Dedicated to Divine Wisdom, Hagia Sophia was the cathedral of Constantinople. Along with Hagia Irene, and the Hospice of Samson, it formed a large complex that was administered by the same clergy. Yet, it was not the first church that was built on this site. In fact, long before it was constructed by Emperor Justinian I, in the 6th century, this was the place where Emperor Constantius II erected in 360 AD a wooden roofed basilica with 5 naves. It didn’t stay here for long, as, in 404, it was consumed by a fire that broke out during a riot. Under the reign of Theodosius II, the church was restored, but it was burnt again in another riot that went down in Byzantine history as the bloodiest revolt the Empire ever witnessed. The so-called Nika Riot took place in 532. The third construction erected on the site would be a real feat of architecture! Completed between the years 532 and 537, it was designed by the mathematician Anthemius of Tralles and the engineer and geometer Isidore of Miletus. 10,000 workers and 100 masters worked here and the finest materials from all over the empire were used for the erection of the colossal new cathedral.