Isidore of Miletus the Younger or simply Isidore the Younger ( – 563) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

architect and a nephew of the architect Isidore of Miletus. Like his uncle, he was a native of

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

. According to Procopius' ''Buildings'', Isidore in his early days collaborated with another young architect, John of Constantinople, on the fortifications of

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city, ...

. This work including constructing churches, barracks and baths. This work took place during the reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

(527–565). At

Chalcis ad Belum Qinnasrin ( ar, قنسرين; syr, ܩܢܫܪܝܢ, ''Qinnašrīn'', lit=Nest of Eagles), also known by numerous other romanizations and originally known as ( la, Chalcis ad Belum; grc-gre, Χαλκὶς, ''Khalkìs''), was a historical town in ...

, one inscription dated to 550 and another from about that time mention an engineer named Isidore and are commonly associated with Isidore the Younger. The inscriptions, found in two houses, call Isidore a ''mechanikos'' and a '' vir illustris''. According to Procopius, when the dome of the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

designed by the elder Isidore collapsed following an earthquake in 557, Isidore supervised its repair. He is described as the ''mechanopoios''. The new dome was consecrated on 24 December 562. According to Agathias, it was less awesome than the first but taller. The reconstruction is also recorded in

Paul the Silentiary Paul the Silentiary, also known as Paulus Silentiarius ( el, , died AD 575–580), was a Greek Byzantine poet and courtier to the emperor Justinian at Constantinople. Life What little we know of Paul's life comes largely from the contemporary ...

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...

and

John Malalas John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey). Life Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in ...

. Compared with the later restorations of the dome in 986–994 by Trdat and in 1347–1354, the work of Isidore shows exceptional precision and workmanship. Twelve ribs from his restoration remain in the present building. According to

Constantine of Rhodes Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

, writing in the 9th century, Isidore helped design the Church of the Holy Apostles for the Justinian.

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Bibliography

* * * * {{authority control Byzantine architects 6th-century Byzantine people 6th-century architects