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40 Facts About the Glorious Rise and Brutal Fall of Constantinople

Trista July 11, 2019 18 min

Entrada de Roger de Flor a Constantinoble - Constantinople — A painting of Constantinople. Wikimedia.

16. Sophia Brought Justinian to His Knees

Another angle of the Hagia Sophia. Wikimedia.

Following in Constantine’s slightly narcissistic footsteps, Emperor Justinian himself attended the official unveiling of the Hagia Sophia in 537 and was overwhelmed by the experience. He reportedly fell to his knees and yelled out that he had outdone the famed lost Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. Thanks to the Temple being destroyed centuries before, no one could really disprove his boast.

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Trista

16. Sophia Brought Justinian to His Knees

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