal=Journal of Late Antiquity |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=347–366 |doi=10.1353/jla.2013.0019 |s2cid=162336421 |issn=1942-1273|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Justinian appointed two architects, mathematician [[Anthemius of Tralles]] and geometer and engineer [[Isidore of Miletus]], to design the building.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mango |first=Cyril A. |url=http://archive.org/details/artofbyzantine00mang |title=The Art of the Byzantine Empire 312-1453: Sources and documents |date=1986 |location=Toronto; London |publisher=University of Toronto Press/Medieval Academy of America |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8020-6627-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Anthemius |volume=02 |page=93 |last1=Heath |first1=Thomas Little |short=x}}</ref>

Construction of the church began in 532 during the short tenure of Phocas as [[praetorian prefect]].<ref name="Kaldellis-2013">{{Cite journal |last=Kaldellis |first=Anthony |date=2013 |title=The Making of Hagia Sophia and the Last Pagans of New Rome |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/543618 |journal=Journal of Late Antiquity |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=347–366 |doi=10.1353/jla.2013.0019 |s2cid=162336421 |issn=1942-1273|url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to [[John the Lydian]], Phocas was responsible for funding the initial construction of the building with 4,000 [[Roman pound]]s of gold, but he was dismissed from office in October 532.<ref name="John Lydus">John Lydus, ''De Magistratibus reipublicae Romanae'' III.76</ref><ref name="Kaldellis-2013" /> John the Lydian wrote that Phocas had acquired the funds by moral means, but [[Evagrius Scholasticus]] later wrote that the money had been obtained unjustly.<ref>Evagrius Scholasticus, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' IV.30</ref><ref name="Kaldellis-2013" />

According to [[Anthony Kaldellis]], both of Hagia Sophia's architects named by Procopius were associated with the [[Philosophical school|school]] of the pagan philosopher [[Ammonius Hermiae|Ammonius of Alexandria]].<ref name="Kaldellis-2013" /> It is possible that both they and John the Lydian considered Hagia Sophia a great temple for the supreme [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonist]] [[Demiurge|deity]] who manifestated through light and the sun. John the Lydian describes the church as the "''[[temenos]]'' of the Great God" ({{Langx|grc-x-koine|τὸ τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ Τέμενος|links=no |translit=tò toû megálou theoû Témenos|label=Greek}}).<ref name="John Lydus" /><ref name="Kaldellis-2013" />

Originally the exterior of the church was covered with [[Stone veneer|marble veneer]], as indicated by remaining pieces of marble and surviving attachments for lost panels on the building's western face.<ref name="Dark-2019">{{Cite book |last1=Dark |first1=Ken R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TU7lswEACAAJ |title=Hagia Sophia in Context: An Archaeological Re-examination of the Cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople |last2=Kostenec |first2=Jan |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78925-030-5 |location=Oxford |pages=46 |language=en}}</ref> The white marble [[Cladding (construction)|cladding]] of much of the church, together with [[gilding]] of some parts, would have given Hagia Sophia a shimmering appearance quite different from the brick- and plaster-work of the modern period, and would have significantly increased its visibility from the sea.<ref name="Dark-2019" /> The cathedral's interior surfaces were sheathed with polychrome marbles, green and white with purple [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]], and gold mosaics. The exterior was clad in [[stucco]] that was tinted yellow and red during the 19th-century restorations by the [[Fossati brothers|Fossati]] architects.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Teteriatnikov |first=Natalia |url=http://archive.org/details/teteriatnikov-mosaics-of-hagia-sophia-istanbul |title=Mosaics of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul: The Fossati restoration and the work of the Byzantine Institute |date=1998 |publisher=Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University |others=Dumbarton Oaks |pages=17}}</ref>

The construction is described by Procopius in ''On Buildings'' ({{Langx|grc|Περὶ κτισμάτων |translit=Peri ktismatōn|links=|label=[[Late Greek|Greek]]}}, {{Langx|la|De aedificiis|links=no}}).<ref name="Loeb-1940">{{cite book |title=The Buildings of Procopius |date=1940 |publisher=Loeb Classical Library |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Procopius/Buildings/1A*.html |access-date=15 July 2020 |chapter=Book I (beginning)}}</ref> Columns and other marble elements were imported from throughout the Mediterranean, although the columns were once thought to be [[Spolia|spoils]] from cities such as Rome and Ephesus.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krautheimer |first1=Richard |title=Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture |date=1986 |publisher=Yale University Press/Pelican History of Art |location=New Haven and London |isbn=978-0-300-05296-1 |page=205 |edition=4th}}</ref> Even though they were made specifically for Hagia Sophia, they vary in size.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mango |first1=Cyril |title=Byzantine Architecture |date=1985 |publisher=Electa/Rizzoli |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8478-0615-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/byzantinearchite0000mang/page/65 65] |edition=1st |url=https://archive.org/details/byzantinearchite0000mang/page/65}}</ref> 

More than ten thousand people were employed during the construction process. This new church was contemporaneously recognized as a major work of architecture. Outside the church was an elaborate array of monuments around the bronze-plated [[Column of Justinian]], topped by an equestrian statue of the emperor which dominated the [[Augustaeum]], the open square outside the church which connected it with the [[Great Palace of Constantinople|Great Palace]] complex through the [[Chalke Gate]]. 

At the edge of the Augustaeum was the [[Milion]] and the Regia, the first stretch of Constantinople's main thoroughfare, the [[Mese (Constantinople)|''Mese'']]. Also facing the Augustaeum were the enormous Constantinian ''[[thermae]]'', the [[Baths of Zeuxippus]], and the Justinianic civic basilica under which was the vast [[cistern]] known as the [[Basilica Cistern]]. On the opposite side of Hagia Sophia was the former cathedral, Hagia Irene.

Procopius lauded the Justinianic building, writing in ''De aedificiis'':<ref name="Loeb-1940" />

{{Blockquote|text=... the Emperor Justinian built not long afterwards a church so finely shaped, that if anyone had enquired of the Christians before the burning if it would be their wish that the church should be destroyed and one like this should take its place, shewing them some sort of model of the building we now see, it seems to me that they would have prayed that they might see their church destroyed forthwith, in order that the building might be converted into its present form. |author=Procopius|title=''De aedificiis''|source=I.1.22{{endash}}23}}

Upon seeing the finished building, the Emperor reportedly said: "Solomon, I have surpassed thee".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herrin |first=Judith |title=The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire |publisher=Penguin |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7139-9997-6 |pages=86–87}}</ref>

Justinian and [[Patriarch Menas]] inaugurated the new basilica on 27 December 537, 5 years and 10 months after construction started, with much pomp.<ref name="mw86">Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 86.</ref><ref>"The Chronicle of John Malalas," Bk 18.86 Translated by E. Jeffreys, M. Jeffreys, and R. Scott. Australian Association of Byzantine Studies, 1986 vol 4.</ref><ref>"The Chronicle of Theophones Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History AD 284–813." Translated with commentary by Cyril Mango and Roger Scott. AM 6030 p. 316, with this note: Theophanes' precise date should be accepted.</ref> Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and a principal setting for Byzantine imperial ceremonies, such as [[coronation]]s. The basilica offered [[Right of asylum|sanctuary from persecution]] to criminals, although there was disagreement about whether Justinian had intended for murderers to be eligible for asylum.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Macrides |first=R. J. |date=1988 |title=Killing, Asylum, and the Law in Byzantium |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2852633 |journal=Speculum |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=509–538 |doi=10.2307/2852633 |jstor=2852633 |s2cid=159951797 |issn=0038-7134|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
[[File:20131203 Istanbul 130.jpg|left|thumb|Basket capitals and verd antique and marble columns. The basket capitals of the building are carved with [[monograms]] of the names Justinian ({{Langx|grc|᾽Ιουστινιανός|Ioustinianós||label=Greek}}) and Thedora ({{Langx|grc|Θεοδώρα|Theodṓra||label=none}}) and their imperial titles "{{Langx|grc|βασιλεύς|[[Basileus|basileús]]||label=none}}" and "{{Langx|grc|αὐγούστα|[[Augusta (honorific)|augoústa]]|label=none}}".<ref>Stroth (2021), esp. pp. 19–53.</ref>]]
Earthquakes in 553 and on [[557 Constantinople earthquake|557]] caused cracks in the main dome and eastern [[semi-dome]]. According to the ''Chronicle'' of [[John Malalas]], during a subsequent earthquake in 558,<ref name="Jan_1">{{cite book |last=Janin |first=Raymond |title=Constantinople Byzantine |publisher=Institut Français d'Études Byzantines |location=Paris |language=fr |edition=1 |page=41 |year=1950}}</ref> the eastern semi-dome collapsed, destroying the [[Ambon (liturgy)|ambon]], altar, and [[Ciborium (architecture)|ciborium]]. The collapse was due mainly to the excessive [[Beam (structure)|bearing load]] and to the enormous [[shear strength|shear load]] of the dome, which was too flat.<ref name="mw86" /> These caused the deformation of the piers which sustained the dome.<ref name="mw86" /> Justinian ordered an immediate restoration. He entrusted it to Isidorus the Younger, who used lighter materials. The entire vault had to be taken down and rebuilt 20 Byzantine feet ({{cvt|6.25|m|ft|sp=us|disp=or}}) higher than before, giving the building its current interior height of {{cvt|55.6|m|ft|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=haghiasophia-istanbul-turkey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070422015456/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=haghiasophia-istanbul-turkey |url-status=usurped |archive-date=22 April 2007 |title=Haghia Sophia |location=Istanbul / |publisher=Emporis |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> Moreover, Isidorus changed the dome type, erecting a ribbed dome with [[pendentives]] whose diameter was between 32.7 and 33.5&nbsp;m.<ref name="mw86" /> Under Justinian's orders, eight [[Corinthian order|Corinthian columns]] were disassembled from [[Baalbek]], Lebanon and shipped to Constantinople around 560.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stoneworld.com/articles/baalbek-keeps-its-secrets |title=Baalbek keeps its secrets |publisher=stoneworld}}</ref> This reconstruction, which gave the church its present 6th-century form, was completed in 562. The poet [[Paul the Silentiary]] composed an ''[[ekphrasis]]'', or long visual poem, for the re-dedication of the basilica presided over by [[Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople|Patriarch Eutychius]] on 24 December 562.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Silentiarius |first=Paulus |url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/35447 |title=Descriptio Sanctae Sophiae. Descriptio Ambonis |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-11-023907-2 |location=Berlin |doi=10.1515/9783110239072}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X1Z7ry6r8iEC |title=Three political voices from the age of Justinian: Agapetus, 'Advice to the Emperor'; Dialogue on political science; Paul the Silentiary: 'Description of Hagia Sophia' |date=2009 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-1-84631-209-0 |editor-last=Bell |editor-first=Peter Neville |location=Liverpool |oclc=318874086}}</ref>

According to the history of the patriarch [[Nicephorus I of Constantinople|Nicephorus&nbsp;I]] and the chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor]], various liturgical vessels of the cathedral were melted down on the order of the emperor [[Heraclius]] ({{Reign|610|641}}) during the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]].<ref name="Hurbanič-2019">{{Citation |last=Hurbanič |first=Martin |title=The Last War of Antiquity |date=2019 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_4 |work=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |pages=81–102 |editor-last=Hurbanič |editor-first=Martin |series=New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_4 |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |s2cid=200105105 |access-date=2020-10-20|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Theophanes states that these were made into gold and silver coins, and a tribute was paid to the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]].<ref name="Hurbanič-2019" /> The Avars attacked the extramural areas of Constantinople in 623, causing the Byzantines to move the "garment" relic ({{Langx|grc|ἐσθής|esthḗs|links=no}}) of Mary, mother of Jesus to Hagia Sophia from its usual shrine of the [[Church of the Theotokos of Blachernai|Church of the ''Theotokos'']] at [[Blachernae]] just outside the [[Theodosian walls]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Hurbanič |first=Martin |title=The Spiritual Arsenal of the Siege |date=2019 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_14 |work=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |pages=315–338 |editor-last=Hurbanič |editor-first=Martin |series=New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_14 |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |s2cid=201011125 |access-date=2020-10-20|url-access=subscription }}</ref> On 14 May 626, the ''[[Scholae Palatinae]]'', an elite body of soldiers, protested in Hagia Sophia against a planned increase in bread prices.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hurbanič |first=Martin |title=The Avars at the Gates |date=2019 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_8 |work=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |pages=181–201 |editor-last=Hurbanič |editor-first=Martin |series=New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_8 |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |s2cid=199934427 |access-date=2020-10-20|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Persians under [[Shahrbaraz]] and the Avars together laid the [[Siege of Constantinople (626)|siege of Constantinople]] in 626; according to the ''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'', on 2 August 626, [[Theodore Syncellus]], a [[deacon]] and [[presbyter]] of Hagia Sophia, was among those who negotiated unsuccessfully with the ''[[khagan]]'' of the Avars.<ref name="Hurbanič-2019b">{{Citation |last=Hurbanič |first=Martin |title=The Memory of the Siege |date=2019 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_2 |work=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |pages=7–54 |editor-last=Hurbanič |editor-first=Martin |series=New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_2 |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |s2cid=199944450 |access-date=2020-10-20|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A [[homily]], attributed by existing [[manuscripts]] to Theodore Syncellus and possibly delivered on the anniversary of the event, describes the translation of the Virgin's garment and its ceremonial re-translation to Blachernae by the patriarch [[Sergius I of Constantinople|Sergius&nbsp;I]] after the threat had passed.<ref name="Hurbanič-2019b" /><ref>{{Citation |last=Hurbanič |first=Martin |title=From History to Legend |date=2019 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_11 |work=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |pages=247–268 |editor-last=Hurbanič |editor-first=Martin |series=New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_11 |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |s2cid=200995315 |access-date=2020-10-20|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:20131203 Istanbul 100.jpg|thumb|Polychrome marble revetment on the wall of the gallery]]

In 726, the emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo the Isaurian]] issued a series of edicts against the veneration of images, ordering the army to destroy all icons – ushering in the period of [[Byzantine Iconoclasm|Byzantine iconoclasm]]. At that time, all religious pictures and statues were removed from the Hagia Sophia. Following a brief hiatus during the reign of Empress [[Irene (empress)|Irene]] (797–802), the iconoclasts returned. Emperor [[Theophilos (emperor)|Theophilus]] ({{Reign|829|842}}) had two-winged bronze doors with his [[monogram]]s installed at the southern entrance of the church.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dikigoropoulos |first=Andreas |date=1964 |title=The Constantinopolitan Solidi of Theophilus |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291219 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=18 |pages=353–361 |doi=10.2307/1291219 |jstor=1291219 |issn=0070-7546|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The basilica suffered damage, first in a great fire in 859, and again in an earthquake in 869 that caused the collapse of one of the half-domes.<ref name="Sakar-2014">{{Citation |last1=Sakar |first1=Sonay |title=The gpr measurements on hagia sophia's surfaces facing the naos |date=2014-03-20 |url=https://library.seg.org/doi/10.4133/SAGEEP.27-200 |work=Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2014 |pages=558 |series=Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems Proceedings |publisher=Society of Exploration Geophysicists and Environment and Engineering Geophysical Society |doi=10.4133/sageep.27-200 |access-date=2021-06-19 |last2=Yuksel |first2=Fethi Ahmet |last3=Hoskan |first3=Nihan |last4=Avci |first4=Emine |last5=Avci |first5=Kerim |last6=Erguven |first6=Kubra|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Emperor [[Basil I|Basil&nbsp;I]] ordered repair of the tympanas, arches, and vaults.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Teteriatnikov |first=Natalia |date=2004–2005 |title=Hagia Sophia, Constantinople: Religious images and their functional context after iconoclasm |url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0350-13610530009T |journal=Zograf |issue=30 |pages=9–19 |doi=10.2298/zog0530009t|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In his book ''[[De Ceremoniis]]'' ("Book of Ceremonies"), the emperor [[Constantine VII]] ({{Reign|913|959}}) wrote a detailed account of the ceremonies held in the Hagia Sophia by the emperor and the patriarch.

Early in the 10th century, the pagan ruler of the [[Kievan Rus']] sent emissaries to his neighbors to learn about Judaism, Islam, and Roman and Orthodox Christianity. After visiting Hagia Sophia his emissaries reported back: "We were led into a place where they serve their God, and we did not know where we were, in heaven or on earth."<ref>[[Witold Rybczynski]], ''The Story of Architecture''. 2022, Yale University Press. {{ISBN|9780300246063}}</ref>

In the 940s or 950s, probably around 954 or 955, after the [[Rus'–Byzantine War (941)|Rus'–Byzantine War]] of 941 and the death of the [[Grand Prince of Kiev]], [[Igor I|Igor&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|912|945}}), his widow [[Olga of Kiev]] – regent for her infant son [[Sviatoslav I|Sviatoslav&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|945|972}}) – visited the emperor Constantine VII and was received as queen of the [[Kievan Rus'|Rus']] in Constantinople.<ref name="Poppe-1992">{{Cite journal |last=Poppe |first=Andrzej |date=1992 |title=Once Again concerning the Baptism of Olga, Archontissa of Rus' |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291660 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=46 |pages=271–277 |doi=10.2307/1291660 |jstor=1291660 |issn=0070-7546|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Kazhdan-2005">{{Citation |last=Kazhdan |first=Alexander P. |title=Ol'ga |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001/acref-9780195046526-e-3932 |work=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |year=2005 |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander P.|orig-year=1991 |edition=online |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6 |access-date=2020-10-17|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pritsak |first=Omeljan |date=1985 |title=When and Where was Ol'ga Baptized? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41036130 |journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies |volume=9 |issue=1/2 |pages=5–24 |jstor=41036130 |issn=0363-5570}}</ref> She was probably baptized in Hagia Sophia's baptistery, taking the name of the reigning ''augusta'', [[Helena Lecapena]], and receiving the titles [[Zoste patrikia|''zōstē patrikía'']] and the styles of ''[[archon]]tissa'' and [[hegemon]] of the Rus'.<ref name="Kazhdan-2005" /><ref name="Poppe-1992" /> Her baptism was an important step towards the [[Christianization of the Kievan Rus']], though the emperor's treatment of her visit in ''De caerimoniis'' does not mention baptism.<ref name="Kazhdan-2005" /><ref name="Poppe-1992" /> According to an early 14th-century source, the second church in Kiev, [[Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv|Saint Sophia's]], was founded in ''[[anno mundi]]'' 6460 in the [[Byzantine calendar]], or {{Circa|952}}.<ref name="Fennell-2013">{{Cite book |last=Fennell |first=John L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBitAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |title=A History of the Russian Church to 1488 |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-317-89720-0 |pages=29|orig-year=1995}}</ref> The name of this future cathedral of Kiev probably commemorates Olga's baptism.<ref name="Fennell-2013" />

After an earthquake in 989 collapsed the western dome arch, Emperor [[Basil II]] asked for the Armenian architect [[Trdat the Architect|Trdat]], creator of the [[Cathedral of Ani]], to direct the repairs.<ref>{{cite journal |author-link=Christina Maranci |last=Maranci |first=Christina |jstor=3592516 |title=The Architect Trdat: Building Practices and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Byzantium and Armenia |journal=[[Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians]] |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=294–305 |date=September 2003 |doi=10.2307/3592516|doi-access=free }}</ref> He erected again and reinforced the fallen dome arch, and rebuilt the west side of the dome with 15 dome ribs.<ref name="mw87">Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 87.</ref> The extent of the damage required six years of repair and reconstruction; the church was re-opened on 13 May 994. At the end of the reconstruction, the church's decorations were renovated, including the addition of four immense paintings of cherubs; a new depiction of Christ on the dome; a burial cloth of Christ shown on Fridays, and on the [[apse]] a new depiction of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, between the apostles Peter and Paul.<ref name="ma287">Mamboury (1953) p. 287</ref> On the great side arches were painted the prophets and the teachers of the church.<ref name="ma287" />

[[File:Hagia Sophia (15468276434).jpg|left|thumb|Detail of the verd column]]

In 1181, the daughter of the emperor Manuel&nbsp;I, [[Maria Komnene (daughter of Manuel I)|Maria Comnena]], and her husband, the ''[[Caesar (title)#Byzantine Empire|caesar]]'' [[Renier of Montferrat]], fled to Hagia Sophia at the culmination of their dispute with the empress [[Maria of Antioch]], regent for her son, the emperor [[Alexius II Comnenus]].<ref name="Choniates-1984a" /> Maria Comnena and Renier occupied the cathedral with the support of the patriarch, refusing the imperial administration's demands for a peaceful departure.<ref name="Choniates-1984a" /> According to Niketas Choniates, they "transformed the sacred courtyard into a military camp", garrisoned the entrances to the complex with locals and mercenaries, and despite the strong opposition of the patriarch, made the "house of prayer into a den of thieves or a well-fortified and precipitous stronghold", while "all the dwellings adjacent to Hagia Sophia and adjoining the Augusteion were demolished by [Maria's] men".<ref name="Choniates-1984a">Niketas Choniates, ''Annals,'' CCXXX–CCXLII. {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8arrZPM8moC |title=O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-8143-1764-8 |pages=129–136 |language=en |translator-last=Magoulias |translator-first=Harry J.}}</ref> A battle ensued in the Augustaion and around the [[Milion]], during which the defenders fought from the "gallery of the Catechumeneia (also called the Makron)" facing the Augusteion, from which they eventually retreated and took up positions in the exonarthex of Hagia Sophia itself.<ref name="Choniates-1984a" /> At this point, "the patriarch was anxious lest the enemy troops enter the temple, with unholy feet trample the holy floor, and with hands defiled and dripping with blood still warm plunder the all-holy dedicatory offerings".<ref name="Choniates-1984a" /> After a successful sally by Renier and his knights, Maria requested a truce, the imperial assault ceased, and an amnesty was negotiated.<ref name="Choniates-1984a" /> Greek historian [[Niketas Choniates]] compared the preservation of the cathedral to the efforts made by the 1st-century emperor [[Titus]] to avoid the destruction of the [[Second Temple]] during the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|siege of Jerusalem]] in the [[First Jewish–Roman War]].<ref name="Choniates-1984a" /> Choniates reports that in 1182, a white [[hawk]] wearing [[Jess (falconry)|jesses]] was seen to fly from the east to Hagia Sophia, flying three times from the "building of the ''Thōmaitēs''" (a basilica erected on the southeastern side of the Augustaion) to the [[Palace of the Kathisma]] in the [[Great Palace of Constantinople|Great Palace]], where new emperors were [[Acclamation|acclaimed]].<ref name="Choniates-1984b">Niketas Choniates, ''Annals,'' CCLI–CCLII. {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8arrZPM8moC |title=O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-8143-1764-8 |pages=xx-xxi, 141 |language=en |translator-last=Magoulias |translator-first=Harry J.}}</ref> This was supposed to presage the end of the reign of [[Andronikos I Komnenos|Andronicus&nbsp;I Comnenus]] ({{Reign|1183|1185}}).<ref name="Choniates-1984b" />

[[File:3. Part of the domes of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.jpg|thumb|The ''hexapterygon'' (six-winged angel) on the north-east pendentive (lower left), whose face was discovered and then covered back by the Fossati brothers after restoration works in the 19th century. It was uncovered again in 2009.]]

Choniates writes that in 1203, during the [[Fourth Crusade]], the emperors [[Isaac II Angelus|Isaac&nbsp;II Angelus]] and [[Alexius IV Angelus]] stripped Hagia Sophia of all gold ornaments and silver oil-lamps to pay off the Crusaders who had ousted [[Alexius III Angelus]] and helped Isaac return to the throne.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8arrZPM8moC |title=O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-8143-1764-8 |pages=315 |language=en |translator-last=Magoulias |translator-first=Harry J.}}</ref> In the [[Sack of Constantinople]] in 1204, the church was further ransacked and desecrated by the Crusaders, as described by Choniates, though he did not witness the events in person. According to his account, Hagia Sophia was stripped of its remaining metal ornaments, its altar was smashed into pieces, and a "woman laden with sins" sang and danced on the [[synthronon]].<ref name="Magoulias-1984">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8arrZPM8moC |title=O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-8143-1764-8 |pages=306 |language=en |translator-last=Magoulias |translator-first=Harry J.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Victor Roudometof |title=Globalization and Orthodox Christianity: The Transformations of a Religious Tradition |date=15 October 2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aStmAQAAQBAJ&q=hagia+sophia+looting+1204&pg=PA47 |page=47 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-01469-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Avner Falk |title=Franks and Saracens: Reality and Fantasy in the Crusades |date=8 May 2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUVaDwAAQBAJ&q=sophia+sack+1204+1261&pg=PA164 |page=164 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-429-89969-0}}</ref> He adds that mules and donkeys were brought into the cathedral's sanctuary to carry away the spoils, and that one of them slipped on the marble floor and was accidentally disembowelled, further contaminating the place.<ref name="Magoulias-1984" /> According to [[Ali ibn al-Athir]], whose treatment of the Sack of Constantinople was probably dependent on a Christian source, the Crusaders massacred some clerics who had surrendered.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamblin |first=William J.|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzNhJ915uZcC&pg=PA175 |title=The Fourth Crusade: Event, Aftermath, and Perceptions: Papers from the Sixth Conference of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East, Istanbul, Turkey, 25-29 August 2004 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |others=Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7546-6319-5 |editor-last=Madden |editor-first=Thomas F. |location=Aldershot |pages=175 |language=en |chapter=Arab perspectives on the Fourth Crusade}}</ref> Much of the interior was damaged and would not be repaired until its return to Orthodox control in 1261.<ref name="Ellington">{{cite book |author=Lucien Ellington |title=Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture, Volume 1 |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVBB1a0rC70C&q=1204+sack+constantinople+sophia&pg=PA853 |page=853 |publisher=Abc-Clio |isbn=978-1-57607-800-6}}</ref> The sack of Hagia Sophia, and Constantinople in general, remained a sore point in [[Catholic–Eastern Orthodox relations]].<ref>{{cite book |author=A. Edward Siecienski |title=Orthodox Christianity: A Very Short Introduction |date=3 June 2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=086aDwAAQBAJ&q=hagia+sophia+prostitute+1204&pg=PA24 |page=24 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-088329-4}}</ref>

During the [[Latin occupation]] of Constantinople (1204–1261), the church became a Latin Catholic cathedral. [[Baldwin I of Constantinople|Baldwin&nbsp;I of Constantinople]] ({{Reign|1204|1205}}) was crowned emperor on 16 May 1204 in Hagia Sophia in a ceremony which closely followed Byzantine practices. [[Enrico Dandolo]], the [[Doge of Venice|Doge]] of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] who commanded the sack and invasion of the city in 1204, is buried inside the church, probably in the upper eastern [[Gallery (theatre)|gallery]]. In the 19th century, an Italian restoration team placed a [[cenotaph]] marker, frequently mistaken as being a medieval artifact, near the probable location and is still visible. The original tomb was destroyed by the Ottomans during the conversion of the church into a mosque.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gallo |first=Rudolfo |title=La tomba di Enrico Dandolo in Santa Sofia a Constantinople |journal=Rivista Mensile della Citta di Venezia |year=1927 |volume=6 |pages=270–83}}</ref>

Upon the capture of Constantinople in 1261 by the [[Empire of Nicaea]] and the emperor [[Michael VIII Palaeologus]], ({{Reign|1261|1282}}), the church was in a dilapidated state. In 1317, emperor [[Andronicus II Palaeologus]] ({{Reign|1282|1328}}) ordered four new [[buttress]]es ({{Langx|grc-x-medieval|Πυραμίδας |translit=Pyramídas}}) to be built in the eastern and northern parts of the church, financing them with the inheritance of his late wife, [[Irene of Montferrat]] ({{Abbr|d.|died}}1314).<ref name="mw91">Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 91.</ref> New cracks developed in the dome after the earthquake of October 1344, and several parts of the building collapsed on 19 May 1346. Repairs by architects [[George Synadenos Astras|Astras]] and Peralta began in 1354.<ref name="Sakar-2014" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Guilland |first=R. |date=1953 |title=ÉTUDES SUR L'HISTOIRE ADMINISTRATIVE DE L'EMPIRE BYZANTIN. LE STRATOPÉDARQUE ET LE GRAND STRATOPÉDARQUE |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/byzs.1953.46.1.63 |journal=Byzantinische Zeitschrift |volume=46 |issue=1 |doi=10.1515/byzs.1953.46.1.63 |s2cid=191369605 |issn=0007-7704|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

On 12 December 1452, [[Isidore of Kiev]] proclaimed in Hagia Sophia the long-anticipated ecclesiastical union between the western Catholic and eastern Orthodox Churches as decided at the [[Council of Florence]] and decreed by the [[papal bull]] ''[[Bull of Union with the Greeks|Laetentur Caeli]]'', though it would be short-lived. The union was unpopular among the Byzantines, who had already expelled the Patriarch of Constantinople, [[Gregory III of Constantinople|Gregory III]], for his pro-union stance. A new patriarch was not installed until after the Ottoman conquest. According to the Greek historian [[Doukas (historian)|Doukas]], the Hagia Sophia was tainted by these Catholic associations, and the anti-union Orthodox faithful avoided the cathedral, considering it to be a haunt of [[demon]]s and a "Hellenic" temple of [[Roman paganism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Philippides |first1=Marios |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvvdVXckfqQC |title=The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453: Historiography, Topography, and Military Studies |last2=Hanak |first2=Walter K. |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-4094-1064-5 |location=Farnham |pages=228 |language=en}}</ref> Doukas also notes that after the ''Laetentur Caeli'' was proclaimed, the Byzantines dispersed discontentedly to nearby venues where they drank toasts to the [[Hodegetria]] icon, which had, according to late Byzantine tradition, interceded to save them in the former [[sieges of Constantinople]] by the [[Avar Khaganate]] and the [[Umayyad Caliphate]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Hurbanič |first=Martin |title=Conclusion |date=2019 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_15 |work=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |pages=339–349 |editor-last=Hurbanič |editor-first=Martin |series=New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7_15 |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |access-date=2020-10-20|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to ''[[Nestor Iskander's Tale on the Taking of Tsargrad]]'', the Hagia Sophia was the focus of an alarming [[omen]] interpreted as the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] abandoning Constantinople on 21 May 1453, in the final days of the Siege of Constantinople.<ref name="Philippides-2011">{{Cite book |last1=Philippides |first1=Marios |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvvdVXckfqQC |title=The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453: Historiography, Topography, and Military Studies |last2=Hanak |first2=Walter K. |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4094-1064-5 |location=Farnham |pages=221–223 |language=en}}</ref> The sky lit up, illuminating the city, and <blockquote>many people gathered and saw on the Church of the Wisdom, at the top of the window, a large flame of fire issuing forth. It encircled the entire neck of the church for a long time. The flame gathered into one; its flame altered, and there was an indescribable light. At once it took to the sky. ... The light itself has gone up to heaven; the gates of heaven were opened; the light was received; and again they were closed.<ref name="Philippides-2011" /></blockquote> The eventual fall of Constantinople had long been predicted in [[apocalyptic literature]].<ref name="Kraft-2012">{{Cite journal |last=Kraft |first=András |date=2012 |title=Constantinople in Byzantine Apocalyptic Thought |url=https://ams.ceu.edu/2012.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://ams.ceu.edu/2012.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |journal=Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU |volume=18 |pages=25–36}}</ref> Hagia Sophia is mentioned in a hagiography of uncertain date detailing the life of the Eastern Orthodox saint [[Andrew the Fool]].<ref name="Rydén-1974">{{Cite journal |last=Rydén |first=Lennart |date=1974 |title=The Andreas Salos Apocalypse. Greek Text, Translation, and Commentary |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291359 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=28 |pages=197–261 |doi=10.2307/1291359 |jstor=1291359 |issn=0070-7546|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The text is self-attributed to Nicephorus, a priest of Hagia Sophia, and contains a description of the [[Eschatology|end time]] in the form of a dialogue, in which the interlocutor, upon being told by the saint that Constantinople will be sunk in a flood and that "the waters as they gush forth will irresistibly deluge her and cover her and surrender her to the terrifying and immense sea of the abyss", says "some people say that the Great Church of God will not be submerged with the city but will be suspended in the air by an invisible power".<ref name="Rydén-1974" /> The reply is given that "When the whole city sinks into the sea, how can the Great Church remain? Who will need her? Do you think God dwells in temples made with hands?"<ref name="Rydén-1974" /> The [[Column of Constantine]], however, is prophesied to endure.<ref name="Rydén-1974" />

According to [[Laonicus Chalcocondyles]], Hagia Sophia was a refuge for the population during the city's capture.<ref name="Philippides-2011b">{{Cite book |last1=Philippides |first1=Marios |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvvdVXckfqQC |title=The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453: Historiography, Topography, and Military Studies |last2=Hanak |first2=Walter K. |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4094-1064-5 |location=Farnham |pages=229–230 |language=en}}</ref> Despite the ill-repute and empty state of Hagia Sophia after December 1452, Doukas writes that after the Theodosian walls were breached, the Byzantines took refuge there as the Turks advanced through the city.<ref name="Philippides-2011b" /> He attributes their change of heart to a prophecy.<ref name="Philippides-2011b" />

{{Blockquote|text=What was the reason that compelled all to flee to the Great Church? They had been listening, for many years, to some pseudo-soothsayers, who had declared that the city was destined to be handed over to the Turks, who would enter in large numbers and would massacre the Romans as far as the Column of Constantine the Great. After this an angel would descend, holding his sword. He would hand over the kingdom, together with the sword, to some insignificant, poor, and humble man who would happen to be standing by the Column. He would say to him: "Take this sword and avenge the Lord's people." Then the Turks would be turned back, would be massacred by the pursuing Romans, and would be ejected from the city and from all places in the west and the east and would be driven as far as the borders of Persia, to a place called the Lone Tree ... That was the cause for the flight into the Great Church. In one hour that famous and enormous church was filled with men and women. An innumerable crowd was everywhere: upstairs, downstairs, in the courtyards, and in every conceivable place. They closed the gates and stood there, hoping for salvation. |author=Doukas|title=|source=XXXIX.18}}

In accordance with the traditional custom of the time, Sultan [[Mehmed II|Mehmed&nbsp;II]] allowed three full days of unbridled pillage in the city shortly after it was captured. This period saw the destruction of many Orthodox churches;<ref>{{cite web |title=Fall of Constantinople |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Constantinople-1453 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Hagia Sophia itself was looted as the invaders believed it to contain the greatest treasures of the city.<ref name="Nicol_a_2">Nicol. ''The End of the Byzantine Empire'', p. 90.</ref> Shortly after the defence<!--Br. Eng spllg--> of the [[Walls of Constantinople]] collapsed and the victorious Ottoman troops entered the city, the pillagers and looters made their way to the Hagia Sophia and battered down its doors before storming inside.<ref name="Runciman-1965b" /> Once the three days passed, Mehmed was to claim the city's remaining contents for himself.<ref name="Runciman-1965">{{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAzntP0lg58C |title=The Fall of Constantinople 1453 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1965 |isbn=978-0-521-39832-9 |pages=145–148 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicol |first=Donald MacGillivray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpBsQgAACAAJ |title=The End of the Byzantine Empire |publisher=Edward Arnold |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-7131-6250-9 |location=London |pages=88 |language=en |author-link=Donald Nicol}}</ref> However, by the end of the first day, he proclaimed that the looting should cease as he felt profound sadness when he toured the city.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Inalcik |first=Halil |date=1969 |title=The Policy of Mehmed II toward the Greek Population of Istanbul and the Byzantine Buildings of the City |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=23/24 |pages=229–249 |doi=10.2307/1291293 |jstor=1291293 |issn=0070-7546}}</ref><ref name="Runciman-1965" /><ref name="Calian">{{Cite web |last=Calian |first=Florin George |date=2021-03-25 |title=The Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Neo-Ottomanism |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/ |access-date=2021-04-14 |website=The Armenian Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref>

Throughout the siege of Constantinople, the trapped people of the city participated in the [[Divine Liturgy]] and the Prayer of the Hours at the Hagia Sophia, and the church was a refuge for many of those who were unable to contribute to the city's defence<!--Br. Eng spllg-->, including women, children, elderly, the sick and the wounded.<ref name="Runciman_2.5">Runciman. ''The Fall of Constantinople'', pp. 133–34.</ref><ref name="Nicol_b_1">Nicol, Donald M. ''The Last Centuries of Byzantium 1261–1453''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972, p. 389.</ref><ref name="Calian" /> As they were trapped in the church, the many congregants and other refugees became spoils-of-war to be divided amongst the triumphant invaders. The building was desecrated and looted, and those who sought shelter within the church were enslaved.<ref name="Nicol_a_2" /> While most of the elderly and the infirm, injured, and sick were killed, the remainder (mainly teenage males and young boys) were chained and sold into [[slavery in the Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="Runciman-1965b">{{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAzntP0lg58C |title=The Fall of Constantinople 1453 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1965 |isbn=978-0-521-39832-9 |pages=147 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Calian" />

===Mosque (1453–1935)===
[[File:Turkey-3052 (2216463731).jpg|thumb|The ''mihrab'' located in the apse where the altar used to stand, pointing towards Mecca. The two giant candlesticks flanking the mihrab were brought in from [[Ottoman Hungary]] by Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]].]]
[[Constantinople]] fell to the attacking Ottoman forces on 29 May 1453. [[Sultan Mehmed II|Sultan Mehmed&nbsp;II]] entered the city and performed the [[Friday prayer]] and ''[[khutbah]]'' (sermon) in Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p9M6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |title=Contested Spaces, Common Ground: Space and Power Structures in Contemporary Multireligious Societies |date=2016-10-27 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-32580-7 |language=en}}</ref> The church's priests and religious personnel continued to perform Christian rites, prayers, and ceremonies until they were compelled to stop.<ref name="Runciman-1965b" /> When Mehmed and his entourage entered the church, he ordered that it be converted into a mosque immediately. One of the [[Ulama|''ʿulamāʾ'']] (Islamic scholars) present climbed onto the church's ambo and recited the ''[[shahada]]'' ("There is no god but Allah, and [[Muhammad]] is his messenger"), thus marking the [[Conversion of non-Muslim places of worship into mosques|conversion of the church into a mosque]].<ref name="mw91" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAzntP0lg58C |title=The Fall of Constantinople 1453 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1965 |isbn=978-0-521-39832-9 |pages=149 |language=en}}</ref> Mehmed is reported to have taken a sword to a soldier who tried to pry up one of the paving slabs of the Proconnesian marble floor.<ref name="Barry-2007">{{Cite journal |last=Barry |first=Fabio |date=2007 |title=Walking on Water: Cosmic Floors in Antiquity and the Middle Ages |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=627–656 |doi=10.1080/00043079.2007.10786367 |jstor=25067354 |s2cid=194078403 |issn=0004-3079}}</ref>

As described by Western visitors before 1453, such as the [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoban]] nobleman [[Pero Tafur]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Tafur |first=Pero |author-link=Pero Tafur |others=Trans. M. Letts |title=Travels and Adventures, 1435–1439 |url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_6352599_000 |publisher=G. Routledge |location=London |year=1926 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ldpd_6352599_000/page/n163 138]–48}}</ref> and the [[Florence|Florentine]] geographer [[Cristoforo Buondelmonti]],<ref>G. Gerola, "Le vedute di Costantinopoli di Cristoforo Buondemonti," SBN 3 (1931): 247–79.</ref> the church was in a dilapidated state, with several of its doors fallen from their hinges. Mehmed&nbsp;II ordered a renovation of the building. Mehmed attended the first Friday prayer in the mosque on 1 June 1453.<ref name="mb288">Mamboury (1953), p. 288.</ref> Aya Sofya became the first imperial mosque of Istanbul.<ref name="ne13">Necipoĝlu (2005), p. 13</ref> Most of the existing houses in the city and the area of the future [[Topkapı Palace]] were endowed to the corresponding [[waqf]].<ref name="mw91" /> From 1478, 2,360 shops, 1,300 houses, 4 [[caravanserai]]s, 30 ''[[boza]]'' shops, and 23 shops of sheep heads and trotters gave their income to the foundation.<ref name="bo145">Boyar & Fleet (2010), p. 145</ref> Through the imperial charters of 1520 and 1547, shops and parts of the [[Grand Bazaar, Istanbul|Grand Bazaar]] and other markets were added to the foundation.<ref name="mw91" />

Before 1481, a small [[minaret]] was erected on the southwest corner of the building, above the stair tower.<ref name="mw91" /> Mehmed's successor [[Bayezid II|Bayezid&nbsp;II]] ({{Reign|1481|1512}}) later built another minaret at the northeast corner.<ref name="mw91" /> One of the minarets collapsed after the [[1509 Istanbul earthquake|earthquake of 1509]],<ref name="mw91" /> and around the middle of the 16th century they were both replaced by two diagonally opposite minarets built at the east and west corners of the edifice.<ref name="mw91" /> In 1498, [[Bernardo Bonsignori]] was the last Western visitor to Hagia Sophia to report seeing the ancient Justinianic floor; shortly afterwards the floor was covered over with carpet and not seen again until the 19th century.<ref name="Barry-2007" />

In the 16th century, Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] ({{Reign|1520|1566}}) brought two colossal candlesticks from his [[Ottoman wars in Europe#1526–1566: Conquest of the Kingdom of Hungary|conquest]] of the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Kingdom of Hungary]] and placed them on either side of the ''[[mihrab]]''. During Suleiman's reign, the mosaics above the [[narthex]] and imperial gates depicting Jesus, Mary, and various Byzantine emperors were covered by whitewash and plaster, which were removed in 1930 under the Turkish Republic.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gökovali |first=Şadan |title=Istanbul |publisher=Ticaret Matbaacilik T.A.Ş. |location=Istanbul |pages=22–23}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=July 2019}}

[[File:Istanbul Fountain IMG 8022 1920.jpg|thumb|left|Fountain (''Şadırvan'') for ritual ablutions|alt=]]

During the reign of [[Selim II|Selim&nbsp;II]] ({{Reign|1566|1574}}), the building started showing signs of fatigue and was extensively strengthened with the addition of structural supports to its exterior by Ottoman architect [[Mimar Sinan]], who was also an earthquake engineer.<ref name="earthquake">{{cite book |title=Hagia Sophia and Mimar Sinan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6j5nuvAd44QC&q=Sinan+earthquake+%22Hagia+Sophia%22&pg=PA383 |last=Mungan |first=I. |year=2004 |pages=383–84 |publisher=Mungan & Wittek (eds); Taylor & Francis Group, London |isbn=978-90-5809-642-5}}</ref> In addition to strengthening the historic Byzantine structure, Sinan built two additional large minarets at the western end of the building, the original sultan's lodge and the [[türbe]] (mausoleum) of Selim&nbsp;II to the southeast of the building in 1576–1577. In order to do that, parts of the Patriarchate at the south corner of the building were pulled down the previous year.<ref name="mw91" /> Moreover, the golden [[Crescent#In the Islamic World|crescent]] was mounted on the top of the dome,<ref name="mw91" /> and a respect zone 35 ''[[Ottoman units of measurement|arşın]]'' (about 24&nbsp;m) wide was imposed around the building, leading to the demolition of all houses within the perimeter.<ref name="mw91" /> The türbe became the location of the tombs of 43 Ottoman princes.<ref name="mw91" /> [[Murad III]] ({{Reign|1574|1595}}) imported two large [[alabaster]] Hellenistic [[urns]] from [[Pergamon]] ([[Bergama]]) and placed them on two sides of the nave.<ref name="mw91" />

In 1594 ''Mimar'' (court architect) [[Davud Ağa]] built the türbe of Murad III, where the Sultan and his [[Valide sultan|''valide'']], [[Safiye Sultan (wife of Murad III)|Safiye Sultan]] were buried.<ref name="mw91" /> The octagonal mausoleum of their son [[Mehmed III]] ({{Reign|1595|1603}}) and his ''valide'' was built next to it in 1608 by royal architect Dalgiç Mehmet Aĝa.<ref name="mw93">Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 93.</ref> His son [[Mustafa I|Mustafa&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|1617|1618|1622|1623}}) converted the baptistery into his türbe.<ref name="mw93" />

In 1717, under the reign of Sultan [[Ahmed III]] ({{Reign|1703|1730}}), the crumbling plaster of the interior was renovated, contributing indirectly to the preservation of many mosaics, which otherwise would have been destroyed by mosque workers.<ref name="mw93" /> It was usual for the mosaic's [[tesserae]]—believed to be [[talisman]]s—to be sold to visitors.<ref name="mw93" /> Sultan [[Mahmud I|Mahmud&nbsp;I]] ordered the restoration of the building in 1739 and added a ''[[madrasah|medrese]]'' (a Koranic school, subsequently the library of the museum), an ''[[imaret]]'' (soup kitchen for distribution to the poor) and a library, and in 1740 he added a ''[[Sadirvan|Şadirvan]]'' (fountain for ritual ablutions), thus transforming it into a ''[[külliye]]'', or social complex. A new sultan's lodge and a new mihrab were built inside.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facts About Hagia Sophia {{!}} Discover A Historic Masterpiece! |url=https://hagiasophiatickets.com/facts |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=hagiasophiatickets.com |language=en}}</ref>

====Renovation of 1847–1849====
[[File:Istanbul - Santa Sofia - Medalló.JPG|thumb|Calligraphy with the name of the 4th Rashidun Caliph [[Ali]], one of eight medallions added in the 19th century]]
The 19th-century restoration of the Hagia Sophia was ordered by Sultan [[Abdulmejid I|Abdulmejid&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|1823|1861}}) and completed between 1847 and 1849 by eight hundred workers under the supervision of the [[Ticino|Swiss-Italian]] architect brothers [[Fossati brothers|Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati]]. The brothers consolidated the dome with a restraining iron chain and strengthened the vaults, straightened the columns, and revised the decoration of the exterior and the interior of the building.<ref name="Turkish Cultural Foundation">{{Cite web |publisher=Turkish Cultural Foundation |title=The Fossati brothers |url=http://www.turkishculture.org/architecture/architects/the-fossati-brothers-959.htm |access-date=2020-07-26}}</ref> The mosaics in the upper gallery were exposed and cleaned, although many were recovered "for protection against further damage".<ref name="groveenc">{{cite book |last1=Bloom |first1=Jonathan |last2=Blair |first2=Sheila |title=Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press USA |isbn=978-0-19-530991-1 |page=324 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=RA1-PA324 |language=en |chapter=Istanbul}}</ref>

Eight new gigantic circular-framed discs or [[Medallion (architecture)|medallions]] were hung from the [[cornice]], on each of the four piers and at either side of the apse and the west doors. These were designed by the calligrapher [[Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi]] and painted with the names of [[Allah]], [[Muhammad]], the [[Rashidun]] (the first four caliphs), and the two grandsons of Muhammad.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-29 |title=Hagia Sophia - Meaning, Mosque & Istanbul |url=https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/hagia-sophia |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref> In 1850, the architects Fossati built a new [[maqsura]] or caliphal loge in [[Neo-Byzantine architecture|Neo-Byzantine]] columns and an Ottoman–Rococo style marble grille connecting to the royal pavilion behind the mosque.<ref name="Turkish Cultural Foundation" /> The new maqsura was built at the extreme east end of the northern aisle, next to the north-eastern pier. The existing maqsura in the apse, near the mihrab, was demolished.<ref name="Turkish Cultural Foundation" /> A new entrance was constructed for the sultan: the {{Langx|tr|Hünkar Mahfili|label=none}}.<ref name="Turkish Cultural Foundation" /> The Fossati brothers also renovated the [[minbar]] and [[mihrab]].

Outside the main building, the minarets were repaired and altered so that they were of equal height.<ref name="groveenc" /> A clock building, the {{Langx|tr|Muvakkithane|label=none}}, was built by the Fossatis for use by the [[muwaqqit]] (the mosque timekeeper), and a new [[madrasa]] (Islamic school) was constructed. The {{Langx|tr|Kasr-ı Hümayun|label=none}} was also built under their direction.<ref name="Turkish Cultural Foundation" /> When the restoration was finished, the mosque was re-opened with a ceremony on 13 July 1849.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2020-09-11 |title=Architectural Adventure of Hagia Sophia |url=https://architecture-news.com/architectural-adventure-of-hagia-sophia/ |access-date=2021-07-29 |website=Architecture News |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729101359/https://architecture-news.com/architectural-adventure-of-hagia-sophia/ |archive-date=2021-07-29}}</ref> An edition of [[lithographs]] from drawings made during the Fossatis' work on Hagia Sophia was published in [[London]] in 1852, entitled: ''Aya Sophia of Constantinople as Recently Restored by Order of H.M. The Sultan Abdulmejid''.<ref name="Turkish Cultural Foundation" />

<gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200" caption="Gaspare Fossati's Hagia Sophia (lithographs by Louis Haghe)">
File:Façade principale de Ste Sophie, prise de la cour du médressé - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Main (western) façade of Hagia Sophia, seen from courtyard of the ''madrasa'' of [[Mahmud I|Mahmud&nbsp;I]]. Lithograph by [[Louis Haghe]] after Gaspard Fossati (1852).
File:Aya Sofia, Constantinople (BM 1889,0603.107).jpg|South-eastern side, seen from the Imperial Gate of the [[Topkapı Palace]], with the [[Fountain of Ahmed III]] on the left and the [[Sultan Ahmed Mosque]] in the distance. Lithograph by Louis Haghe after Gaspard Fossati (1852).
File:Vue de la nouvelle tribune impériale, prise entre les colonnes d'Ephèze, et ensuite de face - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|The imperial lodge ({{Abbreviation|b|built}} 1850)
File:Aya Sofia, Constantinople (BM 1889,0603.120).jpg|[[Fossati brothers|Gaspare Fossati]]'s 1852 depiction of the Hagia Sophia, after his and his brother's renovation. Lithograph by [[Louis Haghe]].
File:L'intérieur et l'extérieur de la mosquée, avant sa restauration - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Nave before restoration, facing east
File:Vue générale de la grande nef, en regardant l'orient - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Nave and apse after restoration, facing east
File:Gaspare Fossati - Louis Haghe - Vue générale de la grande nef, en regardant l'occident (Hagia Sophia - Ayasofya Mosque nave).jpg|Nave and entrance after restoration, facing west
File:Nartex, ou Porche - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Narthex, facing north
File:Entrée principale de la mosquée - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Exonarthex, facing north
File:Vue de l'entrée du côté du nord - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|North aisle from the entrance, facing east
File:Vue prise du même point, en regardant le porche - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|North aisle, facing west
File:Vue centrale de la nef du nord - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Nave and south aisle from the north aisle
File:Entrée du gynécée, ou galerie supérieure - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Northern gallery and entrance to the ''matroneum'' from the north-west
File:Vues dans la même gallerie, prises dans l'angle sud-ouest - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Southern gallery from the south-west
File:Vue du fond de la galerie, du côté oriental - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Southern gallery from the Marble Door facing west
File:Centre de la galerie - Fossati Gaspard - 1852.jpg|Southern gallery from the Marble Door facing east
</gallery>

==== Occupation of Istanbul (1918–1923) ====
[[File:Averof painting 1919 Bosporus.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Hellenic Navy|RHS]] ''[[Greek cruiser Georgios Averof|Georgios Averof]]'' enters the [[Golden Horn]] in 1919, during the Allied [[occupation of Constantinople]], with Hagia Sophia visible in the background ({{Interlanguage link|Λυκούργος Κογεβίνας|lt=Lycourgos Kogevinas|el||WD=}}, [[National Historical Museum, Athens]])]]
In the aftermath of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War&nbsp;I, Constantinople was [[Occupation of Istanbul|occupied]] by British, French, Italian, and Greek forces. On {{date|1919/01/19}}, the Greek Orthodox Christian military priest [[Eleftherios Noufrakis]] performed a [[Divine Liturgy]] in the Hagia Sophia, the only such instance since the 1453 fall of Constantinople.<ref name="Stivaktakis 2004">{{cite web |last=Stivaktakis |first=Anthony E. |title=The Last Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia of 1919 |website=www.johnsanidopoulos.com |date=2004-02-27 |url=https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2015/06/the-last-divine-liturgy-in-hagia-sophia.html |access-date=2022-08-08}}</ref> The anti-occupation [[Sultanahmet demonstrations]] were held next to Hagia Sophia from March to May 1919. In Greece, the 500 [[Modern drachma|drachma]] banknotes issued in 1923 featured Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=500 Drachmai |url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note262487.html |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=Numista}}</ref>

===Museum (1935–2020)===
[[File:Hagia Sophia. Fortepan 76187.jpg|alt=|thumb|Hagia Sophia in 1937]]
[[File:MG08 on the minaret of the Ayasofya Museum 1941.jpg|thumb|MG08 on the minaret of the Ayasofya Museum in Istanbul, Turkey (1941)]]
In 1935, the first [[President of Turkey|Turkish President]] and founder of the Republic of Turkey, [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], transformed the building into a museum. During the Second World War, the minarets of the museum housed [[MG 08]] machine guns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tarihin aktığı takvim... |url=https://www.ntv.com.tr/galeri/sanat/tarihin-aktigi-takvim,lra5rGquz0O-fcrG5BsF_w |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=www.ntv.com.tr |language=tr}}</ref> The carpet and the layer of mortar underneath were removed and marble floor decorations such as the ''[[omphalion]]'' appeared for the first time since the [[Fossati brothers|Fossatis]]' restoration,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pedone |first=Silvia |title=11th International Colloquium on Ancient Mosaics, October 16th-20th, 2009, Bursa, Turkey: Mosaics of Turkey and parallel developments in the rest of the ancient and medieval world: questions of iconography, style and technique from the beginnings of mosaic until the late Byzantine era |publisher=Uludağ Üniversitesi, Mozaik Araştırmaları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi |year=2011 |isbn=978-605-5607-81-4 |editor-last=Şahin |editor-first=Mustafa |location=İstanbul |pages=749–768 |chapter=The Marble ''Omphalos'' of Saint Sophia in Constantinople. An Analysis of an ''Opus Sectile'' Pavement of Middle Byzantine Age |oclc=801099151}}</ref> when the white plaster covering many of the mosaics had been removed. Due to neglect, the condition of the structure continued to deteriorate, prompting the [[World Monuments Fund]] (WMF) to include the Hagia Sophia [[1996 World Monuments Watch|in their 1996]] and [[1998 World Monuments Watch|1998 Watch Lists]]. The building's copper roof had cracked, causing water to leak down over the fragile frescoes and mosaics. Moisture entered from below as well. Rising [[ground water]] increased the level of humidity within the monument, creating an unstable environment for stone and paint. The WMF secured a series of grants from 1997 to 2002 for the restoration of the dome. The first stage of work involved the structural stabilization and repair of the cracked roof, which was undertaken with the participation of the [[Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey)|Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism]]. The second phase, the preservation of the dome's interior, afforded the opportunity to employ and train young Turkish [[conservator (museum)|conservators]] in the care of mosaics. By 2006, the WMF project was complete, though many areas of Hagia Sophia continue to require significant stability improvement, restoration, and conservation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wmf.org/project/hagia-sophia |publisher=World Monuments Fund |title=Hagia Sophia |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

In 2014, Hagia Sophia was the second most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.3 million visitors annually.<ref name="mus">{{cite news |date=10 November 2014 |title=Top 10: Turkey's most visited museums |work=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/top-10-turkeys-most-visited-museums.aspx?pageID=238&nID=74133&NewsCatID=385}}</ref>

[[File:Hagia Sophia Interior Dome.jpg|thumb|upright|The interior undergoing restoration in 2007]]

While use of the complex as a place of worship (mosque or church) was strictly prohibited,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istanbul.gov.tr/Default.aspx?pid=343 |title=İstanbul Tanıtımı – Ayasofya Müzesi |publisher=Istanbul |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124014309/http://www.istanbul.gov.tr/Default.aspx?pid=343 |archive-date=24 January 2012}}</ref> in 1991 the Turkish government allowed the allocation of a pavilion in the museum complex (''Ayasofya Müzesi Hünkar Kasrı'') for use as a prayer room, and, since 2013, two of the museum's minarets had been used for voicing the call to prayer (the [[Adhan|ezan]]) regularly.<ref name="designatedimam">{{cite web |title=Ayasofya'nın 4 minaresinden 5 vakit ezan sesi yükseliyor: Ayasofya Müzesi'nin ibadete açık olan bölümü Hünkar Kasrı'na, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı tarafından uzun yıllardan sonra ilk kez asaleten imam atandı. |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/kultur-sanat/ayasofyanin-4-minaresinden-5-vakit-ezan-sesi-yukseliyor/668646 |agency=[[Anadolu Agency]] |date=20 October 2016 |language=tr}}</ref><ref name="ezanread" />

[[File:Cat at Ayasofya.jpg|thumb|[[Gli]], Hagia Sophia's famous cat, in 2014]]

From the early 2010s, several campaigns and government high officials, notably Turkey's deputy prime minister [[Bülent Arınç]] in November 2013, demanded the Hagia Sophia be converted back into a mosque.<ref>{{cite news |title=Call to reinstate Hagia Sophia as mosque |url=https://www.ft.com/content/0794494a-4e1b-11e3-8fa5-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0794494a-4e1b-11e3-8fa5-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=24 December 2013 |newspaper=Financial Times |date=15 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Greece angered over Turkish Deputy PM's Hagia Sophia remarks |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/greece-angered-over-turkish-deputy-pms-hagia-sophia-remarks.aspx?PageID=238&NID=58153&NewsCatID=351 |access-date=20 November 2013 |newspaper=[[Hürriyet]] |date=19 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Turkey: Pressure mounts for Hagia Sophia to be converted into mosque |url=http://www.christiantoday.com/article/turkey.pressure.mounts.for.hagia.sophia.to.be.converted.into.mosque/35055.htm |access-date=24 December 2013 |newspaper=[[Christian Today]] |date=13 December 2013}}</ref> In 2015, [[Pope Francis]] publicly acknowledged the [[Armenian genocide]], which is [[Armenian genocide denial|officially denied in Turkey]]. In response, the mufti of Ankara, Mefail Hızlı, said he believed the Pope's remarks would accelerate the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope's remarks 'to accelerate Hagia Sophia's conversion into mosque' |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/popes-remarks-to-accelerate-hagia-sophias-conversion-into-mosque.aspx?PageID=238&NID=81128&NewsCatID=338 |agency=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |date=16 April 2015}}</ref>

On 1 July 2016, Muslim prayers were held again in the Hagia Sophia for the first time in 85&nbsp;years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/first-call-to-prayer-inside-istanbuls-hagia-sophia-in-85-years.aspx?pageID=238&nID=101161&NewsCatID=341 |title=First call to prayer inside Istanbul's Hagia Sophia in 85 years |work=Hürriyet}}</ref> That November, a Turkish [[non-governmental organization|NGO]], the ''Association for the Protection of Historic Monuments and the Environment'', filed a lawsuit for converting the museum into a mosque.<ref name="Turkish politics Hurriyet">{{cite news |title=Turkish politics heats up over Hagia Sophia |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-politics-heats-up-over-hagia-sophia-155597 |website=hurriyetdailynews |date=12 June 2020}}</ref> The court decided it should stay as a 'monument museum'.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court declares Hagia Sophia a 'monument museum' |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/religion/2016/11/22/court-declares-hagia-sophia-a-monument-museum |website=hurriyetdailynews |date=22 November 2016}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2022}} In October 2016, Turkey's [[Directorate of Religious Affairs]] (''Diyanet'') appointed, for the first time in 81 years, a designated [[imam]], Önder Soy, to the Hagia Sophia mosque. Since then, the adhan has been regularly called out from the Hagia Sophia's minarets five times a day.<ref name="designatedimam" /><ref name="ezanread">{{cite web |title=Ayasofya'da her ezan okuduğunda ilk günkü heyecanı yaşıyor: Büyük Ayasofya Camisi İmam Hatibi Kurra Hafız Önder Soy, Ayasofya'da 4 yıldır ilk günkü heyecanıyla görevini yapıyor. |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/ayasofyada-her-ezan-okudugunda-ilk-gunku-heyecani-yasiyor-/1873252 |agency=[[Anadolu Agency]] |date=11 June 2020 |language=tr}}</ref><ref name="DWislamdrive">{{cite web |title=Hagia Sophia imam: part of Erdogan's Islamization drive? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/hagia-sophia-imam-part-of-erdogans-islamization-drive/a-36299221 |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=7 November 2016}}</ref>

On 13 May 2017, a large group of people, organized by the Anatolia Youth Association, gathered in front of Hagia Sophia and prayed the morning prayer with a call for the re-conversion of the museum into a mosque.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/muslim-group-prays-in-front-of-hagia-sophia-to-demand-re-conversion-into-mosque.aspx?pageID=238&nID=113064&NewsCatID=341 |title=Muslim group prays in front of Hagia Sophia to demand re-conversion into mosque |work=Hürriyet}}</ref> On 21 June 2017 the ''{{Langx|tr|Diyanet|label=none}}'' organized a special programme, broadcast live by state-run television [[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]], which included the recitation of the [[Quran]] and prayers in Hagia Sophia, to mark the [[Laylat al-Qadr]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-rejects-greek-criticism-of-hagia-sophia-prayers.aspx?pageID=238&nID=114671&NewsCatID=341 |title=Turkey rejects Greek criticism of Hagia Sophia prayers |work=Hürriyet}}</ref>

===Reversion to mosque (2020–present)===
[[File:Hagia sophia prayer room exterior.jpg|thumb|A small Muslim prayer room (''mescit'') in the Hagia Sophia complex, 2020]][[File:AyasofyaiKebir.jpg|225px|thumb|The plate placed on the day of its reversion to mosque in 2020]]

Since 2018, [[Turkish president]] [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] had talked of reverting the status of the Hagia Sophia back to a mosque, as a populist gesture.<ref name="nytime revert mosque">{{cite news |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |date=10 July 2020 |title=Turkish Court Clears Way for Hagia Sophia to Be Used as a Mosque Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/world/europe/hagia-sophia-mosque-turkey.html |access-date=10 July 2020 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> On 31 March 2018 Erdoğan recited the first verse of the Quran in the Hagia Sophia, dedicating the prayer to the "souls of all who left us this work as inheritance, especially Istanbul's [[Mehmed the Conqueror|conqueror]]," strengthening the political movement to make the Hagia Sophia a mosque once again.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-recites-islamic-prayer-at-the-hagia-sophia-129594 |title=Turkish President Erdoğan recites Islamic prayer at the Hagia Sophia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124001145/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-recites-islamic-prayer-at-the-hagia-sophia-129594 |archive-date=24 January 2020 |website=Hürriyet|date=April 2018 }}</ref> 

In March 2019, Erdoğan said that he would change the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hagia-sophias-status-to-be-changed-to-mosque-erdogan-142230 |title=Hagia Sophia's status to be changed to mosque: Erdoğan |work=Hürriyet}}</ref> adding that it had been a "very big mistake" to turn it into a museum.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/28/hagia-sophia-controversy-as-erdogan-says-museum-and-former-cathedral-will-become-a-mosque |title=Hagia Sophia: Controversy as Erdogan says museum and former cathedral will become a mosque |work=Euronews}}</ref> As a UNESCO World Heritage site, this change would require approval from UNESCO's [[World Heritage Committee]].<ref>{{cite news |title=UNESCO "halts" Erdogan's plans to turn the Hagia Sophia into Mosque |url=https://dailyhellas.com/2019/03/27/unesco-halts-erdogans-plans-to-turn-the-hagia-sophia-into-mosque/ |website=Daily Hellas |access-date=10 April 2019 |date=27 March 2019 |archive-date=6 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406134721/https://dailyhellas.com/2019/03/27/unesco-halts-erdogans-plans-to-turn-the-hagia-sophia-into-mosque/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> In late 2019 Erdoğan's office took over the administration and upkeep of the nearby [[Topkapı Palace Museum]], transferring responsibility for the site from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism by presidential decree.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milli Gazete {{!}} Erdoğan Administration Takes Control Of Istanbul's Historic Topkapı Palace |url=http://en.milligazete.com.tr/erdogan_administration_takes_control_of_istanbul%E2%80%99s_historic_topkapi_palace/8479 |access-date=2020-08-02 |website=en.milligazete.com.tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Erdoğan administration takes control of Istanbul's historic Topkapı Palace |url=https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-politics/erdogan-administration-takes-control-istanbuls-historic-topkapi-palace |access-date=2020-08-02 |website=Ahval |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Erdoğan |first=Recep Tayyip |date=2019-09-06 |title=Presidential Decree |url=https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2019/09/20190906-1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2019/09/20190906-1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |website=Resmî Gazete |language=tr}}</ref>

In 2020, Turkey's government celebrated the 567th anniversary of the Conquest of Constantinople with an Islamic prayer in Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Turkey goes back to the future as Hagia Sophia set for Islamic prayers |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/quran-recitation-conquest-hagia-sophia-istanbul |access-date=2020-07-11 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref> In May, during the anniversary events, passages from the Quran were read in the Hagia Sophia. Greece condemned this action, while Turkey in response accused Greece of making "futile and ineffective statements".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Turkey refutes Greece on Quran session in Hagia Sophia – Turkey News |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-refutes-greece-on-quran-session-in-hagia-sophia-155209 |access-date=2020-07-11 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |language=en}}</ref> In June, the head of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs said that "we would be very happy to open Hagia Sophia for worship" and that if it happened "we will provide our religious services as we do in all our mosques".<ref name="Turkish politics Hurriyet" /> On 25 June, [[John Haldon]], president of the [[International Association of Byzantine Studies]], wrote an open letter to Erdoğan asking that he "consider the value of keeping the Aya Sofya as a museum".<ref name="Mariev-2020">{{Cite web |title=Byzantine News, Issue 33, July 2020 |url=https://us17.campaign-archive.com/?u=719696e03a73ee3361188422f&id=7ec7740295 |access-date=2020-07-25 |website=us17.campaign-archive.com}}</ref>

On 10 July 2020, the decision of the Council of Ministers from 1935 to transform the Hagia Sophia into a museum was annulled by the Council of State, decreeing that Hagia Sophia cannot be used "for any other purpose" than being a mosque and that the Hagia Sophia was property of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han Foundation. The council reasoned Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, who conquered Istanbul, deemed the property to be used by the public as a mosque without any fees and was not within the jurisdiction of the Parliament or a ministry council.<ref>{{cite web |title=Making the Hagia Sophia a mosque is a political slap in the face for the West |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/07/10/making-hagia-sophia-mosque-political-slap-face-west/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/07/10/making-hagia-sophia-mosque-political-slap-face-west/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Turkish court rules 1934 conversion of Hagia Sophia into museum illegal |url=https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/turkish-court-rules-1934-conversion-of-hagia-sophia-into-museum-illegal-38028 |access-date=2021-07-25 |website=Turkish court rules 1934 conversion of Hagia Sophia into museum illegal |language=en}}</ref> 

Despite secular and global criticism, Erdoğan signed a decree annulling the Hagia Sophia's museum status, reverting it to a mosque.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/ayasofya-camii/ayasofyayi-camiden-muzeye-donusturen-bakanlar-kurulu-kararina-iptal-/1906077|title=Ayasofya'yı camiden müzeye dönüştüren Bakanlar Kurulu kararı iptal edildi|website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref><ref name="BBC News-2020">{{Cite news |date=2020-07-10 |title=Turkey turns iconic Istanbul museum into mosque |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53366307 |access-date=2020-07-11}}</ref> The call to prayer was broadcast from the minarets shortly after the announcement of the change and rebroadcast by major Turkish news networks.<ref name="BBC News-2020" /> A presidential spokesperson said it would become a working mosque, open to anyone similar to the [[Paris]]ian churches [[Sacré-Cœur, Paris|Sacré-Cœur]] and [[Notre-Dame de Paris|Notre-Dame]]. The spokesperson also said that the change would not affect the status of the Hagia Sophia as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and that "Christian [[icon]]s" within it would continue to be protected.<ref name="nytime revert mosque" />

A presidential spokesperson claimed that all political parties in Turkey supported Erdoğan's decision,<ref name="Hagia Sophia icons">{{cite news |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hagia-sophia-icons-to-be-preserved-presidential-spokesperson-156476 |title=Hagia Sophia icons to be preserved: Presidential spokesperson |date=12 July 2020 |access-date=12 July 2020 |work=hurriyetdailynews}}</ref> but the [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|Peoples' Democratic Party]] had previously released a statement denouncing the decision, saying "decisions on human heritage cannot be made on the basis of political games played by the government".<ref>{{Cite news |title=İnsanlık mirasına dair kararlar iktidarın politik oyunlarına göre alınamaz |trans-title=Decisions on human heritage cannot be made on the basis of political games played by the government |url=https://www.hdp.org.tr/tr/insanlik-mirasina-dair-kararlar-iktidarin-politik-oyunlarina-gore-alinamaz/14440 |access-date=2020-07-12 |website=www.hdp.org.tr |language=tr}}</ref> The [[mayor of Istanbul]], [[Ekrem İmamoğlu]], said that he supports the conversion "as long as it benefits Turkey", adding that he felt that Hagia Sophia has been a mosque since 1453.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/istanbul-mayor-supports-hagia-sophia-conversion-move-as-long-as-it-benefits-turkey-156527 |title=Istanbul mayor supports Hagia Sophia conversion move, 'as long as it benefits Turkey' |date=13 July 2020 |access-date=13 July 2020 |work=hurriyetdailynews}}</ref> 

[[Ali Babacan]] attacked the policy of his former ally Erdoğan, saying the Hagia Sophia issue "has come to the agenda now only to cover up other problems".<ref name="BBC News-2020b">{{Cite news |date=2020-07-24 |title=Hagia Sophia opens to Muslims for Friday prayers |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53506445 |access-date=2020-07-24}}</ref> [[Orhan Pamuk]], Turkish [[novelist]] and [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel laureate]], publicly denounced the move, saying "Kemal Atatürk changed{{Spaces}}... Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum, honouring all previous Greek Orthodox and Latin Catholic history, making it as a sign of Turkish modern secularism".<ref name="BBC News-2020" /><ref name="BBC News-2020c">{{Cite news |date=2020-07-24 |title=First Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia for 86 years |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53506445 |access-date=2020-07-25}}</ref>

On 17 July, Erdoğan announced that the first prayers in the Hagia Sophia would be open to between 1,000 and 1,500 worshippers, stating that Turkey had [[sovereignty|sovereign power]] over Hagia Sophia and was not obligated to bend to international opinion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cagatay Zontur |first=Erdogan |date=2020-07-17 |title=Hagia Sophia a matter of Turkey's sovereignty: Erdogan |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/hagia-sophia-a-matter-of-turkeys-sovereignty-erdogan/1913812}}</ref>

While the Hagia Sophia has now been rehallowed as a mosque, certain areas remains open for visitors outside of prayer times. Most of the ground floor remains restricted to worshipers, however the [[Hagia Sophia#Upper gallery|upper galleries]] were reopened to visitors in 2024.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Hattam |first=Jennifer |title=İstanbul’s Hagia Sophia has a new entry fee and new visiting rules |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/istanbul-hagia-sophia-entry-rules |access-date= |website=Lonely Planet |language=en}}</ref> Women visitors are required to wear headscarfs to enter.<ref name=":0" /> Entrance was initially free,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Russian tourists to benefit from Hagia Sophia status change |url=https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/russian-tourists-to-benefit-from-hagia-sophia-status-change-38201 |access-date=2021-07-25 |website=Russian tourists to benefit from Hagia Sophia status change |language=en}}</ref> but starting from 15 January 2024, foreign nationals have to pay an entrance fee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign visitors to pay entrance fee at Hagia Sophia|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-visitors-to-pay-entrance-fee-at-hagia-sophia-187507 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=hurriyetdailynews |date=November 2023 |language=en| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101204601/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-visitors-to-pay-entrance-fee-at-hagia-sophia-187507|archive-date=2023-11-01}}</ref> 

On 22 July, a turquoise-coloured carpet was laid to prepare the mosque for worshippers.<ref name="BBC News-2020b" /> The mosque opened for Friday prayers on 24 July, the 97th anniversary of the signature of the [[Treaty of Lausanne]], which established the borders of the modern Turkish Republic.<ref name="BBC News-2020b" /> The mosaics of the Virgin and Child in the apse were covered by white drapes.<ref name="BBC News-2020c" /> [[Ali Erbaş]], President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, proclaimed during his sermon, "Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror dedicated this magnificent construction to believers to remain a mosque until the [[Day of Resurrection]]".<ref name="BBC News-2020c" /> Erdoğan and some government ministers attended the midday prayers as many worshippers prayed outside; at one point the security cordon was breached and dozens of people broke through police lines.<ref name="BBC News-2020c" /> Turkey invited foreign leaders and officials, including Pope Francis, for the prayers.<ref>{{cite news |date=22 July 2020 |title=Erdoğan invites Pope Francis to the inauguration of Hagia Sophia Mosque |work=romereports |url=https://www.romereports.com/en/2020/07/22/erdogan-invites-pope-francis-to-the-inauguration-of-hagia-sophia-mosque/ |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> It is the fourth Byzantine church converted from museum to a mosque during Erdoğan's rule.<ref name="Gall">{{cite news |last1=Gall |first1=Carlotta |date=15 July 2020 |title=Erdogan Signs Decree Allowing Hagia Sophia to Be Used as a Mosque Again |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/world/europe/hagia-sophia-erdogan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711000651/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/world/europe/hagia-sophia-erdogan.html |archive-date=2020-07-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref>

[[File:AgiaSofia0323.jpeg|thumb|Hagia Sophia in 2023]]
Days before the final decision on the conversion was made, Ecumenical Patriarch [[Bartholomew I of Constantinople|Bartholomew&nbsp;I of Constantinople]] stated in a sermon that "the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque would disappoint millions of Christians around the world".<ref>{{cite web |title=Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew about Hagia Sophia |url=https://www.ecupatria.org/2020/06/30/ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-about-hagia-sophia/ |website=www.ecupatria.org/ |date=30 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Orthodox Patriarch says turning Istanbul's Hagia Sophia into mosque would be divisive |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-museum-preview/orthodox-patriarch-says-turning-istanbuls-hagia-sophia-into-mosque-would-be-divisive-idUSKBN24130F |work=[[Reuters]] |date=30 June 2020}}</ref> The proposed conversion was decried by other Orthodox Christian leaders, the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]'s [[Patriarch Kirill of Moscow]] stating that "a threat to Hagia Sophia [wa]s a threat to all of Christian civilization".<ref>{{cite web |title=Заявление Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла в связи с ситуацией относительно Святой Софии |url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5659210.html |website=www.patriarchia.ru |date=6 July 2020 |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Russian church leader says calls to turn Hagia Sophia into mosque threaten Christianity |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-museum-russia/russian-church-leader-says-calls-to-turn-hagia-sophia-into-mosque-threaten-christianity-idUSKBN2471C7 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=6 July 2020}}</ref>

Following the Turkish government's decision, UNESCO announced it "deeply regret[ted]" the conversion "made without prior discussion", and asked Turkey to "open a dialogue without delay", stating that the lack of negotiation was "regrettable".<ref name="UNESCO-2020">{{cite web |date=2020-07-10 |title=UNESCO statement on Hagia Sophia, Istanbul |url=https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-statement-hagia-sophia-istanbul |access-date=2020-07-11 |website=UNESCO |language=en}}</ref><ref name="BBC News-2020" /> UNESCO further announced that the "state of conservation" of Hagia Sophia would be "examined" at the next session of the World Heritage Committee, urging Turkey "to initiate dialogue without delay, in order to prevent any detrimental effect on the universal value of this exceptional heritage".<ref name="UNESCO-2020" /> [[Ernesto Ottone]], UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture said "It is important to avoid any implementing measure, without prior discussion with UNESCO, that would affect physical access to the site, the structure of the buildings, the site's moveable property, or the site's management".<ref name="UNESCO-2020" />

The World Council of Churches condemned the decision to convert the building into a mosque, saying that would "inevitably create uncertainties, suspicions and mistrust".<ref name="WCCletter">{{cite news |title=WCC letter to President Erdogan to keep Hagia Sophia as the shared heritage of humanity |website=www.oikoumene.org |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-urges-in-open-letter-to-president-erdogan-to-keep-hagia-sophia-as-the-shared-heritage-of-humanity/ |date=11 July 2020 |access-date=2020-07-25 |archive-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724034358/https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-urges-in-open-letter-to-president-erdogan-to-keep-hagia-sophia-as-the-shared-heritage-of-humanity/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news |date=11 July 2020 |title=Church body wants Hagia Sophia decision reversed |language=en |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53375739 |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="AP News-2020">{{cite news |date=2020-07-11 |title=World Council of Churches "dismayed" at Hagia Sophia shift |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/8b9c752fa53b5c5ce21d8a29d87b276e |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> At the recitation of the Sunday [[Angelus]] prayer at [[St Peter's Square]] on 12 July Pope Francis said, "My thoughts go to Istanbul. I think of Santa Sophia and I am very pained" ({{Langx|it|Penso a Santa Sofia, a Istanbul, e sono molto addolorato}}).{{efn|Also translated: "I think of Hagia Sophia and I am very saddened."<ref name="Vaticannews">{{cite news |title=Pope Francis: 'I think of Hagia Sophia, and I am very saddened' |website=www.vaticannews.va |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/angelus-pope-remembers-seafarers.html |date=12 July 2020 |access-date=2020-07-25}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Papa: "Penso a Santa Sofia e sono molto addolorato" |url=https://www.lapresse.it/vaticano/papa_penso_a_santa_sofia_e_sono_molto_addolorato_-2780771/video/2020-07-12/ |access-date=2020-07-26 |agency=[[LaPresse]] |language=it}}</ref><ref name="BBC2020">{{cite news |date=12 July 2020 |title=Pope 'pained' by Hagia Sophia mosque decision |language=en |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53371341 |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Caliph Abdülmecid on his rout to be enthroned.jpg|thumb|[[Abdulmejid II]] ({{Reign|1922|1924}}), the last [[Ottoman caliph]], passing Hagia Sophia on the way to his coronation.]]
[[Josep Borrell]], the [[European Union]]'s [[High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy|High Representative for Foreign Affairs]] and [[Vice-President of the European Commission]], released a statement calling the decisions by the Council of State and Erdoğan "regrettable" and pointing out that "as a founding member of the [[Alliance of Civilizations|Alliance of Civilisations]], Turkey has committed to the promotion of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue and to fostering of tolerance and co-existence."<ref>{{cite web |title=Turkey: Statement by the High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell on the decision regarding Hagia Sophia |url=https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/82728/turkey-statement-high-representativevice-president-josep-borrell-decision-regarding-hagia_en |access-date=2020-07-17 |website=EEAS – European External Action Service – European Commission |language=en}}</ref> According to Borrell, the [[European Union Member States|European Union member states]]' twenty-seven foreign ministers "condemned the Turkish decision to convert such an emblematic monument as the Hagia Sophia" at meeting on 13 July, saying it "will inevitably fuel the mistrust, promote renewed division between religious communities and undermine our efforts at dialog and cooperation" and that "there was a broad support to call on the Turkish authorities to urgently reconsider and reverse this decision".<ref>{{cite news |last=Stearns |first=Jonathan |date=2020-07-13 |title=EU Urges Turkey to 'Reverse' Hagia Sophia Reconversion Plan |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-13/eu-urges-turkey-to-reverse-hagia-sophia-reconversion-plan |access-date=2020-07-17 |website=Bloomberg}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Casert |first1=Raf |last2=Fraser |first2=Suzan |last3=Gatopoulos |first3=Derek |date=2020-07-13 |title=EU, Turkey clash over Hagia Sophia, Mediterranean drilling |url=https://apnews.com/3017394f54b5ecc13fc13384a7cfb110 |access-date=2020-07-17 |website=AP NEWS}}</ref>

[[Greece]] denounced the conversion and considered it a breach of the UNESCO World Heritage titling.<ref name="nytime revert mosque" /> Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni called it an "open provocation to the civilised world" which "absolutely confirms that there is no independent justice" in Erdoğan's Turkey, and that his [[Turkish nationalism]] "takes his country back six centuries".<ref name="AJ2020">{{cite news |date=10 July 2020 |title=World reacts to Turkey reconverting Hagia Sophia into a mosque |language=en |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/world-reacts-turkey-reconverting-hagia-sophia-mosque-200710135637861.html |access-date=10 July 2020}}</ref> Greece and [[Cyprus]] called for EU sanctions on Turkey.<ref>{{cite news |date=13 July 2020 |title=Greece pushes for sanctions against Turkey, but EU insists on dialogue |work=EURACTIV |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/greece-pushes-for-sanctions-against-turkey-but-eu-insists-on-dialogue/ |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> [[Morgan Ortagus]], the [[spokesperson for the United States Department of State]], noted: "We are disappointed by the decision by the government of Turkey to change the status of the Hagia Sophia."<ref name="AJ2020" /> [[Jean-Yves Le Drian]], [[Foreign minister of France|foreign minister]] of [[France]], said his country "deplores" the move, saying "these decisions cast doubt on one of the most symbolic acts of modern and secular Turkey".<ref name="AP News-2020" />

Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian [[Federation Council (Russia)|Federation Council]], said that it "will not do anything for the Muslim world. It does not bring nations together, but on the contrary brings them into collision" and calling the move a "mistake".<ref name="AJ2020" /> The former [[Deputy Prime Minister of Italy|deputy prime minister of Italy]], [[Matteo Salvini]], held a demonstration in protest outside the Turkish consulate in [[Milan]], calling for all plans for [[accession of Turkey to the European Union]] to be terminated "once and for all".<ref name="Kucukgocmen-2020">{{Cite news |last1=Kucukgocmen |first1=Ali |last2=Butler |first2=Daren |date=2020-07-13 |title=Turkey will cover Hagia Sophia mosaics during prayers – ruling party spokesman |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-museum-idUSKCN24E12Y |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> In [[East Jerusalem]], a protest was held outside the Turkish consulate on 13 July, with the burning of a [[Turkish flag]] and the display of the [[Greek flag]] and [[flag of the Greek Orthodox Church]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Firat |first=Esat |date=2020-07-13 |title=Israeli group burns Turkish flag over Hagia Sophia move |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-group-burns-turkish-flag-over-hagia-sophia-move/1909334 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref>

[[Ersin Tatar]], prime minister of the Turkish Republic of [[Northern Cyprus]], which is [[List of states with limited recognition|recognized only by Turkey]], welcomed the decision, calling it "sound" and "pleasing".<ref name="Aytekin-2020">{{Cite news |last=Aytekin |first=Emre |date=2020-07-11 |title=Northern Cyprus content with Hagia Sophia decision |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/northern-cyprus-content-with-hagia-sophia-decision/1906707 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref><ref name="AJ2020" /> Through a spokesman the [[Foreign Ministry of Iran|Foreign Ministry]] of [[Iran]] welcomed the change, saying the decision was an "issue that should be considered as part of Turkey's national sovereignty" and "Turkey's internal affair".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kursun |first1=Muhammet |last2=Salari |first2=Elaheh |date=2020-07-13 |title=Iran praises Turkey's reopening of Hagia Sophia mosque |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/-iran-praises-turkey-s-reopening-of-hagia-sophia-mosque/1909036 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> [[Sergei Vershinin]], deputy foreign minister of Russia, said that the matter was of one of "internal affairs, in which, of course, neither we nor others should interfere."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Teslova |first=Elena |date=2020-07-13 |title=Russia: Hagia Sophia status 'Turkey's internal affair' |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/russia-hagia-sophia-status-turkeys-internal-affair/1908520}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Why did Moscow call Ankara's Hagia Sophia decision "Turkey's internal affair"? |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/why-did-moscow-call-ankaras-hagia-sophia-decision-turkeys-internal-affair |access-date=2021-04-14 |website=Middle East Institute |language=en}}</ref> The [[Arab Maghreb Union]] was supportive.<ref name="Yusuf-2020">{{Cite news |last1=Yusuf |first1=Ahmed |last2=Asmar |first2=Ahmed |date=2020-07-13 |title=Arabs hail Turkey's reopening of Hagia Sophia mosque |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/arabs-hail-turkey-s-reopening-of-hagia-sophia-mosque/1908596 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref>

Ekrema Sabri, imam of the [[Qibli Mosque|al-Aqsa Mosque]], and [[Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili]], grand mufti of [[Oman]], both congratulated Turkey on the move.<ref name="Yusuf-2020" /> The [[Muslim Brotherhood]] was also in favour of the news.<ref name="Yusuf-2020" /> A spokesman for the Palestinian [[Islamism|Islamist]] movement [[Hamas]] called the verdict "a proud moment for all Muslims".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yildiz |first=Hamdi |date=2020-07-11 |title=Hamas movement supports Hagia Sophia decision |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/hamas-movement-supports-hagia-sophia-decision/1906747 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> Pakistani politician [[Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi]] of the [[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)]] welcomed the ruling, claiming it was "not only in accordance with the wishes of the people of Turkey but the entire Muslim world".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Latif |first=Aamir |date=2020-07-11 |title=Pakistani lawmaker hails Turkey's Hagia Sophia move |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/pakistani-lawmaker-hails-turkeys-hagia-sophia-move/1907420 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> The [[Muslim Judicial Council]] group in [[South Africa]] praised the move, calling it "a historic turning point".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kavak |first=Gokhan |date=2020-07-13 |title=South African Muslims hail Turkey's Hagia Sophia move |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/south-african-muslims-hail-turkeys-hagia-sophia-move/1909390 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> In [[Nouakchott]], capital of [[Mauritania]], there were prayers and celebrations topped by the sacrifice of a [[Dromedary|camel]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Erdem |first=Omer |date=2020-07-11 |title=Mauritania rejoices opening of Hagia Sophia as mosque |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/mauritania-rejoices-opening-of-hagia-sophia-as-mosque/1906729 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> On the other hand, [[Shawki Allam]], grand mufti of [[Egypt]], ruled that conversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque is "impermissible".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/7/18/turkeys-hagia-sophia-mosque-conversion-forbidden-egypt-mufti |title=Mufti of Egypt says Turkey's Hagia Sophia mosque conversion is 'forbidden' |work=alaraby |date=18 July 2020}}</ref>

When Erdoğan announced that the first Muslim prayers would be held inside the building on 24 July, he added that "like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims." Presidential spokesman [[İbrahim Kalın]] said that the icons and mosaics of the building would be preserved, and that "in regards to the arguments of secularism, religious tolerance and coexistence, there are more than four hundred churches and synagogues open in Turkey today."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kara Aydin |first=Havva |date=2020-07-11 |title=Turkish spokesman: Hagia Sophia icons to be preserved |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkish-spokesman-hagia-sophia-icons-to-be-preserved/1907450 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> The Turkish foreign minister, [[Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu]], told [[TRT Haber]] on 13 July that the government was surprised at the reaction of UNESCO, saying that "We have to protect our ancestors' heritage. The function can be this way or that way – it does not matter".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kucukgocmen |first1=Ali |last2=Butler |first2=Daren |date=2020-07-13 |title=Turkey will inform UNESCO about Hagia Sophia moves – minister |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/turkey-museum-idUKI7N2DM00Z |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717210704/https://uk.reuters.com/article/turkey-museum-idUKI7N2DM00Z |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2020 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref>

On 14 July the prime minister of Greece, [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]], said his government was "considering its response at all levels" to what he called Turkey's "unnecessary, petty initiative", and that "with this backward action, Turkey is opting to sever links with [[western world]] and its values".<ref name="Kambas-2020">{{Cite news |last=Kambas |first=Michele |date=2020-07-14 |title=Greece says Turkey is being 'petty' over Hagia Sophia |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-museum-greece-eu-idUSKCN24F1JZ |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref> In relation to both Hagia Sophia and the [[Cyprus–Turkey maritime zones dispute]], Mitsotakis called for European sanctions against Turkey, referring to it as "a regional troublemaker, and which is evolving into a threat to the stability of the whole south-east Mediterranean region".<ref name="Kambas-2020" /> [[Dora Bakoyannis]], Greek former foreign minister, said Turkey's actions had "crossed the Rubicon", distancing itself from the West.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Koutantou |first1=Angeliki |last2=Maltezou |first2=Renee |last3=Kambas |first3=Michele |date=2020-07-10 |title=Greece condemns Turkey's decision to convert Hagia Sophia into mosque |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-museum-verdict-greece-idUKKBN24B2U5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717200401/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-museum-verdict-greece-idUKKBN24B2U5 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2020 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref>

Armenia's Foreign Ministry expressed "deep concern" about the move, adding that it brought to a close Hagia Sophia's symbolism of "cooperation and unity of humankind instead of clash of civilizations."<ref>{{cite web |title=Comment by the Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia on changing the status of Hagia Sophia by the decision of the Turkish authorities |url=https://www.mfa.am/en/interviews-articles-and-comments/2020/07/11/st_soph/10357 |website=mfa.am |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724153511/https://www.mfa.am/en/interviews-articles-and-comments/2020/07/11/st_soph/10357 |archive-date=24 July 2021 |date=11 July 2020}}</ref> Catholicos [[Karekin II]], the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, said the move "violat[ed] the rights of national religious minorities in Turkey."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Reflections of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians; on the Decision of the Turkish Authorities to turn the Hagia Sophia Cathedral-Museum into a Mosque |url=https://www.armenianchurch.org/index.jsp?sid=3&nid=4377&y=2020&m=6&d=14 |website=armenianchurch.org |publisher=[[Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225194450/https://www.armenianchurch.org/index.jsp?sid=3&nid=4377&y=2020&m=6&d=14 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |date=14 July 2020}}</ref> [[Sahak II Mashalian]], the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, perceived as loyal to the Turkish government, endorsed the decision to convert the museum into a mosque. He said, "I believe that believers' praying suits better the spirit of the temple instead of curious tourists running around to take pictures."<ref>{{cite news |title=Armenian Patriarch backs opening Hagia Sophia to worship |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenian-patriarch-backs-opening-hagia-sophia-to-worship-155651 |work=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |date=14 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724152155/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenian-patriarch-backs-opening-hagia-sophia-to-worship-155651 |archive-date=24 July 2021}}</ref>

In July 2021, UNESCO asked for an updated report on the state of conservation and expressed "grave concern". There were also some concerns about the future of its World Heritage status.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hagia Sophia stripped of museum status, paving its return to a mosque |publisher=National Geographic |author=Romey, Kristin |date=13 Jul 2020 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/07/hagia-sophia-stripped-of-museum-status-paving-its-return-to-a}}</ref> Turkey responded that the changes had "no negative impact" on UNESCO standards and the criticism is "biased and political".<ref>{{cite web |title=Turkey hits back at UNESCO concern over Hagia Sophia |url=https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-hits-back-at-unesco-concern-over-hagia-sophia/a-58626501 |website=dw.com |date=24 July 2021}}</ref>

==Architecture==
[[File:Hagia-Sophia-Grundriss.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2<!--size for detailed plan-->|a) Plan of the gallery (upper half)<br />b) Plan of the ground floor (lower half)]]

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of [[Byzantine architecture]].<ref name="BAT" /> Its interior is decorated with [[mosaic]]s, [[marble]] pillars, and coverings of great artistic value. Justinian had overseen the completion of the greatest cathedral ever built up to that time, and it was to remain the largest cathedral for 1,000 years until the completion of the [[Seville Cathedral|cathedral in Seville]] in Spain.<ref>{{cite book |title=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices |first1=J. Gordon |last1=Melton |first2=Martin |last2=Baumann |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2010 |page=513}}</ref>

The Hagia Sophia uses masonry construction. The structure has brick and [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] joints that are 1.5 times the width of the bricks. The mortar joints are composed of a combination of sand and minute ceramic pieces distributed evenly throughout the mortar joints. This combination of sand and [[potsherds]] was often used in [[Roman concrete]], a predecessor to modern [[concrete]]. A considerable amount of iron was used as well, in the form of cramps and ties.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Syrmakezis |first1=K. |last2=Mavrouli |first2=O. |last3=Papaevaggeliou |first3=P. |last4=Aggelakopolulou |first4=E. |last5=Bakolas |first5=A. |last6=Moropoulou |first6=A. |date=November 2013 |title=Finite element analysis and fragility curves for the evaluation of restoration mortars behavior regarding the earthquake protection of historic structures |journal=Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering |volume=54 |pages=61–65 |doi=10.1016/j.soildyn.2013.07.002 |bibcode=2013SDEE...54...61S |issn=0267-7261}}</ref>

Justinian's basilica was at once the culminating architectural achievement of [[Late Antiquity|late antiquity]] and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Its influence, both architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring in the [[Eastern Christianity]], [[Western Christianity]], and [[Islam]] alike.<ref name="Sqour-2016">{{Cite conference |last=Sqour |first=Saqer |date=5–6 May 2016 |title=Influence of Hagia Sophia on the Construction of Dome in Mosque Architecture |url=https://www.openacessjournal.com/article-file/20201028591156621912influ.pdf |conference=8th International Conference on Latest Trends in Engineering and Technology (ICLTET'2016) |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.openacessjournal.com/article-file/20201028591156621912influ.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ousterhout |first=Robert |date=1996-01-01 |title=An Apologia for Byzantine Architecture |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/767224 |journal=Gesta |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=21–33 |doi=10.2307/767224 |jstor=767224 |s2cid=193354724 |issn=0016-920X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:Hagia Sophia Segment.svg|thumb|left|Cutaway isometric projection]]
The vast interior has a complex structure. The [[nave]] is covered by a central dome which at its maximum is {{cvt|55.6|m|ftin||sp=us}} from floor level and rests on an arcade of 40 arched windows. Repairs to its structure have left the dome somewhat elliptical, with the diameter varying between {{cvt|31.24|and|30.86|m|ftin|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Plachý |first1=Jan |last2=Musílek |first2=Josef |last3=Podolka |first3=Luboš |last4=Karková |first4=Monika |title=Disorders of the Building and its Remediation – Hagia Sophia, Turkey the Most the Byzantine Building |journal=Procedia Engineering |date=2016 |volume=161 |pages=2259–2264 |doi=10.1016/j.proeng.2016.08.825 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

At the western entrance and eastern liturgical side, there are arched openings extended by half domes of identical diameter to the central dome, carried on smaller [[semi-dome]]d [[exedrae]], a hierarchy of dome-headed elements built up to create a vast oblong interior crowned by the central dome, with a clear span of {{cvt|76.2|m|ft|sp=us}}.<ref name=BAT />[[File:Hagia sophia mathematische Konstruktion.jpg|thumb|The geometric conception is based on mathematical formulas of Heron of Alexandria. It avoids use of irrational numbers for the construction]]The theories of [[Hero of Alexandria]], a [[Hellenistic mathematics|Hellenistic mathematician]] of the 1st century AD, may have been utilized to address the challenges presented by building such an expansive dome over so large a space.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Helge Svenshon 2010: Das Bauwerk als "Aistheton Soma" – Eine Neuinterpretation der Hagia Sophia im Spiegel antiker Vermessungslehre und angewandter Mathematik. In: Falko Daim · Jörg Drauschke (Hrsg.) Byzanz – das Römerreich im Mittelalter Teil 2, 1 Schauplätze, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Forschungsinstitut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte |url=http://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/4483/1/Byzanz_Sonderdruck_Svenshon.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/4483/1/Byzanz_Sonderdruck_Svenshon.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=15 July 2020}}</ref> Svenshon and Stiffel proposed that the architects used Hero's proposed values for constructing vaults. The square measurements were calculated using the side-and-diagonal number progression, which results in squares defined by the numbers 12 and 17, wherein 12 defines the side of the square and 17 its diagonal, which have been used as standard values as early as in cuneiform Babylonian texts.<ref name="Svenshon">Svenshon, Helge Olaf: Heron of Alexandria and the Dome of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. In: Proceedings of the Third Congress on Construction History. Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, 20th – 24th May 2009. NEUNPLUS1, Berlin, S. 1387–1394. {{ISBN|978-3-936033-31-1}}</ref>

Each of the four sides of the great square Hagia Sophia is approximately 31&nbsp;m long,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schibille |first=Nadine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-oGDAAAQBAJ |title=Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience |date=2016-04-22 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-12415-3 |language=en}}</ref> and it was previously thought that this was the equivalent of 100 [[Byzantine foot|Byzantine feet]].<ref name="Svenshon" /> Svenshon suggested that the size of the side of the central square of Hagia Sophia is not 100 Byzantine feet but instead 99 feet. This measurement is not only rational, but it is also embedded in the system of the side-and-diagonal number progression (70/99) and therefore a usable value by the applied mathematics of antiquity. It gives a diagonal of 140 which is manageable for constructing a huge dome.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stiftung |first=Gerda Henkel |title=Die Hagia Sophia Justinians – Mathematischer Raum als Bühne des Kaisers |url=https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/die_hagia_sophia_justinians_mathematischer_raum_als_buehne_des_kaisers?nav_id=3486 |website=L.I.S.A. WISSENSCHAFTSPORTAL GERDA HENKEL STIFTUNG}}</ref>

===Floor===
[[File:Hagia Sophia - Omphalion - Ayasofya - Αγία Σοφία - 47856233651.jpg|thumb|The [[Omphalion]], a marble section of the floor in Hagia Sophia, is the place where Byzantine emperors have been crowned. The stone floor of the Hagia Sophia dates from the 6th century.]]

The stone floor of Hagia Sophia dates from the 6th century. After the first collapse of the vault, the broken dome was left ''in situ'' on the original Justinianic floor and a new floor was laid above the rubble when the dome was rebuilt in 558.<ref name="Dark-2019b">{{Cite book |last1=Dark |first1=Ken R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TU7lswEACAAJ |title=Hagia Sophia in Context: An Archaeological Re-examination of the Cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople |last2=Kostenec |first2=Jan |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78925-030-5 |location=Oxford |pages=69–72 |language=en}}</ref> From the installation of this second Justinianic floor, the floor became part of the [[liturgy]], with significant locations and spaces demarcated in various ways using different-coloured stones and marbles.<ref name="Dark-2019b" />

The floor is predominantly made up of [[Proconnesian marble]], quarried on [[Proconnesus]] (Marmara Island) in the [[Propontis]] (Sea of Marmara). This was the main white marble used in the monuments of Constantinople. Other parts of the floor, like the Thessalian [[verd antique]] "marble", were quarried in [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessaly]] in [[Roman Greece]]. The Thessalian verd antique bands across the nave floor were often likened to rivers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Majeska |first=George P. |date=1978 |title=Notes on the Archeology of St. Sophia at Constantinople: The Green Marble Bands on the Floor |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=32 |pages=299–308 |doi=10.2307/1291426 |jstor=1291426 |issn=0070-7546}}</ref>

The floor was praised by numerous authors and repeatedly compared to a sea.<ref name="Barry-2007" /> The Justinianic poet [[Paul the Silentiary]] likened the ambo and the solea connecting it to the sanctuary with an island in a sea, with the sanctuary itself a harbour.<ref name="Barry-2007" /> The 9th-century ''Narratio'' writes of it as "like the sea or the flowing waters of a river".<ref name="Barry-2007" /> [[Michael the Deacon]] in the 12th century also described the floor as a sea in which the ambo and other liturgical furniture stood as islands.<ref name="Barry-2007" /> 

During the 15th-century conquest of Constantinople, the Ottoman caliph Mehmed is said to have ascended to the dome and the galleries in order to admire the floor, which according to [[Tursun Beg]] resembled "a sea in a storm" or a "petrified sea".<ref name="Barry-2007" /> Other Ottoman-era authors also praised the floor; [[Tâcîzâde Cafer Çelebi]] compared it to waves of marble.<ref name="Barry-2007" /> The floor was hidden beneath a carpet on 22 July 2020.<ref name="BBC News-2020b" />

===Narthex and portals===
The Imperial Gate, or Imperial Door, was the main entrance between the exo- and esonarthex, and it was originally exclusively used by the emperor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Teteriatnikov |first=Natalia |title=Devotional Crosses in the Columns and Walls of Hagia Sophia |date=1998 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44172340 |journal=Byzantion |volume=68 |issue=2 |pages=419–445 |jstor=44172340 |issn=0378-2506}}</ref><ref name="Opstall-2018">{{Cite book |last=Opstall |first=Emilie M. van |date=2018-06-28 |chapter=On the Threshold: Paul the Silentiary's Ekphrasis of Hagia Sophia |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004369009/BP000010.xml |title=Sacred Thresholds: The Door to the Sanctuary in Late Antiquity |language=en |pages=31–65 |doi=10.1163/9789004369009_003 |isbn=9789004369009|s2cid=201516637|oclc=1037899166}}</ref> A long ramp from the northern part of the outer narthex leads up to the upper gallery.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-10 |title=Hagia Sophia Imperial Gate {{!}} Visit & Explore The Iconic Landmark |url=https://hagiasophiatickets.com/imperial-gate |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=Hagia Sophia Tickets |language=en}}</ref>[[File:Istanbul.Hagia Sophia055.jpg|thumb|right|West side of the upper gallery]]

===Upper gallery===
[[File:2017-09-01 Turkey, Istanbul DSC 3556 DxO.jpg|upright|thumb|The slope leading to the upper gallery in the Hagia Sophia]]

The upper gallery, or [[matroneum]], is horseshoe-shaped; it encloses the nave on three sides and is interrupted by the apse. Several mosaics are preserved in the upper gallery, an area traditionally reserved for the Empress and her court. The best-preserved mosaics are located in the southern part of the gallery.

The northern first floor gallery contains [[Runic inscriptions in Hagia Sophia|runic graffiti]] believed to have been left by members of the [[Varangian Guard]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mel'nikova |first=Elena A. |title=A New Runic Inscription from Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul |date=2016 |publisher=Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow |oclc=1233690226}}</ref> Structural damage caused by natural disasters is visible on the Hagia Sophia's exterior surface. To ensure that the Hagia Sophia did not sustain any damage on the interior of the building, studies have been conducted using ground penetrating radar within the gallery of the Hagia Sophia. With the use of [[ground-penetrating radar]] (GPR), teams discovered weak zones within the Hagia Sophia's gallery and also concluded that the curvature of the vault dome has been shifted out of proportion, compared to its original angular orientation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yalçıner |first1=Cahit Çağlar |last2=Kurban |first2=Yunus Can |last3=Altunel |first3=Erhan |date=May 2017 |title=Research using GPR into the cause of cracks and depressions in the floor of the gallery of Hagia Sophia Museum |journal=Construction and Building Materials |volume=139 |pages=458–66 |doi=10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.02.036 |issn=0950-0618}}</ref>

===Dome===
[[File:Istanbul asv2021-10 img22 Hagia Sophia.jpg|thumb|The dome interior]]

The [[dome]] of Hagia Sophia has spurred particular interest for many art historians, architects, and engineers because of the innovative way the original architects envisioned it. The dome is carried on four spherical triangular [[pendentive]]s, making the Hagia Sophia one of the first large-scale uses of this element. The pendentives are the corners of the square base of the dome, and they curve upwards into the dome to support it, thus restraining the lateral forces of the dome and allowing its weight to flow downwards.<ref>Kleiner and Mamiya. ''Gardner's Art Through the Ages'', p. 331.</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/449698/pendentive |title=pendentive (architecture) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> The main dome of the Hagia Sophia was the largest pendentive dome in the world until the completion of [[St Peter's Basilica]], and it has a much lower height than any other dome of such a large diameter.

The great dome at the Hagia Sophia is {{convert|32.6|m}} in diameter and is only {{convert|0.61|m}} thick. The main building materials for the original Hagia Sophia were brick and mortar. Brick aggregate was used to make roofs easier to construct. Due to the material's plasticity, it was chosen over cut stone due to the fact that aggregate can be used over a longer distance.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=MacDonald |first=William |date=1957 |title=Design and Technology in Hagia Sophia |journal=Perspecta |volume=4 |pages=20–27 |doi=10.2307/1566853 |issn=0079-0958 |jstor=1566853}}</ref> According to Rowland Mainstone, "it is unlikely that the vaulting-shell is anywhere more than one normal brick in thickness".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSw7FSSrd8AC |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure, and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church |date=1997 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8 |pages=81 |language=en}}</ref>

The weight of the dome remained a problem for most of the building's existence. The original cupola collapsed entirely after the earthquake of 558; in 563 a new dome was built by [[Isidore the Younger]]. Unlike the original, this included 40 ribs and was raised 6.1 meters (20 feet), in order to lower the lateral forces on the church walls. A larger section of the second dome collapsed as well, over two episodes, so that as of 2021, only two sections of the present dome, the north and south sides, are from the 562 reconstructions. Of the whole dome's 40 ribs, the surviving north section contains eight ribs, while the south section includes six ribs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |title=Hagia Sophia |year=2001 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8 |pages=90–93}}</ref>

Although this design stabilizes the dome and the surrounding walls and arches, the actual construction of the walls of Hagia Sophia weakened the overall structure. The [[bricklayer]]s used more [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] than brick, which is more effective if the mortar was allowed to settle, as the building would have been more flexible; however, the builders did not allow the mortar to cure before they began the next layer. When the dome was erected, its weight caused the walls to lean outward because of the wet mortar underneath.<ref name="Mainstone-1988"/>

When Isidore the Younger rebuilt the fallen cupola, he had first to build up the interior of the walls to make them vertical again. The architect raised the height of the rebuilt dome by approximately {{cvt|6|metres|feet}} so that the lateral forces would not be as strong and its weight would be transmitted more effectively down into the walls. He shaped the new cupola like a [[scallop]]ed shell or the inside of an umbrella, with [[Ogival arch|ribs]] that extend from the top down to the base. These ribs allow the weight of the dome to flow between the windows, down the pendentives, and ultimately to the foundation.<ref name="Mainstone-1988">{{Cite book |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, structure, and liturgy of Justinian's great church |last=Mainstone |first=R.J. (Rowland J.) |date=1988 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-34098-1 |location=New York |oclc=15378795}}</ref>

Hagia Sophia is famous for the light that reflects everywhere in the interior of the nave, giving the dome the appearance of hovering. This effect was achieved by inserting forty windows around the base of the original structure, which also reduced its weight.<ref name="Mainstone-1988" />

===Buttresses===
Numerous [[buttress]]es have been added throughout the centuries. The [[flying buttress]]es to the west of the building, although thought to have been constructed by the Crusaders upon their visit to Constantinople, were actually built during the Byzantine era. This shows that the Romans had prior knowledge of flying buttresses, which can also be seen at in Greece, at the [[Arch of Galerius and Rotunda|Rotunda of Galerius]] in [[Thessaloniki]], at the monastery of [[Hosios Loukas]] in [[Boeotia]], and in Italy at the octagonal basilica of [[Basilica of San Vitale|San Vitale]] in [[Ravenna]].<ref name="Mainstone-1988" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Machabee |first=Stephanie |date=2022-04-01 |title=Religion and Contested Cultural Heritage: The Rotunda and Hagia Sophia as Church, Mosque, and Museum |url=https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/630/ |journal=Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations}}</ref> Other buttresses were constructed during the Ottoman times under the guidance of the architect [[Mimar Sinan|Sinan]]. A total of 24 buttresses were added.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/ext-buttresses |title=Buttresses {{!}} Hagia Sophia Museum |website=ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr |publisher=Directorate of Hagia Sophia Museum |access-date=18 April 2017 |archive-date=28 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828112435/https://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/ext-buttresses |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Minarets===
[[File:Ayasofya Manzarası.jpg|thumb|Minarets of Hagia Sophia]]

The [[minaret]]s were an Ottoman addition and not part of the original church's Byzantine design. Mehmed had built a wooden minaret over one of the half domes soon after Hagia Sophia's conversion from a cathedral to a mosque. This minaret does not exist today. One of the minarets (at southeast) was built from red brick and can be dated back from the reign of Mehmed or his successor [[Bayezid II|Beyazıd II]]. The other three were built from white limestone and sandstone, of which the slender northeast column was erected by Bayezid II and the two identical, larger minarets to the west were erected by [[Selim II|Selim&nbsp;II]] and designed by the famous Ottoman architect [[Mimar Sinan]]. Both are {{cvt|60|metres|feet}} in height, and their thick and massive patterns complete Hagia Sophia's main structure. Many ornaments and details were added to these minarets on repairs during the 15th, 16th, and 19th centuries, which reflect each period's characteristics and ideals.<ref>{{cite web |author=Hagia Sophia |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=7 |title=Mosque |access-date=26 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128085515/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=7 |archive-date=28 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/ext-minarets |title=Minarets &#124; Hagia Sophia Museum |access-date=20 November 2017 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330205331/https://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/ext-minarets |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Notable elements and decorations==
Originally, under Justinian's reign, the interior decorations consisted of abstract designs on marble slabs on the walls and floors as well as mosaics on the curving vaults. Of these mosaics, the two [[archangel]]s [[Gabriel]] and [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] are still visible in the [[spandrel]]s (corners) of the [[bema]]. There were already a few figurative decorations, as attested by the late 6th-century ''[[ekphrasis]]'' of [[Paul the Silentiary]], the ''Description of Hagia Sophia''. The spandrels of the gallery are faced in inlaid thin slabs (''[[opus sectile]]''), showing patterns and figures of flowers and birds in precisely cut pieces of white marble set against a background of black marble. In later stages, figurative mosaics were added, which were destroyed during the [[Byzantine Iconoclasm|iconoclastic controversy]] (726–843). Present mosaics are from the post-iconoclastic period.

Apart from the mosaics, many figurative decorations were added during the second half of the 9th century: an image of Christ in the central dome; Eastern Orthodox saints, prophets and [[Church Fathers]] in the [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympana]] below; historical figures connected with this church, such as [[Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople|Patriarch Ignatius]]; and some scenes from the [[Gospels]] in the galleries. [[Basil II|Basil&nbsp;II]] let artists paint a giant six-winged [[seraph]] on each of the four pendentives.<ref name="ma287" /> The Ottomans covered their faces with golden stars,<ref name="ma287" /> but in 2009, one of them was restored to its original state.<ref name="ro157">Ronchey (2010), p. 157</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
File: Empress loge Hagia Sophia 2007 002.jpg|The Loge of the Empress. The columns are made of green Thessalian stone.
File:Empress loge Hagia Sophia 2007 006.jpg|Verd antique columns and disc in the empress's loggia
File: Marble jar Hagia Sophia 2007 001.jpg|Lustration urn brought from [[Pergamon]] by [[Murad III]]. Carved from a single block of marble in the 2nd century BC.
File: Marble door Hagia Sophia 2007 003.jpg|Marble Door
File: Istanbul.Hagia Sophia052.jpg|The wishing column
</gallery>

===Loggia of the Empress===
The [[loggia]] of the empress is located in the centre of the gallery of the Hagia Sophia, above the Imperial Gate and directly opposite the apse. From this [[matroneum]] (women's gallery), the [[Byzantine Empress|empress]] and the court-ladies would watch the proceedings down below. A green stone disc of [[verd antique]] marks the spot where the [[throne]] of the empress stood.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html |title=Hagia Sophia: Facts, History & Architecture |work=Live Science |access-date=12 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slvfEBAGZFEC&q=loge+of+the+empress+hagia+sophia&pg=PA37 |title=Istanbul City Guide (English) |publisher=ASBOOK |language=en |year=2009}}</ref>

===Lustration urns===
Two huge marble [[lustratio]]n (ritual purification) [[urn]]s were brought from [[Pergamon]] during the reign of Sultan [[Murad III]]. They are from the [[Hellenistic period]] and carved from single blocks of marble.<ref name="mw91" />

===Marble Door===
The Marble Door inside the Hagia Sophia is located in the southern upper enclosure or gallery. It was used by the participants in [[synod]]s, who entered and left the meeting chamber through this door. It is said{{By whom|date=December 2017}} that each side is symbolic and that one side represents heaven while the other represents hell. Its panels are covered in fruits and fish motifs. The door opens into a space that was used as a venue for solemn meetings and important resolutions of patriarchate officials.<ref>"The Marble Door." The Marble Door |Hagia Sophia Museum, ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/door-marble-door.</ref>

===Nice Door===
The Nice Door is the oldest architectural element found in the Hagia Sophia dating back to the 2nd century BC. The decorations are of reliefs of geometric shapes as well as plants that are believed to have come from a pagan temple in [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]] in [[Cilicia (Roman province)|Cilicia]], part of the [[Cibyrrhaeot Theme]] in modern-day [[Mersin Province]] in south-eastern Turkey. It was incorporated into the building by [[Emperor Theophilos]] in 838 where it is placed in the south exit in the inner narthex.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/door-nice-door |title="The Nice Door." The nice door, Hagia Sophia Museum |access-date=19 November 2017 |archive-date=29 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229231848/http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/door-nice-door |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Imperial Gate===

The Imperial Gate is the door that was used solely by the Emperor and his personal bodyguard and retinue.<ref name="Opstall-2018" /> At {{convert|7|m}} it is the largest door in the Hagia Sophia and has been dated to the 6th century. Byzantine sources say it was made with wood from [[Noah's Ark]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/door-emperor-door |title="The Emperor Door." The Emperor Door, Hagia Sophia Museum |access-date=15 July 2020 |archive-date=30 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230004659/http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/door-emperor-door |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In April 2022, the door was vandalised by unknown assailant(s).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/imperial-gate-in-hagia-sophia-mosque-damaged-173144 |title='Imperial Gate' in Hagia Sophia Mosque vandalized |date=21 April 2022 |access-date=21 April 2022 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421214857/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/imperial-gate-in-hagia-sophia-mosque-damaged-173144 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Wishing column===
At the northwest of the building, there is a column with a hole in the middle covered by bronze plates. This column goes by different names; the "perspiring" or "sweating column", the "crying column", or the "wishing column". Legend states that it has been moist since the appearance of [[Gregory Thaumaturgus]] near the column in 1200. It is believed that touching the moisture cures many illnesses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://veryturkey.com/destination-info/istanbul/aya-sofya-or-hagia-sophia |title=Aya Sofya or Hagia Sophia Mosque-Church and Museum |work=Very Turkey |access-date=26 March 2014 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217015308/http://veryturkey.com/destination-info/istanbul/aya-sofya-or-hagia-sophia |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qt0-AQAAMAAJ&q=%22sweating+column%22+%22gregory+thaumaturgus%22&pg=PA153 |title=The Architectural Review |date=15 July 1905 |publisher=Architectural Press Limited |access-date=15 July 2020 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

===Viking inscription ===
In the southern section of Hagia Sophia, a 9th-century [[Vikings|Viking]] inscription has been discovered, which reads, "Halvdan was here." It is theorized that the inscription was created by a Viking soldier serving as a mercenary in the [[Eastern Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-04 |title=Discover the Beautiful Inside Hagia Sophia in Istanbul |url=https://istanbul-pulse.com/discover-the-beautiful-inside-hagia-sophia-in-istanbul/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=istanbul-pulse.com |language=en-US |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230417084706/https://istanbul-pulse.com/discover-the-beautiful-inside-hagia-sophia-in-istanbul/ |archive-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

==Mosaics==
[[File:Ceiling decorations in Hagia Sofia.jpg|thumb|upright|Ceiling decoration showing original Christian cross still visible through the later aniconic decoration|alt=]]

The first mosaics which adorned the church were completed during the reign of [[Justin II]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Patricios |first=Nicholas N. |date=27 March 2014 |title=The Sacred Architecture of Byzantium: Art, Liturgy and Symbolism in Early Christian Churches |location=London |publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-78076-291-3 |oclc=879616183}}</ref> Many of the non-figurative mosaics in the church come from this period. Most of the mosaics, however, were created in the 10th and 12th centuries,<ref>{{cite book |last=Gökovali |first=Şadan |title=Istanbul |publisher=Ticaret Matbaacilik T.A.Ş. |location=Istanbul |page=27}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=July 2019}} following the periods of [[Byzantine Iconoclasm]].

During the [[Fourth Crusade|Sack of Constantinople]] in 1204, the Latin Crusaders vandalized valuable items in every important Byzantine structure of the city, including the golden mosaics of the Hagia Sophia. Many of these items were shipped to [[Venice]], whose [[Doge of Venice|Doge]] [[Enrico Dandolo]] had organized the invasion and sack of Constantinople after an agreement with Prince [[Alexios IV Angelos|Alexios Angelos]], the son of a deposed [[Isaac II Angelus|Byzantine emperor]].

===19th-century restoration===
Following the building's conversion into a mosque in 1453, many of its mosaics were covered with plaster, due to [[Aniconism in Islam|Islam's ban on representational imagery]]. This process was not completed at once, and reports exist from the 17th century in which travellers note that they could still see Christian images in the former church. In 1847–1849, the building was restored by [[Fossati brothers|Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati]], and Sultan [[Abdulmejid I|Abdulmejid&nbsp;I]] allowed them to also document any mosaics they might discover during this process, which were later archived in Swiss libraries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlkkLNd4P44 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518033735/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlkkLNd4P44&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=2016-05-18 |url-status=dead |title=Hagia Sophia. Nova PBS program; originally aired 2/25/2015 |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=15 July 2020}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2022}} 

This work did not include repairing the mosaics, and after recording the details about an image, the Fossatis painted it over again. The Fossatis restored the mosaics of the two ''hexapteryga'' (six-winged angels; it is uncertain whether they are [[seraph]]im or [[cherub]]im) located on the two east pendentives, and covered their faces again before the end of the restoration.<ref name=ho207>Hoffman (1999), p. 207</ref> The other two mosaics, placed on the west pendentives, are copies in paint created by the Fossatis since they could find no surviving remains of them.<ref name=ho207 /> 

As in this case, the architects reproduced in paint damaged decorative mosaic patterns, sometimes redesigning them in the process. The Fossati records are the primary sources about a number of mosaic images now believed to have been completely or partially destroyed in the [[1894 Istanbul earthquake]]. These include a mosaic over a now-unidentified ''Door of the Poor'', a large image of a jewel-encrusted cross, and many images of angels, saints, patriarchs, and church fathers. Most of the missing images were located in the building's two tympana.

One mosaic they documented is [[Christ Pantocrator]] in a circle, which would indicate it to be a ceiling mosaic, possibly even of the main dome, which was later covered and painted over with Islamic calligraphy that expounds God as the light of the universe. The Fossatis' drawings of the Hagia Sophia mosaics are today kept in the Archive of the [[Canton of Ticino]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/047933-000/monuments-eternels |title=Monuments éternels |date=21 September 2014 |work=Programmes ARTE |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505015235/http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/047933-000/monuments-eternels |archive-date=5 May 2015}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="135">
File:Hagia Sophia Imperial Gate mosaic 2.jpg|The Imperial gate mosaic
File:Hagia Sophia Southwestern entrance mosaics 2.jpg|The southwestern entrance mosaic with [[Justinian I|Justinian the Great]] (left) and [[Constantine the Great]] (right) with the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] in the center 
File:Apse mosaic Hagia Sophia Virgin and Child.jpg|The apse mosaic of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] and [[Christ Child|Christ the Child]]
File:Empress Zoe mosaic Hagia Sophia.jpg|The [[Zoë Porphyrogenita|Empress Zoe]] mosaic
File:Comnenus mosaics Hagia Sophia.jpg|The [[John II Komnenos|Comnenus]] mosaic
File:Deesis mosaic Hagia Sophia.jpg|The [[Deësis]] mosaic
File:Johnchrysostom.jpg|The mosaic in the northern tympanum depicting Saint [[John Chrysostom]]
File:Jesus-Christ-from-Hagia-Sophia.jpg|Detail of the [[Christ Pantocrator]] mosaic, also known as the [[Deesis|Deësis]] mosaic
File:2. Seraph angel. 13th century CE. Ceiling mosaics, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.jpg|A Seraph angel. 13th century CE.
</gallery>

===20th-century restoration===
Many mosaics were uncovered in the 1930s by a team from the [[Byzantine Institute of America]] led by [[Thomas Whittemore]]. The team chose to let a number of simple cross images remain covered by plaster but uncovered all major mosaics found.

Because of its long history as both a church and a mosque, a particular challenge arises in the restoration process. Christian [[iconography|iconographic]] mosaics can be uncovered, but often at the expense of important and historic Islamic art. Restorers have attempted to maintain a balance between both Christian and Islamic cultures. In particular, much controversy rests upon whether the [[Islamic calligraphy]] on the dome of the cathedral should be removed, to permit the underlying Pantocrator mosaic of Christ as Master of the World to be exhibited (assuming the mosaic still exists).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~allin20b/hagiasophia.html |title=The Hagia Sophia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004092727/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~allin20b/hagiasophia.html |archive-date=4 October 2018 |website=Mount Holyoke College}}</ref>

The Hagia Sophia has been a victim of natural disasters that have caused deterioration to the buildings structure and walls. The deterioration of the Hagia Sophia's walls can be directly attributed to salt crystallization. The crystallization of salt is due to an intrusion of rainwater that causes the Hagia Sophia's deteriorating inner and outer walls. Diverting excess rainwater is the main solution to the deteriorating walls at the Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 November 2015 |title=Influence of the Infiltrated Rainwater on the Degradation of the Inner Wall in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul |journal=Energy Procedia |language=en |volume=78 |pages=1353–58 |doi=10.1016/j.egypro.2015.11.153 |issn=1876-6102 |last1=Mizutani |first1=Etsuko |last2=Ogura |first2=Daisuke |last3=Ishizaki |first3=Takeshi |last4=Abuku |first4=Masaru |last5=Sasaki |first5=Juni |doi-access=free|bibcode=2015EnPro..78.1353M |hdl=2433/215879 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Built between 532 and 537, a subsurface structure under the Hagia Sophia has been under investigation, using LaCoste-Romberg [[gravimeters]] to determine the depth of the subsurface structure and to discover other hidden cavities beneath the Hagia Sophia. The hidden cavities have also acted as a support system against earthquakes. With these findings using the LaCoste-Romberg gravimeters, it was also discovered that the Hagia Sophia's foundation is built on a slope of natural rock.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Friedrich |first1=Jürgen |last2=Gerstenecker |first2=Carl |last3=Gürkan |first3=Onur |date=October 1996 |title=Gravimetric examination of Hagia Sophia's subsurface structure |journal=Journal of Geodesy |language=en |volume=70 |issue=10 |pages=645–51 |doi=10.1007/bf00868226 |issn=0949-7714 |bibcode=1996JGeod..70..645F |s2cid=129375039}}</ref>

===Imperial Gate mosaic===

The Imperial Gate mosaic is located in the [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]] above that gate, which was used only by the emperors when entering the church. Based on style analysis, it has been dated to the late 9th or early 10th century. The emperor with a [[Halo (religious iconography)|nimbus or halo]] could possibly represent emperor [[Leo VI the Wise]] or his son [[Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus]] bowing down before Christ Pantocrator, seated on a jewelled throne, giving his blessing and holding in his left hand an open book.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guideistanbul.net/ayasofya.htm |title=The Hagia Sophia Church |publisher=Guideistanbul.net |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=9 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109203600/http://www.guideistanbul.net/ayasofya.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Southwestern entrance mosaic===

The southwestern entrance mosaic, situated in the tympanum of the southwestern entrance, dates from the reign of [[Basil II]].<ref>Lorenzo Riccardi, Observations on Basil II as Patron of the Arts, in Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art, I, Collection of articles. Materials of the Conference of Young Specialists (St. Petersburg State University, 1–5 December 2010), St. Petersburg 2011 ({{ISBN|978-5-288-05174-6}}), pp. 39–45; Lorenzo Riccardi, Alcune riflessioni sul mosaico del vestibolo sud-ovest della Santa Sofia di Costantinopoli, in Vie per Bisanzio. VIII Congresso Nazionale dell'Associazione Italiana di Studi Bizantini (Venezia 25–28 novembre 2009), a cura di Antonio Rigo, Andrea Babuin e Michele Trizio, Bari, Edizioni di Pagina 2012 ({{ISBN|978-88-7470-229-9}}), pp. 357–71.</ref> It was rediscovered during the restorations of 1849 by the Fossatis. The Virgin sits on a throne without a back, her feet resting on a pedestal, embellished with precious stones. The [[Christ Child]] sits on her lap, giving his blessing and holding a scroll in his left hand. On her left side stands emperor Constantine in ceremonial attire, presenting a model of the city to Mary. On her right side stands emperor [[Justinian I|Justinian&nbsp;I]], offering a model of the Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=10 |title=Southwestern Vestibule |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220110314/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=10 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The composition of the figure of the Virgin enthroned was probably copied from the mosaic inside the semi-dome of the apse inside the liturgical space.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014">{{Cite journal |last=Skhirtladze |first=Zaza |date=2014 |title=The Image of the Virgin on the Sinai Hexaptych and the Apse Mosaic of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24643764 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=68 |pages=369–386 |jstor=24643764 |issn=0070-7546}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

===Apse mosaics===

The mosaic in the [[semi-dome]] above the apse at the east end shows [[Mary, mother of Jesus]] holding the [[Christ Child]] and seated on a jewelled ''thokos'' backless throne.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> Since its rediscovery after a period of concealment in the Ottoman era, it "has become one of the foremost monuments of Byzantium".<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> The infant Jesus's garment is depicted with golden ''[[tesserae]]''.

[[Guillaume-Joseph Grelot]], who had travelled to Constantinople, in 1672 engraved and in 1680 published in Paris an image of the interior of Hagia Sophia which shows the apse mosaic indistinctly.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> Together with a picture by Cornelius Loos drawn in 1710, these images are early attestations of the mosaic before it was covered towards the end of the 18th century.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> The mosaic of the Virgin and Child was rediscovered during the restorations of the Fossati brothers in 1847–1848 and revealed by the restoration of Thomas Whittemore in 1935–1939.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> It was studied again in 1964 with the aid of scaffolding.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mango |first1=Cyril |last2=Hawkins |first2=Ernest J. W. |date=1965 |title=The Apse Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul. Report on Work Carried out in 1964 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291228 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=19 |pages=113–151 |doi=10.2307/1291228 |jstor=1291228 |issn=0070-7546|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

It is not known when this mosaic was installed.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> According to [[Cyril Mango]], the mosaic is "a curious reflection on how little we know about Byzantine art".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mango |first=Cyril |date=1954 |title=Documentary Evidence on the Apse Mosaics of St. Sophia |url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/byzs/47/2/article-p395.xml |journal=Byzantinische Zeitschrift |language=en-gb |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=395–402 |doi=10.1515/byzs.1954.47.2.395 |s2cid=191481936 |issn=0007-7704|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The work is generally believed to date from after the end of [[Byzantine Iconoclasm]] and usually dated to the patriarchate of [[Photius I|Photius&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|858|867|877|886}}) and the time of the emperors [[Michael III]] ({{Reign|842|867}}) and [[Basil I|Basil&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|867|886}}).<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> Most specifically, the mosaic has been connected with a surviving [[homily]] known to have been written and delivered by Photius in the cathedral on 29 March 867.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Natalia |first=Teteriatnikov |date=2005 |title=Hagia Sophia, Constantinople: Religious images and their functional context after iconoclasm |journal=Zograf |language=en |volume=30 |issue=30 |pages=9–13 |doi=10.2298/ZOG0530009T |issn=0350-1361 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cormack |first=Robin |date=June 1981 |title=Interpreting the Mosaics of S. Sophia at Istanbul |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8365.1981.tb00707.x |journal=Art History |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=131–149 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8365.1981.tb00707.x |issn=0141-6790|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kalavrezou |first=Ioli |date=1990 |title=Images of the Mother: When the Virgin Mary Became "Meter Theou" |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=44 |pages=165–172 |doi=10.2307/1291625 |jstor=1291625 |issn=0070-7546|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Robert S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-OsEpcTYpMC |title=Hagia Sophia, 1850–1950: Holy Wisdom Modern Monument |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-226-57171-3 |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref>

Other scholars have favoured earlier or later dates for the present mosaic or its composition. [[Nikolaos Oikonomides]] pointed out that Photius's homily refers to a standing portrait of the ''Theotokos'' – a ''[[Hodegetria]]'' – while the present mosaic shows her seated.<ref name="Oikonomidès-1985">{{Cite journal |last=Oikonomidès |first=Nicolas |date=1985 |title=Some Remarks on the Apse Mosaic of St. Sophia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291518 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=39 |pages=111–115 |doi=10.2307/1291518 |jstor=1291518 |issn=0070-7546|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Likewise, a biography of the patriarch [[Isidore I of Constantinople|Isidore&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|1347|1350}}) by his successor [[Philotheus I of Constantinople|Philotheus&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|1353|1354|1364|1376}}) composed before 1363 describes Isidore seeing a standing image of the Virgin at [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] in 1347.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> 

Serious damage was done to the building by earthquakes in the 14th century, and it is possible that a standing image of the Virgin that existed in Photius's time was lost in the earthquake of 1346, in which the eastern end of Hagia Sophia was partly destroyed.<ref name="Galavaris-1964">{{Cite journal |last=Galavaris |first=George P. |date=1964 |title=Observations on the date of the apse mosaic of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople |journal=Actes du XIIe Congrès International des Études Byzantines |volume=3 |pages=107–110}}</ref><ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> This interpretation supposes that the present mosaic of the Virgin and Child enthroned is of the late 14th century, a time in which, beginning with [[Nilus of Constantinople]] ({{Reign|1380|1388}}), the patriarchs of Constantinople began to have official [[Seal (emblem)|seals]] depicting the ''Theotokos'' enthroned on a ''thokos''.<ref name="Galavaris-1962">{{Cite journal |last=Galavaris |first=George |date=1962-01-11 |title=The Representation of Virgin and Child on a "Thokos" on Seals of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchs (pl. 54-61) |journal=Δελτίον Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας |volume=20 |pages=153 |doi=10.12681/dchae.729 |issn=2241-2190 |doi-access=free|url=https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/deltion/article/download/4444/4220 }}</ref><ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" />

Still other scholars have proposed an earlier date than the later 9th century. According to George Galavaris, the mosaic seen by Photius was a ''Hodegetria'' portrait which after the earthquake of 989 was replaced by the present image not later than the early 11th century.<ref name="Galavaris-1962" /><ref name="Galavaris-1964" /> According to Oikonomides however, the image in fact dates to before the [[Triumph of Orthodoxy]], having been completed {{Circa|787–797}}, during the [[iconodule]] interlude between the First Iconoclast (726–787) and the Second Iconoclast (814–842) periods.<ref name="Oikonomidès-1985" /> Having been plastered over in the Second Iconoclasm, Oikonomides argues a new, standing image of the Virgin ''Hodegetria'' was created above the older mosaic in 867, which then fell off in the earthquakes of the 1340s and revealed again the late 8th-century image of the Virgin enthroned.<ref name="Oikonomidès-1985" />

More recently, analysis of a [[hexaptych]] [[menologion]] icon panel from [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] at [[Mount Sinai]] has determined that the panel, showing numerous scenes from the [[life of the Virgin]] and other theologically significant iconic representations, contains an image at the centre very similar to that in Hagia Sophia.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> The image is labelled in Greek merely {{Langx|grc|Μήτηρ Θεοῦ |translit=Mētēr Theou|label=as|lit=[[Mother of God]]}}, but in the [[Georgian language]] the inscription reveals the image is labelled "of the semi-dome of Hagia Sophia".<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> This image is therefore the oldest depiction of the apse mosaic known and demonstrates that the apse mosaic's appearance was similar to the present day mosaic in the late 11th or early 12th centuries, when the hexaptych was inscribed in Georgian by a Georgian monk, which rules out a 14th-century date for the mosaic.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" />

The portraits of the archangels Gabriel and Michael (largely destroyed) in the [[bema]] of the arch also date from the 9th century. The mosaics are set against the original golden background of the 6th century. These mosaics were believed to be a reconstruction of the mosaics of the 6th century that were previously destroyed during the iconoclastic era by the Byzantines of that time, as represented in the inaugural sermon by the patriarch Photios. However, no record of figurative decoration of Hagia Sophia exists before this time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=12 |title=Apse Mosaic |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220041441/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=12 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Emperor Alexander mosaic===
The Emperor Alexander mosaic is not easy to find for the first-time visitor, located on the second floor in a dark corner of the ceiling. It depicts the emperor [[Alexander (Byzantine emperor)|Alexander]] in full regalia, holding a scroll in his right hand and a [[globus cruciger]] in his left. A drawing by the Fossatis showed that the mosaic survived until 1849 and that [[Thomas Whittemore]], founder of the [[Byzantine Institute of America]] who was granted permission to preserve the mosaics, assumed that it had been destroyed in the earthquake of 1894. Eight years after his death, the mosaic was discovered in 1958 largely through the researches of [[Robert Van Nice]]. Unlike most of the other mosaics in Hagia Sophia, which had been covered over by ordinary plaster, the Alexander mosaic was simply painted over and reflected the surrounding mosaic patterns and thus was well hidden. It was duly cleaned by the Byzantine Institute's successor to Whittemore, [[Paul A. Underwood]].<ref>[[Patrick Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross|Lord Kinross]]. "Hagia Sophia: A History of Constantinople." ''[[Newsweek]]'', 1972, pp. 132–33.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=14 |title=Emperor Alexander |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220125559/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=14 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Empress Zoe mosaic===

The Empress Zoe mosaic on the eastern wall of the southern gallery dates from the 11th century. Christ Pantocrator, clad in the dark blue robe (as is the custom in Byzantine art), is seated in the middle against a golden background, giving his blessing with the right hand and holding the [[Bible]] in his left hand. On either side of his head are the ''nomina sacra'' ''{{overline|IC}}'' and ''{{overline|XC}}'', meaning ''Iēsous Christos''. He is flanked by [[Constantine IX Monomachus]] and [[Empress Zoe]], both in ceremonial costumes. He is offering a purse, as a symbol of donation, he made to the church, while she is holding a scroll, symbol of the donations she made. The previous heads have been scraped off and replaced by the three present ones. Perhaps the earlier mosaic showed her first husband [[Romanos III|Romanus III Argyrus]] or her second husband [[Michael IV the Paphlagonian|Michael IV]]. Another theory is that this mosaic was made for an earlier emperor and empress, with their heads changed into the present ones.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=15 |title=Empress Zoe |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220112021/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=15 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Comnenus mosaic===

The Comnenus mosaic, also located on the eastern wall of the southern gallery, dates from 1122. The Virgin Mary is standing in the middle, depicted, as usual in Byzantine art, in a dark blue gown. She holds the Christ Child on her lap. He gives his blessing with his right hand while holding a scroll in his left hand. On her right side stands emperor [[John II Comnenus]], represented in a garb embellished with precious stones. He holds a purse, symbol of an imperial donation to the church.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |title=Comnenus |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220221807/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

His wife, the empress [[Irene of Hungary]] stands on the left side of the Virgin, wearing ceremonial garments and holding an [[eiletarion]] scroll. Their eldest son [[Alexios Komnenos (co-emperor)|Alexius Comnenus]] is represented on an adjacent pilaster. He is shown as a beardless youth, probably representing his appearance at his coronation aged seventeen.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |title=Comnenus |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220221807/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In this panel, one can already see a difference with the Empress Zoe mosaic that is one century older. There is a more realistic expression in the portraits instead of an idealized representation. The Empress Irene, daughter of [[Ladislaus I of Hungary|Ladislaus&nbsp;I of Hungary]], is shown with plaited blond hair, rosy cheeks, and grey eyes, revealing her [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] descent. The emperor is depicted in a dignified manner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |title=Comnenus |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220221807/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Deësis mosaic===

The [[Deësis]] mosaic ({{lang|grc|Δέησις}}, "Entreaty") probably dates from 1261. It was commissioned to mark the end of 57 years of Latin Catholic use and the return to the Eastern Orthodox faith. It is the third panel situated in the imperial enclosure of the upper galleries. It is widely considered the finest in Hagia Sophia, because of the softness of the features, the humane expressions and the tones of the mosaic. The style is close to that of the Italian painters of the late 13th or early 14th century, such as [[Duccio]]. In this panel the [[Virgin Mary]] and [[John the Baptist]] are imploring the [[intercession]] of Christ Pantocrator for humanity on [[Last Judgment|Judgment Day]]. The bottom part of this mosaic is badly deteriorated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parry |first=Ken |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWp9JA3aBvcC&q=sophia+%22deesis+was%22 |title=The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity |date=2010-05-10 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-3361-9 |page=379 |language=en}}</ref> This mosaic is considered as the beginning of a renaissance in Byzantine [[Pictorial artist|pictorial art]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=17 |title=Deesis |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220040345/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=17 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Northern tympanum mosaics===
The northern [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]] mosaics feature various saints. They have been able to survive due to their high and inaccessible location. They depict Patriarchs of Constantinople [[John Chrysostom]] and [[Ignatios of Constantinople]] standing, clothed in white robes with crosses, and holding richly jewelled Bibles. The figures of each patriarch, revered as saints, are identifiable by labels in Greek. The other mosaics in the other tympana have not survived probably due to the frequent earthquakes, as opposed to any deliberate destruction by the Ottoman conquerors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=11 |title=North Tympanum |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220130941/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=11 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Dome mosaic===

The dome was decorated with four non-identical figures of the six-winged angels which protect the [[Throne of God]]; it is uncertain whether they are [[seraph]]im or [[cherub]]im. The mosaics survive in the eastern part of the dome, but since the ones on the western side were damaged during the Byzantine period, they have been renewed as [[fresco]]es. During the Ottoman period each face was covered with metallic lids in the shape of stars, but these were removed to reveal the faces during renovations in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/mosa-dome-angel-figures |title=Dome Angel Figures |work=Hagia Sophia Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111233140/http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/mosa-dome-angel-figures |archive-date=11 January 2019}} (archived).</ref>

==Other burials==
* [[Selim II]] (1524 – 15 December 1574) 
* [[Murad III]] 1546–1595
* [[Mustafa I]] ({{Circa|1600}} – 20 January 1639), in the courtyard.
* [[Enrico Dandolo]] ({{Circa|1107}} – June 1205), in the east gallery.
* [[Gli]] ({{circa|2004}} – 7 November 2020), in the garden.

==Works influenced by the Hagia Sophia==
[[File:Hram Svetog Save und Hagia Sophia Überlagerunng der Pläne leg P.Cikovac.jpg|thumb|The [[Church of Saint Sava]] in [[Belgrade]] has been modelled after Hagia Sophia, using its primary square and the size of its dome.]]
[[File:Interior look Church Saint Sava from western gally leg P.Cikovac.jpg|thumb|The interior of the Church of Saint Sava]]
Many buildings have been modeled on the Hagia Sophia's core structure of a large central dome resting on pendentives and buttressed by two semi-domes.

[[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] churches influenced by the Hagia Sophia include the [[Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki|Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki]], and the [[Hagia Irene]]. The Hagia Irene was remodeled to have a dome similar to the Hagia Sophia's during the reign of Justinian. [[Neo-Byzantine]] churches modeled on the Hagia Sophia include the [[Kronstadt Naval Cathedral]], [[Holy Trinity Cathedral, Sibiu]]<ref name="Mitropoliei">{{cite web |title=Catedrala Ortodoxă: Strada Mitropoliei |language=ro |url=https://www.sibiul.ro/biserici-sibiu/catedrala-ortodoxa.html |website=sibiul.ro |access-date=5 September 2022}}</ref> and [[Poti Cathedral]]. Each closely replicates the internal geometry of the Hagia Sophia. The layout of the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral is nearly identical to the Hagia Sophia in size and geometry. Its marble revetment mimics the style of the Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piltz |first=Elisabeth |date=2014 |title=Hagia Sophia and Ottoman architecture |journal=Byzantinoslavica - Revue internationale des Études Byzantines |volume=1-2 |pages=293–309}}</ref> 

The [[Catedral Metropolitana Ortodoxa]] in [[São Paulo]] and the [[Église du Saint-Esprit (Paris)]] both replace the two large [[tympanum (architecture)|tympanums]] beneath the main dome with two shallow semi-domes. Several churches combine elements of the Hagia Sophia with a Latin cross plan. For instance, the [[transept]] of the [[Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (St. Louis)]] is formed by two semi-domes surrounding the main dome. The church's column capitals and mosaics emulate the style of the Hagia Sophia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piltz |first=Elisabeth |date=2014 |title=Hagia Sophia and Ottoman architecture |journal=Byzantinoslavica - Revue internationale des Études Byzantines |volume=1-2 |pages=293–309}}</ref>

Other examples include the [[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia]], [[St Sophia's Cathedral, London]], [[Saint Clement Catholic Church, Chicago]], and the [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception]]. Several [[mosques commissioned by the Ottoman dynasty]] have plans based on the Hagia Sophia, including the [[Süleymaniye Mosque]] and the [[Bayezid II Mosque, Istanbul|Bayezid II Mosque]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Almughrabi |first1=Naser |last2=Prijotomo |first2=Josef |last3=Faqih |first3=Mohammad |date=6 June 2015 |title=SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE: SPACE CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNICAL CHALLENGES |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350618031 |journal=International Journal of Education and Research |volume=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piltz |first=Elisabeth |date=2014 |title=Hagia Sophia and Ottoman architecture |journal=Byzantinoslavica - Revue internationale des Études Byzantines |volume=1-2 |pages=293–309}}</ref>

Synagogues based on the Hagia Sophia include the [[Congregation Emanu-El (San Francisco)]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kleinbauer |first=W. Eugene |authorlink=W. Eugene Kleinbauer |date=2007 |title=Hagia Sophia, 1850-1950: Holy Wisdom Modern Monument (review) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cat.2007.0181 |journal=The Catholic Historical Review |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=367–370 |doi=10.1353/cat.2007.0181 |s2cid=159508818 |issn=1534-0708|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Great Synagogue of Florence]], and [[Hurva Synagogue]].
==Gallery==
<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Hagia Sophia (15468276434).jpg|Detail of the columns
File:20131203 Istanbul 048.jpg|Detail of the columns
File:Fossati 003.JPG|Six patriarchs mosaic in the southern tympanum as drawn by the Fossati brothers
File:Fossati 002.JPG|Moasics as drawn by the Fossati brothers
File:Nikea-arius.png|The Hagia Sophia in the background of an icon from the [[Monastery of Great Meteoron]]
File:Relation nouvelle d'un voyage de Constantinople - enrichie de plans levez par l'auteur sur les lieux, and des figures de tout ce qu'il y a de plus remarquable dans cette ville (1680) (14773026492).jpg|[[Guillaume-Joseph Grelot]]'s engraving 1672, looking east and showing the apse mosaic
File:Relation nouvelle d'un voyage de Constantinople - enrichie de plans levez par l'auteur sur les lieux, and des figures de tout ce qu'il y a de plus remarquable dans cette ville (1680) (14586659270).jpg|[[Guillaume-Joseph Grelot]]'s engraving 1672, looking west
File:Interior of the Hagia Sophia.jpg|''Interior of the Hagia Sophia'' by [[John Singer Sargent]], 1891
File:Sébah and Joaillier - Interior of Ayasofya Mosque.jpg|Photograph by [[Sébah & Joaillier]], {{circa|1900–1910}}
File:Philippe Chaperon Sainte-Sophie, 1893 (collection particulière).jpg|Watercolour of the interior by [[Philippe Chaperon]], 1893
File:Detail of Sculptural Relief on the Marble Door of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.jpg|Detail of [[relief]] on the Marble Door.
File:Hagia Sophia (16064799696).jpg|Imperial Gate from the nave
File:Henricus Dandolo grób RB1.jpg|A 19th-century cenotaph of [[Enrico Dandolo]], [[Doge of Venice|Doge]] of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], and commander of the 1204 [[Fourth Crusade|Sack of Constantinople]]
File:Gate of the mosque of Saint Sophia - Lewis John F - 1838.jpg|Gate of the ''külliye'', by [[John Frederick Lewis]], 1838
File:Fountain of the gate of Eski (Old) Serai - Lewis John F - 1838.jpg|Fountain of Ahmed III from the gate of the ''külliye'', by John Frederick Lewis, 1838
File:Saint Sophia and distant view of Sultan Achmet (Mosques) - Lewis John F - 1838.jpg|Southern side of Hagia Sophia, looking east, by John Frederick Lewis, 1838
File:Adriaan-Reland-Verhandeling-van-de-godsdienst-der-Mahometaanen MG 0720.tif|From ''Verhandeling van de godsdienst der Mahometaanen'', by [[Adriaan Reland]], 1719
File:Interior of Haghia Sophia.jpg|Interior of Haghia Sophia
File:Voyage en Orient (bgw20 0447).jpg|Hagia Sophia from the south-west, 1914
File:Hagia Sophia and its faithful tourists (24238189635).jpg|Hagia Sophia in the snow, December 2015
File:MG08 on the minaret of the Ayasofya Museum 1941.jpg|[[Maschinengewehr 08|''Maschinengewehr'' 08]] mounted on a minaret during [[World War II]] 
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal bar|Architecture|Religion|Christianity|Islam|Turkey}}
*[[Runic inscriptions in Hagia Sophia]]
*[[List of Byzantine inventions]]
*[[List of tallest domes]]
*[[List of largest monoliths]]
*[[List of oldest church buildings]]
*[[List of tallest structures built before the 20th century]]
*[[List of Turkish Grand Mosques]]
*[[Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Boyran |first1=Ebru |last2=Fleet |first2=Kate |title=A social History of Ottoman Istanbul |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-19955-1}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Brubaker |first1=Leslie |last2=Haldon |first2=John |title=Byzantium in the Iconoclast era (ca 680–850) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-521-43093-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cameron |first=Averil |publisher=Psychogios |date=2009 |isbn=978-960-453-529-3 |location=Athens |language=el |script-title=el:Οι Βυζαντινοί}}
* ''Hagia Sophia''. [http://www.hagiasophia.com/ Hagia Sophia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119091641/http://www.hagiasophia.com/ |date=19 January 2012 }}. Accessed 23 September 2014.
* {{Cite book |last1=Heinle |first1=Erwin |last2=Schlaich |first2=Jörg |year=1996 |title=Kuppeln: aller Zeiten, aller Kulturen |location=Stuttgart |publisher=Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt |isbn=3-421-03062-6 |oclc=1126355641}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hoffman |first=Volker |title=Die Hagia Sophia in Istanbul |publisher=Lang |location=Bern |year=1999 |language=de |isbn=978-3-906762-81-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Janin |first=Raymond |author-link=Raymond Janin |title=La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères |publisher=Institut Français d'Études Byzantines |location=Paris |year=1953}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |year=1997 |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure, and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8 |edition=reprint}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Mamboury |first=Ernest |author-link=Ernest Mamboury |title=The Tourists' Istanbul |publisher=Çituri Biraderler Basımevi |location=Istanbul |year=1953}}
* {{Cite book |last=Meyendorff |first=John |title=The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church |publisher=St Vladimir's Seminary Press |date=1982 |isbn=978-0-913836-90-3 |location=Yonkers |author-link=John Meyendorff}}
* {{Cite book |last=Müller-Wiener |first=Wolfgang |author-link=Wolfgang Müller-Wiener |title=Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul bis zum Beginn d. 17 Jh |publisher=Wasmuth |location=Tübingen |year=1977 |isbn=978-3-8030-1022-3 |language=de}}
* {{Cite book |last=Necipoĝlu |first=Gulru |title=The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire |publisher=Reaktion Books |location=London |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-86189-244-7}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Ronchey |first1=Silvia |last2=Braccini |first2=Tommaso |title=Il romanzo di Costantinopoli. Guida letteraria alla Roma d'Oriente |publisher=Einaudi |location=Torino |year=2010 |language=it |isbn=978-88-06-18921-1}}
* Runciman, Steven (1965). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CJz8BCdxlfEC The Fall of Constantinople] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227193827/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CJz8BCdxlfEC&printsec=frontcover |date=27 December 2022 }}, 1453. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.&nbsp;145. {{ISBN|0-521-39832-0}}.
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/31064036 |first=David |last=Savignac |title=The Medieval Russian Account of the Fourth Crusade – A New Annotated Translation |via=[[Academia.edu]] |date=2020}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stroth|first=Fabian|title=Monogrammkapitelle. Die justinianische Bauskulptur Konstantinopels als Textträger |publisher=Reichert |location=Wiesbaden |year=2021 |language=de |isbn=978-3-95490-272-9}}
* {{Cite book |first=J. |last=Turner |title=Grove Dictionary of Art |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, England |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-517068-9 |title-link=Grove Dictionary of Art}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
:''See also the thematically organised full bibliography in Stroth (2021), pp.&nbsp;137–183.''
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Balfour |first=John Patrick Douglas |year=1972 |title=Hagia Sophia |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-88225-014-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/hagiasophia0000kinr}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cimok |first=Fatih |year=2004 |title=Hagia Sophia |publisher=Milet Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-975-7199-61-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Doumato |first=Lamia |year=1980 |title=The Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia: Selected references |publisher=Vance Bibliographies |asin=B0006E2O2M}}
* {{Cite book |last=Goriansky |first=Lev Vladimir |year=1933 |title=Haghia Sophia: analysis of the architecture, art and spirit behind the shrine in Constantinople dedicated to Hagia Sophia |publisher=American School of Philosophy |asin=B0008C47EA}}
* {{Cite book |last=Glinavos |first=I. |year=2021 |chapter=Hagia Sophia at ICSID? The Limits of Sovereign Discretion |title=European Yearbook of International Economic Law |volume=12 |pages=253–273 |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |doi=10.1007/8165_2021_78 |isbn=978-3-031-05082-4}}
* Harris, Jonathan, ''Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium''. Hambledon/Continuum (2007). {{ISBN|978-1-84725-179-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Howland Swift |first=Emerson |year=1937 |title=The bronze doors of the gate of the horologium at Hagia Sophia |publisher=University of Chicago |asin=B000889GIG}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kahler |first=Heinz |year=1967 |title=Haghia Sophia |publisher=Praeger |asin=B0008C47EA}}
* {{Cite news |last=Kinross |first=Lord |year=1972 |title=Hagia Sophia, Wonders of Man |work=Newsweek |asin=B000K5QN9W}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kleinbauer |first=W. Eugene |authorlink=W. Eugene Kleinbauer |year=2007 |author2=Anthony White |title=Hagia Sophia |publisher=Scala Publishers |location=London |isbn=978-1-85759-308-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kleinbauer |first=W. Eugene |year=2000 |title=Saint Sophia at Constantinople: Singulariter in Mundo (Monograph (Frederic Lindley Morgan Chair of Architectural Design), No. 5.) |publisher=William L. Bauhan |isbn=978-0-87233-123-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Krautheimer |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Krautheimer |year=1984 |title=Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, CT |isbn=978-0-300-05294-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=R.J. |year=1997 |title=Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure, and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London |isbn=978-0-500-27945-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mainstone |first=Rowland J. |title=Hagia Sophia. Architecture, structure and liturgy of Justinian's great church |year=1988 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London |isbn=978-0-500-34098-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mango |first=Cyril A. |author2=Ahmed Ertuğ |year=1997 |title=Hagia Sophia: A Vision for Empires |location=Istanbul |publisher=Ertuğ & Kocabiyik |isbn= |oclc=38949865}}
* {{Cite book |year=1992 |first1=R. |last1=Mark |last2=Çakmaktitle |first2=AS. |title=Hagia Sophia from the Age of Justinian to the Present |publisher=Princeton Architectural |isbn=978-1-878271-11-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Robert S. |year=2004 |title=Hagia Sophia, 1850–1950: Holy Wisdom Modern Monument |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-57171-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Özkul |first=T. A. |year=2007 |title=Structural characteristics of Hagia Sophia: I-A finite element formulation for static analysis |publisher=Elsevier}}
* Scharf, Joachim: "Der Kaiser in Proskynese. Bemerkungen zur Deutung des Kaisermosaiks im Narthex der Hagia Sophia von Konstantinopel". In: ''Festschrift Percy Ernst Schramm zu seinem siebzigsten Geburtstag von Schülern und Freunden zugeeignet'', Wiesbaden 1964, pp.&nbsp;27–35.
* {{Cite book |last=Strube |first=Christine |year=1973 |title=Polyeuktoskirche und Hagia Sophia. Umbildung und Auflösung antiker Formen, Entstehen des Kämpferkapitells |publisher=Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |isbn=3-7696-0087-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Swainson |first=Harold |year=2005 |title=The Church of Sancta Sophia Constantinople: A Study of Byzantine Building |publisher=Adamant Media Corporation |location=Boston, MA |isbn=978-1-4021-8345-4}}
* [[Kurt Weitzmann|Weitzmann, Kurt]], ed., ''[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/156533 Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426182735/http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/156533 |date=26 April 2015 }}'', no. 592, 1979, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York, {{ISBN|978-0-87099-179-0}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Xydis |first=Stephen G. |date=1947 |title=The Chancel Barrier, Solea, and Ambo of Hagia Sophia |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |doi=10.2307/3047098 |jstor=3047098 |issn=0004-3079}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yucel |first=Erdem |year=2005 |title=Hagia Sophia |publisher=Scala Publishers |isbn=978-1-85759-250-4}}

''' Articles '''
*{{cite book |last=Alchermes |first=Joseph D. |contribution=Art and Architecture in the Age of Justinian |editor-last=Maas |editor-first=Michael |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian |publisher=Cambridge U.P. |location=Cambridge |year=2005 |pages=343–75 |isbn=978-0-521-52071-3}}
*{{cite web |last1=Atchison |first1=Bob |title=History of Hagia Sophia – the Church of Holy Wisdom |url=https://www.pallasweb.com/deesis/hagiasophia.html |website=My World of Byzantium |date=2020}}
*Bordewich, Fergus M., [https://web.archive.org/web/20081203172830/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Fading-Glory.html "A Monumental Struggle to Preserve Hagia Sophia"], ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'' magazine, December 2008
*Calian, Florian, [https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/ The Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Neo-Ottomanism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520144730/https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/ |date=20 May 2022 }}, ''Armenian Weekly''.
*{{cite web |last1=Osseman |first1=Dick |title=Aya Sofya Photo Gallery |url=https://pbase.com/dosseman/istanbul_aya_sofia |website=Pbase.com}}
*Ousterhout, Robert G. "[https://www.historytoday.com/history-matters/museum-or-mosque Museum or Mosque? Istanbul's Hagia Sophia has been a monument to selective readings of history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095032/https://www.historytoday.com/history-matters/museum-or-mosque |date=14 April 2021 }}." ''History Today'' (Sept 2020).
* Pantelić, Bratislav. “Applied Geometrical Planning and Proportions in the Church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.” ''Istanbuler Mitteilungen'' 49 (1999): 493–515.
*Suchkov, Maxim, [https://www.mei.edu/publications/why-did-moscow-call-ankaras-hagia-sophia-decision-turkeys-internal-affair Why did Moscow call Ankara's Hagia Sophia decision "Turkey's internal affair"?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095035/https://www.mei.edu/publications/why-did-moscow-call-ankaras-hagia-sophia-decision-turkeys-internal-affair |date=14 April 2021 }}, ''Middle East Institute''.

''' Mosaics '''
*''Hagia Sophia'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20190107145816/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=2 hagiasophia.com: Mosaics].
*{{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=William Lloyd |year=1951 |title=The uncovering of Byzantine mosaics in Hagia Sophia |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |asin=B0007GZTKS}}
*{{cite book |last=Mango |first=Cyril |year=1972 |title=The mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul: The church fathers in the north Tympanum |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies |asin=B0007CAVA0}}
*{{cite book |last=Mango |first=Cyril |year=1968 |title=The Apse mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul: Report on work carried out in 1964 |publisher=Johnson Reprints |asin=B0007G5RBY}}
*{{cite book |last=Mango |first=Cyril |year=1967 |author2=Heinz Kahler |title=Hagia Sophia: With a Chapter on the Mosaics |publisher=Praeger |asin=B0000CO5IL}}
*{{cite book |last=Teteriatnikov |first=Natalia B. |year=1998 |title=Mosaics of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul: The Fossati Restoration and the Work of the Byzantine Institute |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection |isbn=978-0-88402-264-0}}
*{{cite book |last1=Riccardi |first1=Lorenzo |title=Alcune riflessioni sul mosaico del vestibolo sud-ovest della Santa Sofia di Costantinopoli, in Vie per Bisanzio. VIII Congresso Nazionale dell'Associazione Italiana di Studi Bizantini (Venezia 25–28 novembre 2009), a cura di Antonio Rigo, Andrea Babuin e Michele Trizio |date=2012 |location=Bari |publisher=Edizioni di Pagina |isbn=978-88-7470-229-9 |pages=357–71 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1867754 |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Yücel |first=Erdem |year=1988 |title=The mosaics of Hagia Sophia |publisher=Efe Turizm |asin=B0007CBGYA}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
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{{sisterlinks|d=Q12506|c=Category:Ayasofya|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=Hagia Sophia|wikt=no|species=no}}
{{external media
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|image1=[http://maps.yandex.com/-/CVfSRK~H 360° panoraITS A BISHic view] ([[virtual tour]])
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* {{Official website|http://www.fatih.gov.tr/dunya-mimarlik-tarihinin-onemli-anitlarindan-ayasofya}} {{in lang|tr}}
* [https://www.360tr.com/embed/a63e18511e&lang_id=tr 360 Degree Virtual Tour of Hagia Sophia Mosque Museum]
* [https://gigapixel.cam/en/hagiasophia-gigapixel-istanbul-turkey Gigapixel of Hagia Sophia Dome (214 Billion Pixel)]
* [https://www.ktb.gov.tr/EN-113941/istanbul---hagia-sophia-museum.html Hagia Sophia Museum, Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture & Tourism]
* [http://en.istanbul.gov.tr/the-most-visited-museums-of-turkey-hagia-sophia-museum The Most Visited Museums of Turkey: Hagia Sophia Museum, Governorship of Istanbul] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208123525/http://en.istanbul.gov.tr/the-most-visited-museums-of-turkey-hagia-sophia-museum |date=8 December 2024 }}

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