 Basrelief of a charioteer, late 6th century BC | |
  Cyzicus Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Erdek,Balıkesir Province, Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Mysia |
| Coordinates | 40°23′16″N27°52′14″E / 40.38778°N 27.87056°E /40.38778; 27.87056 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Pelasgian settlers |
| Abandoned | 11th century AD |
| Periods | Archaic Greek toHigh Medieval |
| Cultures | Greek,Ancient Roman,Byzantine |
| Events | Siege of Cyzicus |
Cyzicus (/ˈsɪzɪkəs/SIZ-ik-əs;Ancient Greek:Κύζικος,romanized: Kúzikos;Ottoman Turkish:آیدینجق,romanized: Aydıncıḳ) was an ancient Greek town inMysia inAnatolia in the currentBalıkesir Province ofTurkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the presentKapıdağ Peninsula (the classicalArctonnesus), atombolo which is said to have originally been an island in theSea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic times either by artificial means or an earthquake.
The site of Cyzicus, located on theErdek andBandırma roads, is protected byTurkey'sMinistry of Culture.
The city was said to have been founded byPelasgians fromThessaly, according to tradition at the coming of theArgonauts; later it received many colonies fromMiletus, allegedly in 756 BC, but its importance began near the end of thePeloponnesian War when the conflict centered on the sea routes connecting Greece to the Black Sea. At this time, the cities of Athens and Miletus diminished in importance while Cyzicus began to prosper. Commander of the Athenian fleetAlcibiades defeated the Spartan fleet in a major naval engagement near Cyzicus known as theBattle of Cyzicus in 410 BC. Famed ancient philosopherEudoxus of Cnidus established a school at Cyzicus and went with his pupils to Athens, visitingPlato. Later he returned to Anatolia to his hometown ofCnidus, and died circa 350 BC.[2] The era ofOlympiads in Cyzicus was reckoned from 135 or 139.
Owing to its advantageous position it speedily acquired commercial importance, and the goldstaters of Cyzicus were a staple currency in the ancient world till they were superseded by those ofPhilip of Macedon.[3] Its unique and characteristic coin, thecyzicenus, was worth 28 drachmae.
During the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) Cyzicus was subject to theAthenians andLacedaemonians alternately. In the navalBattle of Cyzicus in 410 during thePeloponnesian War, an Athenian fleet routed and completely destroyed a Spartan fleet. At the peace ofAntalcidas (387 BC), like the other Greek cities in Asia, it was made over toPersia.[3]Alexander the Great later captured it from the Persians in 334 BC and was later claimed to be responsible for connecting the island to the mainland.
The history of the town inHellenistic times is closely connected with that of theAttalids ofPergamon, with whose extinction it came into direct relations withRome. Cyzicus was held for the Romans against KingMithridates VI of Pontus who besieged it with 300,000 men in 74 BC, theSiege of Cyzicus, but it withstood him stoutly, and the siege was raised byLucullus: the loyalty of the city was rewarded by an extension of territory and other privileges.[3] The Romans favored it and recognized its municipal independence. Cyzicus was the leading city of NorthernMysia as far asTroas.
UnderTiberius, it was incorporated into theRoman Empire but remained the capital ofMysia (afterwards,Hellespontus) and became one of the great cities of the ancient world.
There was a women's cult at Cyzicus worshiping the goddessArtemis, which was called Dolon (Δόλων).[4]
Cyzicus wascaptured temporarily by the Arabs led byMuawiyah I in AD 675. It appears to have been ruined by a series of earthquakes beginning in 443, with the last in 1063. Although its population was transferred toArtake before the 13th century when the peninsula was occupied by theCrusaders,[3] in 1324 the metropolitan of Cyzicus was one of three sees in Anatolia which was able to contribute a temporary annual subsidy to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Following its conquest by the Ottomans it underwent hard times. From a point between 1370 and 1372 until 1387, the metropolitan was empty; Speros Vryonis speculates this was due to financial difficulties. Later in the 14th century, the sees ofChalcedon and certain patriarchal possessions in Bithynia and Hellespont were bestowed on the metropolitan of Cyzicus.[5]
In theOttoman era, it was part of thekaza of Erdek in theprovince of Brusa.
Cyzicus, as capital of theRoman province ofHellespontus, was its ecclesiasticalmetropolitan see. In theNotitiae Episcopatuum of Pseudo-Epiphanius, composed in about 640, Cyzicus had 12suffragansees;Abydus,Baris in Hellesponto (between Sariköy and Biga),Dardanus,Germa in Hellesponto (ruins of Germaslu, Kirmasti, Girmas),Hadrianotherae (Uzuncia yayla),Ilium,Lampsacus,Miletopolis,Oca,Pionia (Avcılar),Poemanenum (Eskimanias),Troas. The province also included two autocephalous archiepiscopal sees:Parium andProconnesus.
Cyzicus had a catalogue of bishops beginning with the 1st century;Michel Le Quien mentions fifty-nine.[6] A more complete list is found in Nicodemos, in the Greek "Office of St. Emilian" (Constantinople, 1876), 34–36, which has eighty-five names. Of particular importance are the famousArian theologianEunomius of Cyzicus;Saint Dalmatius; bishopsProclus andGermanus, who became Patriarchs of Constantinople; and Saint Emilian, a martyr in the 8th century. Another saint who came from Cyzicus, SaintTryphaena of Cyzicus, is thepatron saint of the city.Gelasius, a historian ofArianism, who wrote about 475, was born at Cyzicus.[6][7]
Cyzicus remained a metropolitan see of theGreek Orthodox Church until the 1923Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations emptied it of Greek Orthodox faithful, whether they spoke Greek or Turkish. The last bishop of the see died in 1932.[20][21][22] Today it is a titular metropolis of theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Since 1885, theCatholic Church lists Cyzicus as atitular see[23] of the highest (Metropolitan) rank, but vacant since 1974. Titular metropolitans were:
The site amid the marshes of Balkiz Serai is known as Bal-Kiz and entirely uninhabited, though under cultivation. The principal extant ruins are the walls, dating from the fourth century, which are traceable for nearly their whole extent, and the substructures of the temple ofHadrian,[3] the ruins of a Roman aqueduct and a theatre.
The picturesqueamphitheatre, intersected by a stream, was one of the largest in the world. Construction for the amphitheatre began in the middle of the first century until the end of the third. Its diameter was nearly 500 feet (150 m) and it is located at these coordinates40°23′54″N27°53′5″E / 40.39833°N 27.88472°E /40.39833; 27.88472 (Cyzicus amphitheatre), north of the main part of Cyzicus.
The colossal foundations of the temple dedicated to the EmperorHadrian are still visible: the columns were 21.35 metres high (about 70 feet), while the highest known elsewhere, those atBaalbek in Lebanon are only 19.35 metres (about 63 feet). The structure was the largest Greco-Roman temple ever built.[24] Of this magnificent building, sometimes ranked among the seven wonders of the ancient world, thirty-one immense columns still stood erect in 1444. These have since been carried away piecemeal for building purposes.[3]
The monuments of Cyzicus were used by the Byzantine emperor Justinian as a quarry for the building of his Saint Sophia cathedral, and were still exploited by the Ottomans.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Hasluck, Frederick William (1911). "Cyzicus". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 720.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Cyzicus".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
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