Editing Hagia Sophia (section)

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

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

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

===19th-century restoration===
Following the building's conversion into a mosque in 1453, many of its mosaics were covered with plaster, due to [[Aniconism in Islam|Islam's ban on representational imagery]]. This process was not completed at once, and reports exist from the 17th century in which travellers note that they could still see Christian images in the former church. In 1847–1849, the building was restored by [[Fossati brothers|Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati]], and Sultan [[Abdulmejid I|Abdulmejid&nbsp;I]] allowed them to also document any mosaics they might discover during this process, which were later archived in Swiss libraries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlkkLNd4P44 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518033735/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlkkLNd4P44&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=2016-05-18 |url-status=dead |title=Hagia Sophia. Nova PBS program; originally aired 2/25/2015 |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=15 July 2020}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2022}} This work did not include repairing the mosaics, and after recording the details about an image, the Fossatis painted it over again. The Fossatis restored the mosaics of the two ''hexapteryga'' (six-winged angels; it is uncertain whether they are [[seraph]]im or [[cherub]]im) located on the two east pendentives, and covered their faces again before the end of the restoration.<ref name=ho207>Hoffman (1999), p. 207</ref> The other two mosaics, placed on the west pendentives, are copies in paint created by the Fossatis since they could find no surviving remains of them.<ref name=ho207 /> As in this case, the architects reproduced in paint damaged decorative mosaic patterns, sometimes redesigning them in the process. The Fossati records are the primary sources about a number of mosaic images now believed to have been completely or partially destroyed in the [[1894 Istanbul earthquake]]. These include a mosaic over a now-unidentified ''Door of the Poor'', a large image of a jewel-encrusted cross, and many images of angels, saints, patriarchs, and church fathers. Most of the missing images were located in the building's two tympana.

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Imperial Gate mosaic===

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

===Southwestern entrance mosaic===

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

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

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

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

Other scholars have favoured earlier or later dates for the present mosaic or its composition. [[Nikolaos Oikonomides]] pointed out that Photius's homily refers to a standing portrait of the ''Theotokos'' – a ''[[Hodegetria]]'' – while the present mosaic shows her seated.<ref name="Oikonomidès-1985">{{Cite journal |last=Oikonomidès |first=Nicolas |date=1985 |title=Some Remarks on the Apse Mosaic of St. Sophia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291518 |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=39 |pages=111–115 |doi=10.2307/1291518 |jstor=1291518 |issn=0070-7546}}</ref> Likewise, a biography of the patriarch [[Isidore I of Constantinople|Isidore&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|1347|1350}}) by his successor [[Philotheus I of Constantinople|Philotheus&nbsp;I]] ({{Reign|1353|1354|1364|1376}}) composed before 1363 describes Isidore seeing a standing image of the Virgin at [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] in 1347.<ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> Serious damage was done to the building by earthquakes in the 14th century, and it is possible that a standing image of the Virgin that existed in Photius's time was lost in the earthquake of 1346, in which the eastern end of Hagia Sophia was partly destroyed.<ref name="Galavaris-1964">{{Cite journal |last=Galavaris |first=George P. |date=1964 |title=Observations on the date of the apse mosaic of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople |journal=Actes du XIIe Congrès International des Études Byzantines |volume=3 |pages=107–110}}</ref><ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" /> This interpretation supposes that the present mosaic of the Virgin and Child enthroned is of the late 14th century, a time in which, beginning with [[Nilus of Constantinople]] ({{Reign|1380|1388}}), the patriarchs of Constantinople began to have official [[Seal (emblem)|seals]] depicting the ''Theotokos'' enthroned on a ''thokos''.<ref name="Galavaris-1962">{{Cite journal |last=Galavaris |first=George |date=1962-01-11 |title=The Representation of Virgin and Child on a "Thokos" on Seals of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchs (pl. 54-61) |journal=Δελτίον Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας |volume=20 |pages=153 |doi=10.12681/dchae.729 |issn=2241-2190 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Skhirtladze-2014" />

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

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

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

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

===Empress Zoe mosaic===

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

===Comnenus mosaic===

The Comnenus mosaic, also located on the eastern wall of the southern gallery, dates from 1122. The Virgin Mary is standing in the middle, depicted, as usual in Byzantine art, in a dark blue gown. She holds the Christ Child on her lap. He gives his blessing with his right hand while holding a scroll in his left hand. On her right side stands emperor [[John II Comnenus]], represented in a garb embellished with precious stones. He holds a purse, symbol of an imperial donation to the church. His wife, the empress [[Irene of Hungary]] stands on the left side of the Virgin, wearing ceremonial garments and holding an [[eiletarion]] scroll. Their eldest son [[Alexios Komnenos (co-emperor)|Alexius Comnenus]] is represented on an adjacent pilaster. He is shown as a beardless youth, probably representing his appearance at his coronation aged seventeen. In this panel, one can already see a difference with the Empress Zoe mosaic that is one century older. There is a more realistic expression in the portraits instead of an idealized representation. The Empress Irene, daughter of [[Ladislaus I of Hungary|Ladislaus&nbsp;I of Hungary]], is shown with plaited blond hair, rosy cheeks, and grey eyes, revealing her [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] descent. The emperor is depicted in a dignified manner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |title=Comnenus |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220221807/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=16 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Deësis mosaic===

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

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

===Dome mosaic===

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