Photo: “Constantinople, Nicaea, Turkey - 52865937885”, Carole Raddato · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized for the web.
TÜRKIYE · 4TH CENTURY BC–BYZANTINE PERIOD
Nicaea (İznik)
Νίκαια
Nicaea, where two ecumenical councils met in the Byzantine period, lies within modern İznik. Its five-sided walls were begun in the 4th century BC and, with Roman and Byzantine additions, came to run for almost 5 km; inside them stands a Roman theatre which, according to Pliny the Younger, was still being built under the emperor Trajan.
- Original name
- Νίκαια
- Country
- Türkiye
- Period
- 4th century BC–Byzantine Period
- Civilisation
- Hellenistic
- UNESCO
- On the World Heritage Tentative List
- Location
- 40.4266° N, 29.7169° E Open in OpenStreetMap Open in Apple Maps
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Areas of the site
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Roman Theatre
The theatre held about 10,000 spectators; Pliny the Younger says it was still being built under Trajan.
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Istanbul Gate
The northern entrance through the walls, a triple gate with two Medusa heads on the inner gate’s jambs.
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Lake Basilica
An early Christian basilica in the shallow water of Lake İznik, found on aerial photographs in 2014.