Editing Hagia Sophia (section)

===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" />