Iznik, the ancient Nicaea, is located in the north-east
of Bursa on the side of the Iznik Lake. İznik
was founded in 316 BC under the name of Antigoneia
by Antigonus and was later expanded by Lysimachus
who named the city after his wife Nicea. Later the
city was taken and ruled by the Bithynians, the Romans,
the Goths and once again by the Romans. Under Constantine
I when Christianity
became state religion, Nicea then became an important
religious center where, in 325 and 787, two ecumenical
councils were held. The first one, under Constantine
I, formulated the dogmatic statements of Christian
orthodoxy (the Nicene Creed) and defined the role
of the emperor both as head of the Church and head
of the State. The second one was convoked by Irene
and his son Emperor Constantin VI to rule on the use
of saints images and icons, after the period of a
strong movement called Iconoclasm
.
In the 16 th century, which was the golden age period
of the Ottoman Empire, the workshops of enamelled
ceramics made Iznik very prosperous. The tile technics
improved considerably when Selim
I sent craftsmen from Tabriz (Persia), here.
The well preserved walls which are about 4,5
km/ 2,8 miles, the numerous towers and the four double
gates (which originally might have been built as arches
of triumph) were built by the Romans and strenghtened
and enlarged by the Byzantines.
The interesting Ottoman monuments are the following:
the Green Mosque, a medrese, the Hacı Özbey Mosque
and the Nilüfer Hatun Hospital that holds a museum.
