ough study of the church of St Sophia, the reader must
consult the works of Fossati, Salzenburg, Lethaby and Swainson, and
Antoniadi. The present edifice was built by Justinian the Great, under
the direction of Anthemius of Tralles and his nephew Isidorus of
Miletus. It was founded in 532 and dedicated on Christmas Day 538. It
replaced two earlier churches of that name, the first of which was built
by Constantius and burnt down in 404, on the occasion of the exile of
Chrysostom, while the second was erected by Theodosius II. in 415, and
destroyed by fire in the Nika riot of 532. Naturally the church has
undergone repair from time to time. The original dome fell in 558, as
the result of an earthquake, and among the improvements introduced in
the course of restoration, the dome was raised 25 ft. higher than
before. Repairs are recorded under Basil I., Basil II., Andronicus III.
and Cantacuzene. Since the Turkish conquest a minaret has been erected
at each of the four exterior angles of the building, and the interior
has been adapted to the requirements of Moslem worship, mainly by the
destruction or concealment of most of the mosaics which adorned the
walls. In 1847-1848, during the reign of Abd-ul-Mejid, the building was
put into a state of thorough repair by the Italian architect Fossati.
Happily the sultan allowed the mosaic figures, then exposed to view, to
be covered with matting before being plastered over. They may reappear
in the changes which the future will bring.

The exterior appearance of the church is certainly disappointing, but
within it is, beyond all question, one of the most beautiful creations
of human art. On a large scale, and in magnificent style, it combines
the attractive features of a basilica, with all the glory of an edifice
crowned by a dome. We have here a stately hall, 235 ft. N. and S., by
250 ft. E. and W., divided by two piers and eight columns on either hand
into nave and aisles, with an apse at the eastern end and galleries on
the three other sides. Over the central portion of the nave, a square
area at the angles of which stand the four piers, and at a height of 179
ft. above the floor, spreads a dome, 107 ft. in diameter, and 46 ft.
deep, its base pierced by forty arched windows. From the cornice of the
dome stretches eastwards and westwards a semi-dome, which in its turn
rests upon three small semi-domes. The nave is thus covered completely
by a domical canopy, which, in its ascent, s