Constantinople in the 6th Century

Type Object Region Byzantine Empire Time 501–600

6th-century Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire on the west shore of the Bosphorus, reaching its peak of urban con…

Timeline

527–565Constantinople · BosphorusAfter accession Justinian I launched extensive building works, rebuilding Hagia Sophia after the Nika riot of 532 and expanding palaces, aqueducts, and walls; he also compiled the corpus of Roman law, strengthening the capital's status as a legal and administrative hub.
565–600Constantinople · BosphorusAfter Justinian's death the empire suffered plague and war, yet Constantinople maintained its status as one of the largest Mediterranean cities through the Theodosian Walls, Golden Horn harbor, and hippodrome, continuing as the seat of the Orthodox patriarch and a node of east-west trade.

Sources

A History of Byzantium — Timothy E. Gregory (2005)
Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church — Rowland J. Mainstone (1988)