Another emperor, who had contributed to Byzantium was Theodosius II who had a splendid new cathedral called the "Haghia Sophia" the Divine Wisdom. It replaced a wooden basilica church which had been constucted by Constantine. In the 6C, the city was predominantly Christian...
Another age started in Byzantium with Justin I in 518 which is accepted as the beginning of the imperial era. He was an illiterate soldier and he had to rely on the advices of his young, dynamic and well-educated nephew, Justinian. He slowly climbed the stairs up as being a Consul, Caesar and co-emperor in 527 AD which led the way up to the Imperial Throne...After he became Emperor, he married to Theodora,an old dancer and singer who turned to be a strong believer of Christianity. She influenced Justinian and changed evertyhing suitable for a fully-Christian Byzantium. She had all the Pagan Schools closed and made the Christian tradition stronger.
In the year 532, Justinian was overthrown by a revolt in the ancient Hippodrome, called "Nika Revolt" which caused many buldings to collapse and badly damaged including the splendid Haghia Sophia. He ordered a big and beautiful Greek Orthodox Church to be constructed as well as the city to be restored. During his reign, Constantinople was one of the biggest cities in the world..