Christian History Home > Issue 74 > Christians & Muslims: From the Editor - The Cover's Story
Christians & Muslims: From the Editor - The Cover's Story
A picture of Hagia Sophia, heavy with Christian and Islamic symbolism, speaks of centuries of ambition, sorrow, and bad faith.
Elesha Coffman | posted 4/01/2002 12:00AM
On January 27, 537, Byzantine Emperor Justinian dedicated the magnificent Church of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople. "Glory to God, Who has deemed me worthy of fulfilling such a work," he prayed. "O Solomon, I have surpassed thee."
About a generation later, a widow in Mecca gave birth to a son named Muhammad. He reportedly prophesied to one of his followers, "You shall conquer Constantinople. Glory be to the prince and to the army that shall achieve it." Muslim armies tried repeatedly to make the prophecy come true, besieging Justinian's capital seven times in as many centuries.
The siege party in 1453 brought an extra weapon—the Janissaries, an elite corps of men taken as children from Christian families and raised as Islamic warriors. With this force Sultan Muhammad II overwhelmed the defenses of the last Emperor Constantine, who spurred his horse into the oncoming ranks of Janissaries and was never seen again. Muslim fighters broke down the doors of Hagia Sophia and killed ... To view this item, you must be a member of ChristianHistory.net.
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