Turkey's Hagia Sophia

The Holy Place of the Roman Empire

In Istanbul lies one of the greatest churches to ever be built. Hagia Sophia, or 'The Church of Holy Wisdom' was first built by Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed and had to be rebuilt by Constantine's son, Constantius II, but was, again, destroyed. Emperor Justinian I resolved to build the church again, but to such a scale that nobody would ever want to destroy it again. Starting in 532, the project took 10,000 men to build and a legion of priests to continually pray over the construction sight. Hagia Sophia's dome, measuring 182 feet high and 100 feet across, was the one largest of its time, second to only the Pantheon, in Rome. Justinian succeeded in making it so great that it would never be destroyed, for when the Ottomans invaded in 1453, they were so amazed that they turned it into a mosque by adding a few minarets (Towers built next to mosques). The Ottomans helped to preserve many of the original Roman artistry on the walls of the building when they plastered over them. Because of this preservation, many of the mosaics and paintings are still there for tourists to enjoy today.

Information from...
Wonders of the Ancient World By Justin Pollard

Historical Time Periods

History, in my mind, can be divided into 12 section, or time periods. These periods may not contain all the years, but the contain a large amount of them.

1. The Rivaling Times- the time period before Alexander the Great took the throne. This was the period of time when many small nations in the Near East fought over the land in the fertile crescent.

2. The Imperial Times- the period of time during which the Roman and Greek Empires were around, starting with Alexander the Great and ending with the fall of Western Rome.

3. The Saved Times- The time period after Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross (A.D.).

4. The Barbaric Times- The time between the end of Western Rome and the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire. This time period was when the barbarians that took the place of Rome were forming their own kingdoms.

5. The Founding Times- The age in between the rule of Charlemagne and the fall of the Byzantine Empire. The starts of actual nations instead of barbarian tribes.

6. The Middle Eastern Times- The period of time while there was an Islamic Empire. This age starts at the death of Muhammad until the invasion of the empire by the Mongols.

7. The Reform Times- The time period when Christianity shifted away from just Catholicism. This period of time was the time of John Calvin and Martin Luther. The age started with the creation of the 95 Theses and ended with the Counter Reformation.

8. The Exploring Times- The period of time when European Nations explored the lands for trade routes and new places to colonize. Starts with Marco Polo and ends around the time of James Cook.

9. The Artisan Times- The time period that flows along with the Reform Times and the Exploring Times that deals with the detail and the realisticness of the paintings/sculptures. Architecture was also a piece of this time period.

10. The Scientific Times- The time during which scientific discoveries were made in large amounts. Starting withe Nicholas Copernicus, this time period includes the ideas of Galileo, Newton, and Bacon.

11. The Industrial Times- The time period during which electricity, steam power, and the assembly line were put into use. Starting in the late 1700's and going on until World War 1, this time period changed people's ways of doing things for good.

12. The Modern Times- The time that looks about what it looked like right now. I'm not saying that things during WW2 were the same, but it was during this time that computers, televisions, and recording devices were created and used during. This period ends about now.