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| Blue and white Iznik Tiles |
Nicaea (Iznik) has remained in the leading role in the pages of history for thousands of years. It is a unique city which hosted capitals of four empire. Every piece of land is intermingled with the residue of centuries old cultures. Iznik is one of the townships of Bursa and it is located on the eastern bank of a lake with same name. In the tumuli found around Iznik with such names as Karadin, Çiçekli, Yüğücek and Çakırca, footprints of civilizations can be traced back to 2500 B.C.
Settlements established prior to the migration of the Thracians in the 7th century B.C. were named “Helikare” The name Khyrseapolis, meaning Golden City is still visible on gold coins minted in the ancient city during this period.
The city was reconstructed by one of his generals, Antigonos in 316 B.C. and named after his as “Antigoneia.”
However, in 301 B.C. hostilities between two generals of Alexander the Great ended up in a war. Antigonos was defeated by Lysimakhos and lost his life in the war. Being now the master , Lysimakhos named the city “Nicaea” after his wife, who was the beatiful daughter of Antipatros. Yet, between the years 278 and 277 B.C. Galatian raids damaged the city.
Upon the death of Nikomedes III in 74 B.C., the city became a part of the Roman Empire as it was his last wish before his death. Subsequently, Nicaea went on to become one of the most important establishments of Roman Empire, whereas competition went on between Nikomedia (İzmit) and Nicaea over which one was to become the capital of the State. During the era of Emperor Traianus (98-117 B.C.) and the governer of Bithynia (proconsul) Plinius completed the construction of the teather which had been ongoing for a long time.
The city was demolished during an earthquake in 123 B.C., and was rebuilt by the order of Emperor Hadrianus. In 259 A.D. disaster struck, Goths invaded and wrecked the city. This time Emperor Cladius Gothicus was the person to order the renovation of Nicaea.
Emperor Constantinus, Christianity was introduced to the region by Bithynian apostle Petrus with considerable effort. The summer of 325 A.D. witnessed an important event related to Christianity in that the First Council met in the Senate Palace under the chairmanship of Emperor Constantinus. There were two main issues discussed during this momentous assemblage. First, it was discussed that Christ was just a humble human being, not the son of the Almighty. This thesis was supported by Arius; a theologist from Alexandria found quite a lot of supporters though most bishops reacted to this conjectures. Proceeding elongated discussion dealt with the dissertation of Christ being the son of the divinity gained approval. The dates of the Christian holidays and a 20-article text known as Nicene Creed were put into application after this Council meeting.
to be continued ...
