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The Hagia Sophia Religion

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The Hagia Sophia Religion
The Hagia Sophia is a Christian basilica located in Istanbul, Turkey (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The city of Istanbul was once called Constantinople and was the capital of the once powerful Roman Empire (Zucker & Harris, n.d). It was founded by Constantine I, the first roman emperor to embrace Christianity (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The Hagia Sophia was constructed in the 6th century A.D during a time of internal turmoil in Constantinople (Zucker & Harris, n.d). Justine I, the emperor at that time, decided to create this church not only to embrace Christianity which was the official religion at that time but also to reduce unemployment (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The construction of this church required a lot of workers which provided residents in the …show more content…
After the previous two churches were burned down by the riots Justinian sought to create a new one bigger and stronger (Zucker & Harris, n.d). This architectural piece was largely possible because he hired two theoreticians that used their knowledge of geometry, physics, and mathematical theory to design the new structure (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The last two churches with the same name were basic basilica structures but the emperor wanted something different and better (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The new church was created using a pendentive, which allowed workers to put the round base of a dome on a square building (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The large dome located on top is supported by stone piers and by half domes that are part of the structure (Zucker & Harris, n.d). All these parts come together to form a rectangular space that resembles a basilica but much better (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The internal design of the Hagia Sophia was also one of the best of its time (Zucker & Harris, n.d). Architects made 40 windows on the base of the dome to give the impression of continuous light (Zucker & Harris, n.d). The light coming from these windows give the impression that the dome is moving which captures the attention of visitors and captivates their senses (Zucker & Harris, n.d). Lights in the Byzantine Empire were considered to have a relation with the

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