Hagia Sophia, Edessa

The Basilica of Hagia Sophia of Edessa (Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, meaning "Holy Wisdom") was an ancient Early Christian church and later a Byzantine basilica. It was constructed in the early 3rd century, destroyed in a flood in 525, and restored as a Byzantine basilica by Justinian I. It was supposedly the first site of the appearance of the Mandylion.

It was a "twin" basilica of the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, with a relatively similar floor plan. Although its construction began seven years before the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, in 525, it was completed eight years after the latter, in 545, mainly due to significant delays. During the Early Middle Ages, it was considered one of the wonders of the world by some Christian and Muslim travelers. It distinguished itself from the capital's basilica by being surrounded by water and having an interior predominantly decorated with white marble.

The basilica persisted at least until the early 12th century, when a substantial part of the structure collapsed during a siege of the city. While there are hardly any archaeological traces remaining, textual sources, including a fairly detailed Syriac hymn, can be used to reconstruct the architecture of the building.