From Ceremony To Spectacle: Changing Perception of Hagia Sophia Through the Night of Decree (layla’t-Ul Kadr) Prayer Ceremonies [Book Part]

Abstract

After the Hagia Sophia was converted into an imperial mosque by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1451–81), it became a key venue for imperial religious ceremonies. From the sixteenth century until the 1830s, Ottoman sultans customarily performed the Night of Decree prayers at the Hagia Sophia. Although sultans eventually left this tradition and began attending the Night of Decree prayers at other mosques, such as Nusretiye and later Yıldız Hamidiye Mosques, the Hagia Sophia remained significant for Istanbulites.

From the 1880s, the court altered the ceremonial decorum at the Hagia Sophia, issuing passes for foreign embassy staff and guests to observe from the upper galleries, with officials explaining the rituals. This period saw an increase in non-Muslim spectators, from tens to thousands. This paper examines the transformation of a religious ceremony into a spectacle by conceptualizing the Hagia Sophia as a showpiece monument, distinct in function from other imperial mosques. It argues that the Hagia Sophia, historically used as a political tool, continued to serve this purpose in a different way between the 1880s and 1932.