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Who ordered the construction of the Hagia Sophia that stands in Istanbul?
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Hagia Sophia
A bird's-eye view of Hagia Sophia on the shore of the Bosporus, Istanbul.
The Hagia Sophia that stands in Istanbul today was commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.12
Following the destruction of the previous church during the Nika insurrection in January 532, Justinian I envisioned a grand replacement. The current structure was built in approximately six years and completed in 537. While an earlier church on the same site was originally ordered by Constantine I in 325, that building was destroyed prior to the construction of the 6th-century edifice that exists today.21