Tradition credits Constantine I with commissioning the first church in the 4th century, completed by 337, though some scholars dispute this. The Nika riot burned the church in 532, and Justinian I rebuilt it in 548. The earthquake of October 20, 740 damaged it, and Constantine V ordered restorations, with interior mosaics and frescoes dated to about the 8th century.
The dome is 49 feet (15 m) wide and 115 feet (35 m) high. The plan is a Roman basilica form with a nave, two aisles and three pairs of piers, with a cross-domed plan added at gallery level after 740. The synthronon has six tiers and is the only surviving Byzantine one in the city.
After 1453 the church was enclosed within Topkapı Palace, and the Janissaries used it as an arsenal until 1826. It was a military museum from 1908 until 1978. Concerts of the Istanbul International Music Festival have been held there every summer since 1980.
Comments