---
title: Remnants of Theodosius' Hagia Sophia
author: Hagia Sophia Research Team
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/7974/remnants-of-theodosius-hagia-sophia/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---
# Remnants of Theodosius' Hagia Sophia
_Authored by Hagia Sophia Research Team_
## Image File
[](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/7974.jpg)
## Image Caption
Remnants of Theodosios' [Hagia Sophia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Hagia_Sophia/). A lamb relief representing 12 apostles. 5th. century CE, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, [Turkey](https://www.worldhistory.org/Asia_Minor/). The first name of the Church was ‘’Megale Ekklesia’’ which means ‘’the Grand Church’’. The first Hagia Sophia was built in 360 CE. It was a wooden-roofed basilica, built on the site of a pagan [temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/). Contrary to popular belief, it was donated by Constantinus II not by Justinian. When the church was built, severe conflicts arose between the Pagans and new Christians. When its roof was burned by a fire in 404 CE and then mostly destroyed in a second fire in 414 CE, Theodosius II, a great believer of orthodoxy dedicated a new church in 415 CE. Among the ruins of Theodosius’ church, you can see the architrave of 12 sheep that represent the twelve apostles of Christ in front of the monumental entrance.
## Cite This Work
### APA
Team, H. S. R. (2018, January 24). Remnants of Theodosius' Hagia Sophia. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Team, Hagia Sophia Research. "Remnants of Theodosius' Hagia Sophia." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 24, 2018. .
### MLA
Team, Hagia Sophia Research. "Remnants of Theodosius' Hagia Sophia." *World History Encyclopedia*, 24 Jan 2018, .
## License & Copyright
[Original image](https://hagiasophiaturkey.com/remains-in-the-garden/) by **Hagia Sophia Research Team**. Submitted by [Rome and Byzantium](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/hagiasophiatr/ "User Page: Rome and Byzantium"), published on 24 January 2018. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.