Justinian I - Solomon, I have surpassed thee.

Solomon, I have surpassed thee.

Context

The Hagia Sophia was the greatest architectural and engineering enterprise of that era and remained so for centuries. The Church was so massive that there was a permanent city of 7000 people on the second level balconies with wide ramps so that horses and carts could go to the upper level. The dome was the largest unsupported dome for centuries and historians are still ignorant of exactly how it was constructed. It changed the history of architecture. The reference to Solomon referred to the building of the original Jewish Temple in Jerusalem which was up to then considered the greatest building ever constructed.

Topics

Citations

Justinian I, 483-565, Roman Emperor of Byzantium, Statement after completing the construction of the Hagia Sophia, 537

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