Νίκαια (Ancient Greek) | |
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| Alternative name | Nikaia |
|---|---|
| Location | İznik,Bursa Province, Turkey |
| Region | Bithynia |
| Coordinates | 40°25.74′N29°43.17′E / 40.42900°N 29.71950°E /40.42900; 29.71950 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | 145 ha (360 acres)[1][2] |
| History | |
| Builder | Antigonus I Monophthalmus[3] |
| Founded | c. 316[4][5][6] – 315[7][8] BC |
| Cultures | Ancient Greek,Roman,Byzantine,Ottoman |
| Events | First andSecond Council of Nicaea |
Nicaea (also spelledNicæa orNicea,/naɪˈsiːə/ny-SEE-ə;[9]Latin:[niːˈkae̯.a]), also known asNikaia (Ancient Greek:Νίκαια,Attic:[nǐːkai̯a],Koine:[ˈnikεa]), was an ancient Greek city in the north-westernAnatolian region ofBithynia[4][10][11] that is primarily known as the site of theFirst andSecond Councils of Nicaea (the first and seventhEcumenical councils in the early history of theChristian Church), theNicene Creed (which comes from the First Council), and as the capital city of theEmpire of Nicaea following theFourth Crusade in 1204, until the recapture ofConstantinople by the Byzantines in 1261. Nicaea was also the capital of theOttomans from 1331 to 1335.
The ancient city is located within the modernTurkish city ofİznik (whose modern name derives from Nicaea's), and is situated in a fertile basin at the eastern end ofLake Ascanius, bounded by ranges of hills to the north and south. It is situated with its west wall rising from the lake itself, providing both protection from siege from that direction, as well as a source of supplies which would be difficult to cut off. The lake is large enough that it could not be blockaded from the land easily, and the city was large enough to make any attempt to reach the harbour from shore-based siege weapons very difficult.
The ancient city is surrounded on all sides by 5 kilometres (3 mi) of walls about 10 metres (33 ft) high. These are in turn surrounded by a double ditch on the land portions, and also included over 100 towers in various locations. Large gates on the three landbound sides of the walls provided the only entrance to the city. Today, the walls have been pierced in many places for roads, but much of the early work survives; as a result, it is a tourist destination.
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The place is said to have been colonized byBottiaeans, and to have originally borne the name ofAncore (Ἀγκόρη) orHelicore (Ἑλικόρη), or by soldiers ofAlexander the Great's army who hailed fromNicaea inLocris, nearThermopylae. The later version, however, was not widespread, even in Antiquity.[12] Whatever the truth, the first Greek colony on the site was probably destroyed by theMysians, and it fell toAntigonus I Monophthalmus, one of Alexander's successors (Diadochi) to refound the cityc. 315 BC asAntigoneia (Ἀντιγονεία) after himself.[8] Antigonus is also known to have established Bottiaean soldiers in the vicinity, lending credence to the tradition about the city's founding by Bottiaeans. Following Antigonus' defeat and death at theBattle of Ipsus in 301 BC, the city was captured byLysimachus, who renamed itNicaea (Νίκαια, alsotransliterated asNikaia orNicæa; see alsoList of traditional Greek place names), in tribute to his wifeNicaea, who had recently died.[12]
Sometime before 280 BC, the city came under the control of thelocal dynasty of the kings ofBithynia. This marks the beginning of its rise to prominence as a seat of the royal court, as well as of its rivalry withNicomedia. The two cities' dispute over which one was the pre-eminent city (signified by the appellationmetropolis) of Bithynia continued for centuries, and the 38th oration ofDio Chrysostom was expressly composed to settle the dispute.[13][14]
Plutarch mentioned that Menecrates (Μενεκράτης) wrote about the history of the city.[15] InGreek mythology, Nicaea supposedly took its name fromNicaea, a nymph whom the godDionysus got drunk and raped; he later named the city after her.[16]
Along with the rest of Bithynia, Nicaea came under the rule of theRoman Republic in 72 BC. The city remained one of the most important urban centres ofAsia Minor throughout the Roman period, and continued its old competition with Nicomedia over pre-eminence and the location of the seat of theRoman governor ofBithynia et Pontus.[13] The geographerStrabo (XII.565 ff.) described the city as built in the typicalHellenistic fashion with great regularity, in the form of a square, measuring 16stadia in circumference, i.e. approx. 700 m × 700 m (2,297 ft × 2,297 ft) or 0.7 km × 0.7 km (0.43 mi × 0.43 mi) covering an area of some 50 ha (124 acres) or 0.5 km2 (0.2 sq mi); it had four gates, and all its streets intersected one another at right angles in accordance with theHippodamian plan, so that from a monument in the centre all the four gates could be seen.[14][17] This monument stood in thegymnasium, which was destroyed by fire but was restored with increased magnificence byPliny the Younger, when he was governor there in the early 2nd century AD. In his writings Pliny makes frequent mention of Nicaea and its public buildings.[14]
EmperorHadrian visited the city in 123 AD after it had been severely damaged by an earthquake and began to rebuild it. The new city was enclosed by a polygonal wall of some 5 kilometres in length. Reconstruction was not completed until the 3rd century, and the new set of walls failed to save Nicaea from being sacked by theGoths in 258 AD.[13][17] The numerous coins of Nicaea which still exist attest the interest taken in the city by theRoman emperors, as well as its attachment to the rulers; many of them commemorate great festivals celebrated there in honor of gods and emperors, asOlympia,Isthmia,Dionysia,Pythia,Commodia,Severia, Philadelphia, etc.[14]
Christianity became a legal religion of the Roman Empire in the reign ofConstantine I (also known as Constantine the Great) by theEdict of Milan in 313.[18] Constantinepatronized Christianity and supported it by granting privileges, and became the firstRoman Emperor to adopt Christianity, but he did not getbaptised untiljust before he died inNicomedia.[19] Constantine laid the groundwork for the majority of the population to become Christians, predominantly, theempire's formal religion in 380.
TheNicene Creed, (Ancient Greek:Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας,romanized: Sýmbolon tês Nikaías;Latin:Symbolum Nicaenum;lit. 'Symbol of Nicaea') which declaredJesus to beGod, and became the foundation of church doctrine,[20] was adopted at the first Roman Ecumenical Christian council in this city in 325.[21] This council also condemnedGothic ChristianArianism,[22] which was later adopted by manybarbarian kingdoms, and led to thedestruction of theWestern Empire for the century to come.
After shifting the council for four centuries, theEcumenical Council was held in Nicaea again in 787. This council was called by theEmperor of theEastern Empire,Constantine VI,Empress Irene, who later became the first female emperor, and attended byPope Hadrian I. It addressed theiconoclastic controversy and recognized the veneration of Christian images of Jesus and the saints as legitimate.[23][24] The council also forbade the secular appointment ofbishops, thus solidifying the independent authority of the church against that of the state.[25]
By the 4th century, Nicaea was a large and prosperous city, and a major military and administrative centre. EmperorConstantine the Great convened theFirst Ecumenical Council there, and the city gave its name to theNicene Creed.[14][26] The city remained important in the 4th century, seeing the proclamation of EmperorValens (364) and the failed rebellion ofProcopius (365). During the same period, theSee of Nicaea became independent of Nicomedia and was raised to the status of ametropolitan bishopric. However, the city was hit by two major earthquakes in 363 and 368, and coupled with competition from the newly established capital of theEastern Empire,Constantinople, it began to decline thereafter. Many of its grand civic buildings began to fall into ruin, and had to be restored in the 6th century by EmperorJustinian I, among them the aqueduct built by Hadrian.[26]
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The city disappears from sources thereafter and is mentioned again in the early 8th century: in 715, the deposed emperorAnastasios II fled there, and the city successfully resisted attacks by theUmayyad Caliphate in716 and727.[26] The city was again damaged by the740 Constantinople earthquake, served as the base of the rebellion ofArtabasdos in 741/2, and served as the meeting-place of theSecond Ecumenical Council, which condemnedByzantine Iconoclasm, in 787 (the council probably met in thebasilica ofHagia Sophia).[27] Nicaea became the capital of theOpsician Theme in the 8th century and remained a center of administration and trade. AJewish community is attested in the city in the 10th century. Due to its proximity to Constantinople, the city was contested in the rebellions of the 10th and 11th centuries as a base from which to threaten the capital. It was in the wake of such a rebellion, that ofNikephoros Melissenos, that it fell into the hands of Melissenos' Turkish allies in 1081.[28] TheSeljuk Turks made Nicaea the capital of theirpossessions in Asia Minor until 1097, when it returned to Byzantine control with the aid of theFirst Crusade after aone month siege.[28]
The 12th century saw a period of relative stability and prosperity at Nicaea. TheKomnenian emperors Alexios, John and Manuel campaigned extensively to strengthen the Byzantine presence in Asia Minor. Alexios seems to have repaired the aqueduct after the reconquest[29] and major fortifications were constructed across the region, especially by John and Manuel, which helped to protect the city and its fertile hinterland. There were also several military bases and colonies in the area, for example the one atRhyndakos in Bithynia, where the emperor John spent a year training his troops in preparation for campaigns in southern Asia Minor.
After thefall of Constantinople to theFourth Crusade in 1204, and the establishment of theLatin Empire, Nicaea escapedLatin occupation and maintained an autonomous stance. From 1206 on, it became the base ofTheodore Laskaris, who in 1208 was crowned emperor there and founded theEmpire of Nicaea. ThePatriarchate of Constantinople, exiled from Constantinople, also took up residence in the city until therecapture of Constantinople in 1261. Although Nicaea was soon abandoned as the primary residence of the Nicene emperors, who favouredNymphaion andMagnesia on the Maeander, the period was a lively one in the city's history, with "frequent synods, embassies, and imperial weddings and funerals", while the influx of scholars from other parts of the Eastern Roman world made it a centre of learning as well.[28]
After the restoration of the Byzantine Empire in 1261, the city once again declined in importance. The neglect of the Asian frontier byMichael VIII Palaiologos provoked a major uprising in 1262, and in 1265, panic broke out when rumours circulated of an imminentMongol attack.[28] EmperorAndronikos II Palaiologos visited the city in 1290 and took care to restore its defences, but Byzantium proved unable to halt the rise of the nascentOttoman emirate in the region.[28] After EmperorAndronikos III Palaiologos andJohn Kantakouzenos were defeated atPelekanon on 11 June 1329, the Byzantine government could no longer defend Nicaea. Nicaea finally surrendered to the Ottomans after along siege 2 March 1331.[30]
In 1331,Orhancaptured the city from theByzantines and for a short period the town became the capital of the expanding Ottoman emirate.[31] Many of its public buildings were destroyed, and the materials were used by theOttomans in erecting their mosques and other edifices. The large church of Hagia Sophia in the centre of the town was converted into a mosque and became known as the Orhan Mosque.[32] A madrasa and baths were built nearby.[33] In 1334 Orhan built a mosque and animaret (soup kitchen) just outside the Yenişehir gate (Yenişehir Kapısı) on the south side of the town.[34] With thefall of Constantinople in 1453, the town lost a great degree of its importance, but later became a major centre with the creation of a localfaïence pottery industry in the 17th century. Thereafter, it slowly faded away as it lost population. In 1779, the Italian archaeologist Domenico Sestini wrote that it was nothing but an abandoned town with no life, no noise and no movement.[34][35]
The ancient walls, with their towers and gates, are relatively well preserved. Their circumference is 3,100 m (10,171 ft), being at the base from 5 to 7 m (16 to 23 ft) in thickness, and from 10 to 13 m (33 to 43 ft) in height; they contain four large and two small gates. In most places they are formed of alternate courses of Roman tiles and large square stones, joined by a cement of great thickness. In some places columns and other architectural fragments from the ruins of more ancient edifices have been inserted. As with those of Constantinople, the walls seem to have been built in the 4th century. Some of the towers haveGreek inscriptions.[36]
The ruins of mosques, baths, and houses, dispersed among the gardens and apartment buildings that now occupy a great part of the space within the Roman and Byzantine fortifications, show that the Ottoman-era town center, though now less considerable, was once a place of importance; but it never was as large as the Byzantine city. It seems to have been almost entirely constructed of the remains of the Byzantine-era Nicaea, the walls of the ruined mosques and baths being full of the fragments of ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine temples and churches.[36]
In the northwestern parts of the town, two moles extend into the lake and form a harbour; but the lake in this part has much retreated, and left a marshy plain. Outside the walls are the remnants of an ancient aqueduct.[36]
The Church of the Dormition, the principal Greek Orthodox church in Nicaea, was one of the most architecturally important Byzantine churches inAsia Minor. A domed church with a cross-shaped nave and elongated apse, and dating from the perhaps as early as the end of the 6th century, its bema was decorated with very fine mosaics that had been restored in the 9th century. The Church of the Dormition was destroyed by the Turks in 1922; only the lower portions of some of its walls survive today.[37]
Excavations are underway in the Ottoman kilns where the historic Nicean tiles were made.
TheHagia Sophia church of Nicaea is undergoing restoration.
Under the shallow waters on the margin of Lake Iznik, at a site still located on firm ground on the lakeshore in Byzantine times, the ruins of a 4th-century basilica were found. It might well be the site of theFirst Council of Nicaea.[38]
Eight kilometers from the city there is an ancient, human-size,Herakles relief engraved on a rock.[39]
The bishopric of Nicaea remains as atitular see of theRoman Catholic Church,[40] which has left the seat vacant since the death of its lasttitular bishop in 1976.[41] It is also a titularmetropolitan see of theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The incumbent 2001–2010 was the formerArchbishop of Karelia and All Finland, MetropolitanJohannes (Rinne).[42]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857)."Nicaea".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
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