Nicaea (Iznik) remained in a leading role in the
pages of history for thousands of years.It is a unique city which hosted capitals of four
empires.Every piece of land is steeped with the residue of centuries old cultures. Iznik
is one of the townships of the Province of Bursa. It is located on the eastern bank of the
lake of the same name. ln the tumuli found around Iznik and villages such as Karadin,
Çiçekli, Üğucek 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
Khryseapolis, meaning “Golden City” is still visible on gold coins minted in the
ancient city during this period.
The
city was reconstructed by one of Alexander
the Great’s generals, Antigonos in 316 B.C. and named after him as “Antigoneia.”
However, in 301 B.C hostilities between two generals of Alexander the Great resulted in
war. Antigonos was defeated by Lysimakhos and lost his life. Now the master of the city,
Lysimakhos named the city “ Nicaea ” after his wife, who was the beautiful
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 was his last wish on his deathbed.
Subsequently Nicaea went on to become one of the most important cities of Roman Empire,
and there was competition between Nikomedia (Izmit) and Nicaea over which one was to
become the Capital of the State.During the era of Emperor Traianus (98-117 B.C.) the
governor of Bithynia (proconsul) Plinius completed the construction of the theatre which
had been ongoing for a Iong time. The city was demolished by an earthquake in 123 B.C.,
and was rebuilt by the order of Emperor Hadrianus. In 259 A.D. disaster struck, Goths
invaded and left the city in ruins. This time Emperor Cladius Gothicus was the person to
order the renovation of Nicaea . In the period of Emperor Constantinus’s
rule, Christianity was introduced to the region by the Bithynian apostle Petrus..The
summer of 325 A.D. witnessed an important event in the history of Christendom when the
First Council met in the Senate Palace under the chairmanship of Emperor
Constantinus.
There were two main
issues discussed during this momentous meeting. First, it was discussed that Christ was a
humble human being, not the son of the Almighty. This thesis was supported by Arius; a
theologian from Alexandria
and
found considerable support though most bishops disagreed with this conjecture. There
followed projected discussions dealing with the dissertation of Christ being the son of
the Divinity. This latter theory being adopted as church dogma. The dates of the Christian
festivals and the 20-article text known as Nicaean Creed were put into application after
this Council meeting. Earthquakes struck in the years 358, 362 and 368 A.D. respectively,
and ruined many of the monumental structures. Emperor Valentinianus of Byzantine gave the
title of Metropolis to Nicaea in the year 364 A.D. In the 7th
century, Arab armies on their way to Constantinople besieged Nicaea . |
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Emperor Leon III. and Constantinius V. utilised the stone from the theatre to strengthen
the city walls and Arab troops were defeated at Akronion, saving Nicaea
from
invasion. The 7th Council took place in the Nicaea Hagia Sofia Church in 787 A.D.and was
led by Empress Irene, who put an end to the Iconoclastic Era lifting the ban imposed
on the painting and sculpting of sacred images. The rebellious commander of Michael
VI. Komnenos attacked Iznik in 1056, and later went on to invade
Constantinople
.
Earthquakes caused heavy damage in Nicaea
in
the years 1063 and 1065 AD. In the year 1071 after the Battle of Malazgirt
Selçuk Süleyman Shah became the commander of the city. The territory was
ruled by the Selçuks and Iznik became the capital once again. The First Crusaders,
commanded by Godfrey de Bouillon, attacked the city in 1097. The battle, which was
supported by the Byzantines, lasted 37 days with the Selçuks being forced to
vacate the city on June
26th, 1097 .
In 1204, the 4th Crusade captured the Constantinople
administration
which was at that time the capital of Byzantium
.
Iznik became the possession of “Louis de Blois.” However, Emperor Teodoros I, who was
expelled from Constantinople
,
attacked him and the Crusaders and once again, Iznik was became a capital, this time the
capital city of Byzantium
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The
city walls was erected by Dukas Vatatzes between the years 1222-54. On March
2nd, 1331 Orhan
Gazi directed his Ottoman troops to enter the city from the Yenişehir Gate after a
prolonged siege.In 1402.Tamer-
lane’s army, which was marching west, invaded Ottoman territories following Yıldırım
Bayezid’s defeat during the battle of Ankara
.Iznik
was devastated once more. During the reign of the Ottomans,Iznik was the heart
of fine arts, culture and trade. Most eminent scientists and theologists lectured at
Orhangazi Medresesi (School
of
Theology).
Philosophers Davud-u Kayseri
,
Ebul Fadıl Musa, Eşrefoğlu Abdullah Rumi chose to settle in Iznik where they spread
their creative genius. Iznik is known as the city where the first Ottoman mosque,
university and cultivation were built. During the l4th and l5th centuries, the Çandarlı
family of the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman
Empire ,
brought prosperity to the city. Iznik was renown throughout
the old world for its enamel ware and ceramics during the l6th century. The 17th and 18th
centuries were the times when Iznik somehow drifted away from the fair winds of the past,
losing its importance
The Byzantium and Islam-Arab waves following
the Roman Empire
When
the Byzantium Empire was founded, Nicaea
became
the administrative centre of Thema of Opsikion in North-West Anatolia and preserved this
feature during the Byzantium
period.After
the birth of Islam, the Islamic-Arab armies began to threaten Byzantium
,and
Nicaea
,a
city on the Silk
road ,became
more important Islamic-Arab armies in 717 besieged Nikaea for the first time.
After 727,the armies continued to besiege the city every year.But in 740,Byzantium overcame
the Arab armies and the Islamic-Arab pressure disappeared for a time. At the end of
the 8th century, the struggles between the two sides again increased . During this
century, the city resisted the waves of İslamic-Arab armies |
The
oldest living Ionian city
Inheritors of Alexander the Great battled with each other to bring the Empire under
their sovereignty. Antigonia ruled for only for 15 years.When Lysimakhthalmos won the
“Hypsos War” in 301 BC. he captured the city. He repaired and rebuilt it and according
to the traditions of the time he changed the
name of the city from Antigonia to Nicaea after his beloved wife’s name Nike. This
name means “country of victory”. This historical process might have been true or
false, it is difficult to know. But recent archaeological excavations have shown that near
Lake Iznik there was an ancient settlement, which is
thought to belonged to the Early Bronze Age. According to Homer’s Iliad there was an
ancient city on the site of İznik or around İznik in 1250 BC.Consequently, it can be
said that first Antigoneia, then Nicaea was founded on ancient lonian city ruins. Thus
today, İznik is one of the places that reflect the characteristic features of the ancient
Ionian style. The city is built around two main crossroads. One of the main road, lies on
the north-south axis of the İstanbul Gate and Yenişehir Gate; the other main-road, lying
on the east-west axis goes to the Lefke and the Lake Gates .
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Just like an epic |
According to Strabon (BC. 65—AD.23), the
famous geographer of the ancient times,İznik was founded in BC.316 by Antigonos
Monophthalmos(Single Eye), one of the commanders who battled to gain the inheritance of
Alexander the Great. In accordance with the traditions of that age, İznik was named
"Antigoneia" after its founder Antigonos. But this knowledge is doubtful,because
before Alexander the Great and Antigonos, Homer
( BC 9. century),the epic poet mentioned the Askanian combatant, who supported the
defence of Troia against the first imperialists of the history. In the Ancient Age,Ascania
Limne was the name of Lake İznik . Ascania mighthave been todays İznik or a
place around İznik.The district from Gölayağı to Kios(today's Gemlik)was known as
Ascanios.Briefly Antigoneia of Antigonos might have been founded on the ruins of Ascania. |
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