WORLD CIVILIZATION

Detailed explanation-1: -It served as a center of religious, political, and artistic life for the Byzantine world and has provided us with many useful scholarly insights into the period. It was also an important site of Muslim worship after Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453 and designated the structure a mosque.

Detailed explanation-2: -Originally a church, later a mosque, the 6th-century Hagia Sophia (532–537) by Byzantine emperor 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.

Detailed explanation-3: -Throughout history, it was the largest church of Orthodox Christianity, a Roman Catholic cathedral, mosque, and museum. Though it was converted back into a mosque, this building remains one of the most important places for Orthodox Christians, influencing the construction of similar churches across the world.

Detailed explanation-4: -BUILDING BIG: Databank: Hagia Sophia. for larger image. Considered the finest example of Byzantine architecture in the world, the church of Hagia Sophia was constructed on a scale unprecedented in human history.