Nicaea
- The name of several cities.
- A A city in Bithynia, on Lake Ascanius, formerly called Antigonia, the mod. Isnik or Nice, Cic. Planc. 34, 84; id. Att. 14, 1, 2; Cat. 46, 5; Plin. Ep. 10, 49, 1; Plin. 5, 22, 43, § 148.—
- B A city in Locris, near Thermopylae, Liv. 28, 5, 18; 32, 32; 35.—
- C An Indian city on the Hydaspes, founded by Alexander the Great, Curt. 9, 3, 23; Just. 12, 8, 8.—
- D A city in Liguria, a colony of Marseilles, Plin. 3, 5, 7, § 47.—
- II Derivv.
- A Nīcaeensis (Nīcensis, Plin. Ep. 10, 48), e, adj., Nicene, Plin. 7, 2, 2, § 12.— As subst. plur., the inhabitants of Nicaea, in Bithynia, Cic. Fam. 13, 61 fin.—
- B Nī-caenus, a, um, adj., Nicene: Nicaena fides, the confession of faith established at the Council of Nice, Cod. Th. 1, 1, 2.
- 1. stad in Bithynië (Kl.-Azië), door Antigonus Monophthalmus (een v.d. opvolgers van Alexander de Grote) Antigoneia genoemd, al snel na zijn dood (301 v. Chr.) door Lysimachus hernoemd naar zijn vrouw Nicaea, nu İznik; — inw. en adj. Nīcaeēnsis, is m resp. e;
- 2. stad in Locris (Midden-Griekenland);
- 3. stad in Ligurië, nu Nice.
NICAEA, I. In Asia.
1.(Νικαία; Eth. Νικαιεύς or Νικαεύς : lshnik), one of the most important towns of Bithynia, of which Strabo (12. p. 565) even calls it the metropolis, was situated on the eastern shore of lake Ascania or Ascanius, in a wide and fertile plain, which, however, was somewhat unhealthy in summer. The place is said to have been colonised by Bottiaeans, and to have originally borne the name of Ancore (Steph. B. s. v.) or Helicore (Geogr. Min. p. 40, ed. Hudson); but it was subsequently destroyed by the Mysians. A few years after the death of Alexander the Great, Antigonus, probably after his victory over Eumenes, in B.C. 316, rebuilt the town, and called it, after himself, Antigoneia. (Steph. B. l. c.; Eustath. ad Hom. II. 2.863). Not long after Lysimachus, having made himself master of a great part of Asia Minor, changed the name of Antigoneia into Nicaea, in honour of his wife Nicaea, a daughter of Antipater. (Steph. B., Eustath., Strab., ll. cc.) According to another account (Memnon, ap. Phot. Cod. 224. p. 233, ed. Bekker), Nicaea was founded by men from Nicaea near Thermopylae, who had served in the army of Alexander the Great. The town was built with great regularity, in the form of a square, measuring 16 stadia in circumference; it had four gates, and all its streets intersected one another at right angles, so that from a monument in the centre all the four gates could be seen. (Strab. xii. pp. 565. &c.) This monument stood in the gymnasium, which was destroyed by fire, but was restored with increased magnificence by the younger Pliny (Plin. Ep. 10.48), when he was governor of Bithynia.
Soon after the time of Lysimachus, Nicaea became a city of great importance, and the kings of Bithynia, whose era begins in B.C. 288 with Zipoetes, often resided at Nicaea. It has already been mentioned that in the time of Strabo it is called the metropolis of Bithynia; an honour which is also assigned to it on some coins, though in later times it was enjoyed by Nicomedeia. The two cities, in fact, kept up a long and vehement dispute about the precedence, and the 38th oration of Dion Chrysostomus was expressly composed to settle the dispute. From this oration, it appears that Nicomedeia alone had a right to the title of metropolis, but both were the first cities of the country. The younger Pliny makes frequent mention of Nicaea and its public buildings, which he undertook to restore when governor of Bithynia. (Epist. 10.40, 48, &c.) It was the birthplace of the astronomer Hipparchus and the historian Dio Cassius. (Suid. s. v. Ἵππαρχος.) The numerous coins of Nicaea which still exist attest the interest taken in the city by the emperors, as well as its attachment to the rulers; many of them commemorate great festivals celebrated there in honour of gods and emperors, as Olympia, Isthmia, Dionysia, Pythia, Commodia, Severia, Philadelphia, &c. Throughout the imperial period, Nicaea remained an important place; for its situation was particularly favourable, being only 25 miles distant from Prusa (Plin. Nat. 5.32), and 44 from Constantinople. (It. Ant. p. 141.) When the last mentioned city became the capital of the Eastern Empire, Nicaea did not lose in importance; for its present walls, which were erected during the last period of the Empire, enclose a much greater space than that ascribed to the place in the time of Strabo. In the reign of Constantine, A.D. 325, the celebrated Council of Nicaea was held there against the Arian heresy, and the prelates there assembled drew up the creed called the Nicene. Some travellers have believed that the council was held in a church still existing; but it has been shown by Prokesch (Erinneirungen, 3. p. 234) that that church was built at a later period, and that the council was probably held in the now ruined mosque of Orchan. In the course of the same century, Nicaea suffered much from an earthquake; but it was restored in A.D. 368 by the emperor Valens. During the middle ages it was for a long time a strong bulwark of the Greek emperors against the Turks, who did not conquer it until the year 1078. During the first crusade, in 1097, it was recovered from them by the Christians, but in the peace which was afterwards concluded it was ceded to the Turks. In the 13th century, when Constantinople was the capital of the Latin empire, Theodore Lascaris made Nicaea the capital of Western Asia; in the end, however, it was finally conquered and incorporated with the Ottoman empire by Orchan. Many of its public buildings were then destroyed, and the materials used by the conquerors in erecting their mosques and other edifices. The modern Isnik is a very poor place, of scarcely more than 100 houses, while in Pococke's time, there still existed about 300. The ancient walls, with their towers and gates, are in tolerably good preservation their circumference is 14,800 feet, being at the base from 15 to 20 feet in thickness, and from 30 to 40 feet 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 have been inserted columns and other architectural fragments, the ruins of more ancient edifices. These walls seem, like those of Constantinople, to have been built in the fourth century of our era. Some of the towers have Greek inscriptions. The ruins of mosques, baths, and houses, dispersed among the gardens and cornfields, which now occupy a great part of the space within the Greek fortifications, show that the Turkish town, though now so inconsiderable, was once a place of importance; but it never was so large as the Greek city, and it seems to have been almost entirely constructed of the remains of the Greek Nicaea, the walls of the ruined mosques and baths being full of the fragments of Greek temples and churches. On the north-western 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 remnants of an ancient aqueduct are seen. (Comp. Leake, Asia Minor, pp. 10, foll.; Von Prokesch-Osten, Erinnerungen, iii. pp. 321,foll.; Pococke, Journey in Asia Minor, iii. pp. 181, foll.; Walpole, Turkey, 2. p. 146; Eckhel, Doctr. Num. i. pp. 423, foll.; Rasche, Lexic. Rei Num. iii. l. pp. 1374, foll.) COIN OF NICAEA IN BITHYNIA.[L.S]
COIN OF NICAEA IN BITHYNIA.(Νίκαια, Arrian, 5.19 ; Strab. 15. p. 698; Curt. 9.3. 23), a city in the Panjáb, on the banks of the Hydaspes (or Jelum), built by Alexander the Great to commemorate his victory over Porus, who ruled the flat country intermediate between that river and the Acesines. It was at Nicaea or Bucephalia, which appears to have been on the opposite bank, that Alexander (according to Strabo, l. c.) built the fleet which Nearchus subsequently commanded, the country in the immediate neighbourhood having abundance of wood fit for ship-building. No town now exists which can with any probability be identified with it. [V]
NICAEA, II. In Europe.
1.(Νίκαια: Eth. Νικαιεύς : Nizza, in French Nice), a city on the coast of Liguria, situated at the foot of the Maritime Alps, near the frontier of Gallia Narbonensis. On this account, and because it was a colony of Massilia, it was in early times commonly reckoned as belonging to Gaul (Steph. B. s. v.); and this attribution is still followed by Mela (2.5.3): but from the time that the Varus became fixed as the limit of Italy, Nicaea, which was situated about 4 miles to the E. of that river, was naturally included in Italy, and is accordingly so described by Strabo Pliny, and Ptolemy. (Strab. 4. p. 184; Plin. Nat. 3.5. s. 7; Ptol. 3.1.2.) We have no account of its early history, beyond the fact that it was a colony of Massilia, and appears to have continued always in a state of dependency upon that city. (Strab. iv. pp. 180, 184; Plin. l. c.; Steph. B. s. v.) It was situated on the borders of the Ligurian tribes of the Oxybii and Deciates; and, as well as its neighbour Antipolis, was continually harassed by the incursions of these barbarians. In B.C. 154 both cities were actually besieged by the Ligurians; and the Massilians, finding themselves unable to repulse the assailants, applied to Rome for assistance; the consul Q. Opimius, who was despatched with an army to their succour, quickly compelled the Ligurians to lay down their arms, and deprived them of a considerable part of their territory, which was annexed to the dependency of Massilia. (Plb. 33.4, 7; Liv. Epit. xlvii.) From this time, nothing more is heard in history of Nicaea, which continued to belong to the jurisdiction of Massilia, and, even after it came to be subject to the Romans, and included geographically in Italy, was still for municipal purposes dependent upon its parent city. (Strab. 4. p. 184.) At a later period, the new division of the provinces again transferred to Gaul the towns of Nicaea and Cemenelium, together with the whole district of the Maritime Alps, westward of the Tropaea Augusti. Hence, we find Nicaea described by Ammianus (15.11.15) as belonging to Gaul; and during the decline of the Empire, after it had become an episcopal see, the names of its bishops are found among the Gaulish prelates. It does not appear to have ever been a town of much importance under the Roman Empire; and was apparently eclipsed by the city of Cemenelium (Cimiez), in its immediate neighbourhood. But it had a good port, which must always have secured it some share of prosperity, and after the fall of Cemenelium, it rose to be the most important city in this part of Gaul, and became the capital of an independent district called the Contado di Nizza (County of Nice). This eventually fell into the hands of the House of Savoy, and now forms part of the dominions of the king of Sardinia. Nice itself is a flourishing place, with about 30,000 inhabitants, but has no remains of antiquity. The ancient city probably occupied the height, now the site of the castle, and the immediate neighbourhood of the port, which though small, is secure. Nice is situated at the mouth of the river Paglione, a considerable mountain torrent, evidently the stream called PAULO by Pliny and Mela. (Plin. l. c.; Mel. 2.4.9.)
About 2 miles E. of Nice is a deep bay or inlet between two rocky promontories, forming a spacious natural, harbour now known as the Gulf of Villafranca, from a town of that name, which has however existed only since the 13th century. This is probably the PORTUS OLIVULA of the Maritime Itinerary (p. 504). The ANAO PORTUS of the same Itinerary is probably a small cove, forming a well-sheltered harbour for small vessels on the E. side of the headland, called Capo di S. Ospizio, which forms the eastern boundary of the Gulf of Villafranca. A similar cove a few miles further E. just below the modern village of Eza, is probably the AVISIO PORTUS of the same authority; but the distances given between these points are greatly overstated. [E.H.B]
2.(Νίκαια: Eth. Νικαιεύς), a fortress of the Locri Epicnemidii, situated upon the sea, and close to the pass of Thermopylae. It is described by Aeschines as one of the places which commanded the pass. (De Fals. Leg. p. 45, ed. Steph.) It was the first Locrian town after Alpenos, the latter being at the very entrance of the pass. The surrender of Nicaea by Phalaecus to Philip, in B.C. 346, made the Macedonian king master of Thermopylae, and brought the Sacred War to an end. (Diod. 16.59.) Philip kept possession of it for some time, but subsequently gave it to the Thessalians along with Magnesia. (Dem. Phil. 2. p. 153, ed. Reiske; Aesch. c. Ctesiph. p. 73, ed. Steph.) But in B.C. 340 we again find Nicaea in the possession of Philip. (Dern. in Phil. Ep. p. 153.) According to Memnon (ap. Phot. 234a., ed. Bekker; 100.41; ed. Orelli) Nicaea was destroyed by the Phocians, and its inhabitants founded the Bithynian Nicaea. But even if this is true, the town must have been rebuilt soon afterwards, since we find it in the hands of the Aetolians during the Roman wars in Greece. (Plb. 10.42, 17.1; Liv. 28.5, 32.32.) Subsequently the town is only mentioned by Strabo (9. p. 426). Leake identifies Nicaea with the castle of Pundonítza, where there are Hellenic remains. (Northern Greece, vol. 2. p. 5, seq.)
3.In Illyria. [CASTRA Vol. 1. 562a.]
4.In Thrace. [NICAE]
(Νικαία). (1) A celebrated city of Asia, situated on the eastern side of Lake Ascania (Isnik) in Bithynia, built (about B.C. 300) by Antigonus, king of Asia, and originally called Antigonea; but Lysimachus soon after changed the name into Nicaea, in honour of his wife. Under the kings of Bithynia it was often the royal residence; and under the Romans it continued to be one of the chief cities of Asia; and at the time of the Byzantine emperors it was a great military outpost of Constantinople against the Turks. It fell in A.D. 1330, being taken by the Turk Orchan, the son of Ottoman. The great double walls of the ancient city still exist, and there are ruins of an aqueduct, a theatre, a gymnasium, and the two moles of the ancient harbour. It is famous in ecclesiastical history as the seat of the great Oecumenical Council which Constantine convoked in A.D. 325, chiefly for the decision of the Arian controversy, and which drew up the Nicene Creed. See Stanley's History of the Eastern Church (1861). The modern name is Isnik (εἰς Νίκαιαν).
(2) A fortress of the Epicnemidian Locrians on the sea, near the pass of Thermopylae, which it commanded.
(3) The modern Nizza or Nice; a city on the coast of Liguria, to the cast of the river Var; a colony of Massilia, and subject to that city.
In legend, the God Dionysos was Nicaea's founder; according to record, some inhabitants of a small town of the same name near Thermopylai may have colonized it (Nonnus Dion. 15.170; 16.403-5; Dio Chrys. Or. 39.1 & 8). Moreover, in that locality is noted an ancient military camp of Bottiei; and the city was named Elikore, Ankore, when in 316 B.C. Antigonos Monophthalmos founded Antigoneia there (Strab. Geogr. 12.565; Eust. Il. 2.863). After the battle of Issos, in 301 B.C., Lysimachos conquered the city and refounded it with the name of his wife, daughter of Antipater. In 282-81 B.C. Nicaea came under the rulers of Bithynia and regained great importance (App. Mith. 6 & 77). It was only in 72 B.C. that Bithynia came under Roman domination at the conclusion of the Mithridatic war (App. BCiv. 5.139.1). Embellished under Augustus to the point of contending with Nicomedia for the seat of the provincial governor, Nicaea became the first city of the eparchy under Claudius, as we know from the coinage. Pliny the Younger, governor under Trajan, further enlarged the city. Hadrian visited Nicaea in 123 and undertook works of fortification that were finished in the 3d c. A.D. under Claudius II (Gothicus), after the Goths had already caused serious damage to the city in 258. Constantine continued the work of embellishment of his predecessors, and held the first council at Nicaea in 325. Justinian took particular interest in the city (Amm. Marc., 26.1.3.5; 2.2; 22.9.5), which was again chosen in 787 for the second council.
The geographical situation of Nicaea was particularly fortunate (Plin. HN 6.34.217; Strab. Geogr. 2.134; Ptol. Geogr. 5.1.3). Its position on the shore of Lake Ascania (Iznik Gölü), on level and fertile ground, with wide roads for traffic that radiated from the city, made Nicaea a great Hellenistic center. Strabo (Geogr. 12.565) minutely described the foundation of the new Lysimachan city: It had a square plan 700 m to a side; the roads were arranged with perpendicular axes, following the perfect regularity of the rectangular scheme; two large arteries crossed at right angles at the center of the inhabited area; the extensions of the roads led to the four gates of the city, visible from a fixed stone placed at the center of the gymnasium, a building that thus must be supposed at the heart of the urban plan.
The following monuments are listed by written history and inscriptions: a theater, a Sanctuary of the goddess Roma and of Caesar (built under Augustus), an Apolloneion, a market (built under Hadrian), an aqueduct, and churches and a palace erected by Justinian (Procop. De aed. 5.3). The coinage, from the period of Marcus Aurelius onward, commemorates a number of other monuments, among them the temples of Asklepios, of Dionysos, and of Tyche. The theater was to the SW of the city, though little remains of the building itself. Its recognizable dimensions reach a maximum of 85 x 55 m, and only part of the cavea is conserved; the orchestra and the skene have been lost. Its plan must have been Hellenistic but has been repeatedly modified (Plin. Ep. 10.48). A curious monument, the obelisk of C. Cassius Philieus, rises barely outside Nicaea on the road to Nicomedia, and must have been a family tomb. The obelisk, triangular in section, is 12 m tall, and is placed on a rectangular base 2 x 3 m. The Byzantine city, which rendered unrecognizable with its new constructions the ancient Nicaea, overlaid the Hellenistic-Roman city plan. The imposing earlier walls had by the 5th c. A.D. already undergone major renovation. This Byzantine construction has two aspects. The gates, with triple openings, and several towers, seem still to follow the Roman plan; but often the superstructures are Byzantine, and the definitive system is Turkish. The principal churches of Nicaea included the Cathedral of Haghia Sophia, originally a basilica with three aisles of the 5th c., that underwent repeated restoration until the 14th c.; and the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin, whose controversial chronology varies between the 6th-7th and the 8th-9th c., with the earlier more probable. Of notable interest were the rich mosaics of the cupola and the narthex, destroyed during the Graeco-Turkish War, known only from photographs and watercolors made at the beginning of this century.
BIBLIOGRAPHYC. Texier, Description de l'Asie Min. I (1839); M. Schede, Führer durch Iznik (Nikaia) (1935); N. Firatli, Istanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri Yilliği 11-12 (1964); C. Artuk, VI Turk Tarih Kongresi, Ankara 1961 (1967).
For the Graeco-Roman city: A. Fick & K. O. Dolman, AA 45 (1930); A. M. Schneider, Forsch. und Fortschritte II (1935); id. in Antiquity 12 (1938); id. with W. Karnapp, Die Stadtmauern von Iznik (Istanb. Forsch. 9, 1938).
N. BONACASA