Editing Isidore of Miletus (section)

===Hagia Sophia===
Emperor Justinian I appointed his architects to rebuild the [[Hagia Sophia]] following his victory over protesters within the capital city of the [[Roman Empire]], Constantinople. The first [[basilica]] was completed in 360 and remodelled from 404 to 415, but had been damaged in 532 in the course of the [[Nika riots|Nika Riot]], “The temple of Sophia, the [[baths of Zeuxippus]], and the imperial courtyard from the [[Propylaia]] all the way to the so-called House of Ares were burned up and destroyed, as were both of the great porticoes that lead to the forum that is named after Constantine, houses of prosperous people, and a great deal of other properties.”<ref>Prokopios, page 138</ref>

The rival factions of Constantinople populace, the Blues and the Greens, opposed each other in the [[Chariot racing|chariot races]] at the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople|Hippodrome]] and often resorted to violence.  During the Nika Riot, more than thirty thousand people were killed.<ref>Prokopios, page 144</ref>   Emperor Justinian I ensured that his new structure would not be burned down, like its predecessors, by commissioning architects that would build the church mainly out of stone, rather than wood, “He compacted it of baked brick and mortar, and in many places bound it together with iron, but made no use of wood, so that the church should no longer prove combustible.”<ref>Mango, page 78</ref> The construction of the Hagia Sophia began so fast after the riots were quelled that many think that Justinian had his architects begin planning it before the riots even stopped.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Cavendish |first=Richard |date=December 2013 |title=Church of Hagia Sophia reconsecrated |journal=History Today |volume=63 |issue=12 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref>

Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles originally planned on a main hall of the Hagia Sophia that measured 70 by 75 metres (230 x 250&nbsp;ft), making it the largest [[Church (building)|church]] in Constantinople, but the original dome was nearly 6 metres (20&nbsp;ft) lower than it was constructed, “Justinian suppressed these riots and took the opportunity of marking his victory by erecting in 532-7 the new Hagia Sophia, one of the largest, most lavish, and most expensive buildings of all time.”<ref>Watkin, page 76</ref>

Although Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles were not formally educated in [[architecture]], they were scientists who could organize the logistics of drawing thousands of [[laborer|labourer]]s and unprecedented loads of rare [[raw material]]s from around the Roman Empire to construct the Hagia Sophia for Emperor Justinian I. Isidore and Anthemius obtained stone from as far away as Egypt, Syria, and Libya, and columns from several temples in Rome.<ref name=":02"/> The finished product was built in admirable form for the Roman Emperor, “All of these elements marvellously fitted together in mid-air, suspended from one another and reposing only on the parts adjacent to them, produce a unified and most remarkable harmony in the work, and yet do not allow the spectators to rest their gaze upon any one of them for a length of time.”<ref>Mango, page 75</ref> It is believed that Isidore did much of the work on the domes of the Hagia Sophia due to his extensive work on vaults, and his commentary, "On Vaulting".<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Podles |first=Mary Elizabeth |date=May 2021 |title=A Thousand Words Hagia Sophia, Church of the Holy Wisdom |journal=Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=54–55 |via=Academic Search Premier}}</ref>

The Hagia Sophia architects innovatively combined the longitudinal structure of a Roman basilica and the central plan of a drum-supported dome, in order to withstand the high magnitude [[earthquake]]s of the [[Marmara Region]], “However, in May 558, little more than 20 years after the Church’s dedication, following the earthquakes of August 553 and [[557 Constantinople earthquake|December 557]], parts of the central dome and its supporting structure system collapsed.”<ref>Cakmak, page 693</ref> The Hagia Sophia was repeatedly cracked by earthquakes and was quickly repaired. Isidore of Miletus’ nephew, [[Isidore of Miletus the Younger|Isidore the Younger]], introduced the new dome design that can be viewed in the Hagia Sophia in present-day [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]. Originally the dome was constructed without ribs, but achieved its present-day construction with ribs when Isidore the Younger repaired the church.<ref name=":12"/>

After a great earthquake in 989 ruined the dome of Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine officials summoned [[Trdat the Architect]] to Byzantium to organize repairs. The restored dome was completed by 994.<ref>Maranci, pages 294–305</ref>