Hagia Sophia: Justinian and the Search for Legitimacy

This paper examines the political, social, and religious objectives of the Byzantine emperor Justinian in building Hagia Sophia. The Great Church has been seen throughout the years as an architectural masterpiece and the greatest building of the Middle Ages, but lost in the architectural acclaim is the structures political and social significance during the sixth century. When determining Justinian’s motives, historical scholars have often ignored the question, due to a lack of contemporary source commentary, but when they do approach the topic, albeit briefly in all cases, they take a simplistic view that does not focus on all aspects of the political, social, and religious strife of the era. In the eyes of modern historians, Justinian is simply seen as being a great builder or just fulfilling his Byzantine imperial role as the representative of God on Earth, but this paper shows that the reductionist view that contemporary scholarship holds ignores the conflict that engulfed sixth-century Constantinople. Therefore, this paper offers a new interpretation, backed up by detailed historical evidence that contends that Justinian planned and used Hagia Sophia as a tool in achieving political legitimacy from both the common people of the empire and the old Theodosian/Anastasian aristocracy that held power inside the city prior to the election of Justin