Editing Hagia Sophia (section)

==History==
===Church of Constantius II===
[[File:Constantinople imperial district.png|thumb|right|upright=1.35|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. 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|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 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1206400173 |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}}</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}}</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}}</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|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|Soffits and [[cornice]]
File:CapCorBizPil1SSofiaTeod-19Lato.jpg|Theodosian capital
File:CapCorBizPil1SSofiaTeod-19.jpg|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|Originally a church, later a mosque, 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 completion of the [[Seville Cathedral]] (1507) 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|Construction of church depicted in codex Manasses Chronicle (14th century)|alt=]]

On 23 February 532, only a few weeks after the destruction of the second basilica, Emperor [[Justinian I|Justinian&nbsp;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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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 (upper 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 ([[c:File:HagiaSophia Dome (pixinn.net).jpg|annotations]]).]]

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}}</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}}</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}}</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 by the invaders.<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 an unauthorized [[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=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0794494a-4e1b-11e3-8fa5-00144feabdc0.html |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 [[Directorate of Religious Affairs]] (''{{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 (2018–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 (Turkey)|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... 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, the place remains open for visitors outside of prayer times. 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 prayer]]s 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|left|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 President 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>