Nikaia to Iznik
Read the history of Iznik, from the ancient city plan to the ecumenical councils, from the early Ottoman institutions to the tile kilns, together with the traces that can be seen today.
Begin chronology
Chapter 1316 BC—4th century AD
The Hellenistic grid, the regional power of Bithynia and the monumental structures of Rome formed the skeleton of today's Iznik streets.
6 events · about 646 years
316 BC
Turning point
Macedonian commander Antigonos Monophthalmos re-establishes the lakeside settlement under the name Antigoneia. Shortly after, Lysimachus captured the city and named it Nikaia, after his wife.
The foundations of today's grid plan and the main axes opening in four directions were laid in the Hellenistic city.
3–1 BC. yy
Nikaia, together with Nicomedia, became one of the political and cultural centers of the Kingdom of Bithynia. Proximity to lakes, agricultural plains and Anatolian roads supports the growth of the city.
Iznik's identity as a regional center was shaped before Rome.
74 BC
After the last king of Bithynia left his country to Rome, Nikaia became one of the important cities of the province of Bithynia and Pontus. Imperial roads and public buildings transform urban life.
The theatre, baths and monumental gates determined the scale of the Roman city.
111–113 AD
Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, mentions the financial and technical problems of the construction of the great theater in Nicaea in the letters he sent to Emperor Trajan.
It is one of the rare examples where written sources and surviving archaeological structures meet.
See it todayIznik Roman Theater2nd century AD
The monumental gates associated with the Hadrianic period are connected to a strong wall system with later defensive additions. The inscriptions on the gates of Istanbul and Lefke remind us of this phase of construction.
Ancient entrances continued to guide the city's main roads even centuries later.
See it todayIstanbul Gate (Porta Constantinopolitana)258 AD
The threat posed by the Goth raids causes the defense of Nikaia to be reconsidered. The city wall line was enlarged with additions in the Roman and early Byzantine periods.
The main character of today's approximately five-kilometer city wall was born from this need for security.
See it todayIznik City Walls & Bastions
Chapter 24th century—1331
Ecumenical councils carried the name of the city into world history; Nikaia later became the center of the Byzantine political and cultural tradition.
9 events · about 1,001 years
325
Turning point
Bishops from different regions gather in Nikaia upon the call of Emperor Constantine. The decisions taken around the unity of faith and the Arian controversy became the basis for the Nicene Declaration of Faith, one of the most influential texts in the history of Christianity.
The name Nikaia ceased to be a local city and entered the collective memory of world religious history.
See it todayIznik Lake Basilica4–6. yy
Major earthquakes around the Marmara region repeatedly affect the monumental structures of Nikaia. The city continues to live through repair and construction phases in which old stones are reused.
The spolia blocks seen on the walls today show the continuity between disaster and reconstruction.
6–7. yy
The three-naved basilica rises near the intersection of the city's two main roads. Although earthquakes and repairs change the shape of the building, its central location is preserved.
Hagia Sophia makes visible the continuity in the religious center of the city from the Byzantine to the Ottoman.
See it todayHagia Sophia (Orhan Mosque)740
A strong earthquake in 740 caused severe damage to the city. Although the damage and submersion of the basilica on the lake shore is associated with this earthquake, the exact abandonment and sinking process of the structure continues to be investigated.
Earthquakes have repeatedly transformed Iznik's structures and the archaeological landscape along its coastline.
787
Turning point
The council, which deals with the ongoing debate on the religious use of icons, meets in Hagia Sophia. After the anti-icon period, veneration of images is accepted again.
Iznik is one of the few cities that hosts two separate ecumenical councils.
See it todayHagia Sophia (Orhan Mosque)1075–1097
Iznik, which came under the rule of Kutalmışoğlu Süleyman Şah, became one of the first centers of the Anatolian Seljuk State. During the First Crusade, the city fell into Byzantine hands again.
Iznik became one of the early centers of Turkish political history in Anatolia.
1097
The armies of the First Crusade surround the city. Nikaia was handed over to Byzantine rule and became an important center in the defense of Western Anatolia.
The military might of the walls influenced the course of one of the greatest campaigns of the Middle Ages.
See it todayIznik City Walls & Bastions1204–1261
Turning point
After the occupation of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine dynasty established a new state in Nicaea. The city became the center of administration, education and religion for about sixty years.
The political and cultural tradition preserved in Nicaea made possible the recapture of Constantinople in 1261.
1261
With the recapture of Constantinople, the imperial center is moved. Although Nikaia maintains its strategic importance, the old capital gradually loses its mobility.
As the population and defense power of the city weakened, the process leading to the Ottoman siege began.
Chapter 31331—19th century
After the conquest, a new social network was established with mosques, madrasahs, soup kitchens and baths; tile kilns transformed the city into an art center.
8 events · about 589 years
1331
Turning point
After a long siege, the city passed to the Ottomans under the rule of Orhan Gazi. Hagia Sophia is converted into a mosque; A new urban order is established with soup kitchens, madrasahs, baths and mosques.
Byzantine Nikaia transformed into Iznik, one of the educational and religious centers of the early Ottoman Empire.
1333
Built only two years after the conquest, the small mosque is one of the earliest Ottoman worship structures whose inscription has survived to the present day.
The stone-brick façade and single-dome plan directly documented the founding period of Ottoman architecture.
See it todayHacı Özbek Mosque14th century
Buildings such as the Süleyman Pasha Madrasa transform Iznik into an early Ottoman center of science. New neighborhoods are organized around mosques, baths, zawiyas and soup kitchens.
The conquest meant not only a change of administration but also the establishment of a new social infrastructure.
See it todaySuleyman Pasha Madrasa1388
Murad I had the soup kitchen built, serving food to travelers and those in need, in the name of his mother, Nilüfer Hatun. The inverted T-plan building brings together social service and architecture.
Today's museum describes the charities and public life of the early Ottoman Empire.
See it todayNilüfer Hatun Imaret Turkish Islamic Arts Museum1378–1391
The mosque started by Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha was completed by his son Ali Pasha. The turquoise glazed minaret becomes the permanent symbol of the city.
Ottoman architecture, which developed with the Seljuk decorative heritage, came together in the same structure.
See it todayGreen Mosque (Çandarlı Halil Pasha Mosque)late 15th century
In Iznik, specialized production develops around quartz-based white paste, underglaze painting and powerful kiln technology. Palace orders increase the scale of the workshops.
The name Iznik went beyond the city limits and became the brand of Ottoman visual culture.
See it todayIznik Tile Kilns Excavation Site16th century
Turning point
Sage green, black contour and the famous fluffy coral red are added to cobalt blue and turquoise. Tulip, carnation, hyacinth and reed leaves cover the surfaces of monumental buildings.
Iznik production moved to the elite structures of the Ottoman geography extending from Istanbul to Jerusalem.
See it todayIznik Tile Art & Ceramics House17–18. yy
With the decrease in palace orders, economic changes and the transformation in production quality, Iznik bakeries gradually closed. The emphasis of ceramic production shifts to other centres.
A century of technical knowledge has been disrupted; modern revival studies trace this loss.
Chapter 420th century—today
Museology, archaeological excavations and conservation works have made the layers of the city visible again.
5 events · about 106 years
1920–1922
Occupation, conflict and fires during the War of Independence caused heavy damage to the urban fabric. Many buildings, including the Green Mosque, are affected to the extent that they require repair.
The destruction at the beginning of the 20th century has a large share in the fragmented appearance of today's historical environment.
1960
The restored Nilüfer Hatun Imaret is organized as a museum. Excavations and finds in the surrounding area bring together the multi-layered history of the city in a common collection.
Iznik's scattered archaeological heritage began to be exhibited continuously within the city for the first time.
See it todayNilüfer Hatun Imaret Turkish Islamic Arts Museum1980s–
Systematic excavations in the city center reveal kilns, workshop residues and incorrectly fired pieces belonging to Ottoman ceramic production.
Not only the style of the famous Iznik tiles, but also how and where they were produced is documented archaeologically.
See it todayIznik Tile Kilns Excavation Site2014
Turning point
Aerial photographs reveal the basilica-shaped structure visible approximately 50 meters offshore. Research continues on the history of the building, its connection to St. Neophytos, and the process by which it was submerged.
The history of Iznik, read from land, gained a new research area with underwater archaeology.
See it todayIznik Lake Basilica2022
Iznik joins the Cittaslow network with the aim of preserving local production, historical heritage and the culture of life around the lake.
A new framework has emerged to think about tourism in terms of local life, conservation and quality experience rather than speed.
read history on site
The walk from the gates to the center explains the city plan and the continuity between periods better than the screen.