 Another prominent church in the capital , the Church of the Holy Apostles , which had been in a very poor state near the end of the 5th century , was likewise rebuilt . Works of embellishment were not confined to churches alone : excavations at the site of the Great Palace of Constantinople have yielded several high @-@ quality mosaics dating from Justinian 's reign , and a column topped by a bronze statue of Justinian on horseback and dressed in a military costume was erected in the <unk> in Constantinople in 543 . Rivalry with other , more established patrons from the Constantinopolitan and exiled Roman aristocracy ( like Anicia Juliana ) might have enforced Justinian 's building activities in the capital as a means of strengthening his dynasty 's prestige . 
