Nicaea, also known as Nikaia, was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia that is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea, the Nicene Creed, and as the capital city of the Empire of Nicaea following the Fourth Crusade in 1204, until the recapture of Constantinople by the Byzantines in 1261. Nicaea was also the capital of the Ottomans from 1331 to 1335.
Image: Iznik Roman Theatre 1645
Image: Nicaea's Byzantine fortifications, Iznik, Turkey (38459580376)
Image: Iznik Wall at Lefke Gate 8275
Image: Ayasofya Iznik 903
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast along the Pontic coast, and Phrygia to the southeast towards the interior of Asia Minor.
The Constantinople Gate in Nicaea