Attempts by the imperial government to root out abuses and its attacks on vested interests, whether of rich or poor, have created public discontent, voiced most dramatically in Constantinople by the Nika revolt of January, 532, named for the cry of rival factions at the races in the hippodrome: “Nika” (“Conquer,” or “Win”).

The city parties known as the Greens and the Blues, angered at the severity with which the urban prefect has suppressed a riot, unite and attack and set fire to the city prefect's office and public buildings, as well as to part of the imperial palace and the Church of the Holy Wisdom adjoining it.

Gathering in the hippodrome, they call for the dismissal of the city prefect and of two imperial ministers, John the Cappadocian and the advocate Tribonian.

Emperor Justinian agrees, but the mob is by now out of control and perhaps exploited by interested parties.

Certain senators support Hypatius, nephew of the late emperor Anastasius, who is proclaimed emperor the next day.

The crowd and the usurper assemble in the hippodrome.

Justinian looks to be dethroned, but his wife Theodora persuades him to stand his ground, and the generals in the city, Belisarius and Mundus, muster what troops they can and resolutely turn on the mob in the hippodrome.

Helped by the grand chamberlain, Narses, who dispenses skillful and lavish political bribes, the generals gain the upper hand at the cost of a wholesale massacre of some thirty thousand rebellious citizens.

Hypatius is executed, together with the leaders, and their estates pass, at least temporarily, into the Emperor's hands.

One of the architectural casualties of the great Nika riot and fire is the cathedral of Constantine, destroyed by fire.

Following the suppression of the rioters, Justinian immediately begins the erection of an even grander and more beautiful cathedral, which will become known as the Church of Hagia Sophia (“Blessed Wisdom”).