byzantine-world: Hagia Irene, Istanbul Hagia Irene or Hagia Eirene is a former Eastern Orthodox chur
byzantine-world:Hagia Irene, IstanbulHagia Irene or Hagia Eirene is a former Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. The church was dedicated by Constantine to the peace of God, and is one of the three shrines which the Emperor devoted to God’s attributes, together with Hagia Sophia (Wisdom) and Hagia Dynamis (Force). The building reputedly stands on the site of a pre-Christian temple and ranks, in fact, as the first church built in Constantinople. Emperor Constantine I commissioned the first Hagia Irene church in the 4th century. It served as the church of the Patriarchate before Hagia Sophia was completed in 360 and from May to July 381 the First Council of Constantinople took place in here. It was burned down during the Nika revolt in 532. Emperor Justinian I had the church restored in 548, but was heavily damaged by an earthquake in the 8th century and it dates in its present form largely from the repairs made at that time. The Emperor Constantine V ordered the restorations and had its interior decorated with mosaics and frescoes. The church was enlarged during the 11th and 12th centuries. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II, the church was enclosed inside the walls of the Topkapi palace and used as an armory. It was also used as a warehouse for war booty. During the reign of Sultan Ahmet III (1703–1730) it was converted into a weapons museum. (source) -- source link
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