He was like the David Tennant of doctors. He was born a peasant somewhere in the Balkans and then rose to become emperor in 527. He ruled for almost 30 years, and in addition to codifying Roman law, he did a lot to restore the former glory of the Roman Empire. He took Carthage back. He even took Rome back from the Goths, although not for long. And he's responsible for the building of one of the great churches of all time, which is now a mosque, the Hagia Sophia, or Church of Saint Wisdom. So after one of those sporting riots destroyed the previous church, he built this, which with its soaring domes became a symbol for the wealth and opulence of his empire.