IZNIK

Author(s): Cyril A. Mango

Source: Archaeology, Vol. 4, No. 2 (June, 1951), pp. 106-109
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41662972
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 Iznik. The Lefke Gate was built duringthe
reignof Hadrian,a resultof that emperor's
policyof provincialconsolidation.
IZNIK

By Cyril A. Mango

THE BANKSOF A STAGNANTLAKE IN THE the winterof hi a. d. therein the grand capacityof
ON north-west cornerof Asia Minor standsthelittle provincialgovernor.The historianDio Cassius was a
town of Iznik where ma- nativeof Nicaea, and after
laria flourishes.This is the a successfulcareerin theRo-
ancientNicaea, and the lake man civil service he went
is the "inexorable Asca- back thereto die. The lay-
nius" whose nymphs rav- out of the citygoes back to
ished the beautiful Hylas, thatperiod; the regularcir-
the boy-friend of Hercules, cuit of the walls with its
who in a boutof griefnearly statelygates built like tri-
gave up the Argonautic ex- umphalarches,and the two
pedition. Nicaea, we are straightarteriesintersecting
told,was founded in thelate in the middle belong to the
fourthcenturyB. c. In 57 tradition of the Roman
B. c. it was visited by the camp.
poet Catullus who found With Constantine we
the climateunbearableand starton a new period. In
was glad to get back home. Iznik.One oftheRomangargoylesfromtheIstan- 325 À. D. Nicaea was the
Pliny the Younger passed bul Gate,whichgoes backto thetimeof Hadrian. scene of the firstOecumeni-

106 ARCHAEOLOGY

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 possessed some remarkable
mosaics- in the apse a full-
length Virgin in an ample
blue cloak holdingthe infant
Christ;on the archabove the
mystical"preparationof the
throne" which symbolized
the Second Coming; in the
narthexanotherVirgin with
arms upraised, dressed in a
violet cloak with gold high-
lights.Most of thesemosaics
probably went back to the
ninth century,though their
date is stilldisputed.
The laterhistoryof Nicaea
is an endless succession of
sieges and battles.In 1081 it Placed over a Byzantineparapetis a
was taken by the Seldjuk fine fragmentof a "Sidamara" sar-
Turks. The Crusaders suf- cophagus(about thirdcenturya.D.).
fered a severe defeat before This strikingstyleof sculptureorig-
inatedin Asia Minor,and is marked
its walls, but the place was
JustoutsideIznik standsthe triangu- by an alinementof figuresin a series
lar obelisk of C. Cassius Philiscus, recaptured by Godfrey de of niches,and thereplacement of the
Bouillon in 1097 after the chisel thedrill,thus a
who, as the inscriptionsays,died at by giving strong
theage of 83. The plateis fromRich- Byzantine fleet had been contrastbetweenlight and shade.
ard Pococke's "Description of the hauled across from the sea
East," London 1743. and launched in the lake.
When in 1204 Constantinoplefell to the soldiersof the FourthCru-
cal Council of the Christianchurch, sade, Nicaea becameforhalf a centurythe capitalof the Greekem-
pire.The courtof theLascarids,thoughconstantly shakenbyintrigue,
presidedover by the Emperorhim-
self.It resultedin the condemnation gained brilliancefrom the presence refugeescholars.In 1330
of
Nicaea was conqueredforgood by the TurkishSultan Orhan,who
of the Arian heresy,and the formu-
lation of the Nicene Creed. The
fathers,we are told, met in a palace
by the side of the lake. No traceof
it remainsnow, nor is one tempted
to takethewordof Ogier Ghiselin
de Busbecq, theGermanEmperor's
ambassadorat the Porte, who says
thathe sleptin thatverybuildingin
1555-
The chiefgem of Nicaea used to
be the churchof the Dormitionof
the Holy Virgin, which was un-
happilydestroyed thirtyyearsago. It

The YenisehirGate shownherewas

put up by ClaudiusII Gothicus,who
also restoredtheentirelineof thecity
walls afterthe devastationwrought
by theScythians in 259 A.D.

Summer1951 107

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made it for a timehis capi-
tal. In 1402 it was sackedby
Tamerlane'stroops.
Perhaps pottery was
manufactured in Nicaea
evenin Byzantinetimes.But
it was underthe Turks that
it achieved its remarkable
fame,the highestpeak be-
ing in themiddleof thesix-
teenthcentury. Bytheseven-
teenththetownwas already
on the decline,but the pop-
ulationstillnumberedsome
10,000. Soon it had shrunk
to a little village of mud
houses withinthe immense
circuitof the ancientwalls, The apse of thechurchof St. Sophia,a
so that in 1799 the Rev. fifthcenturybasilica now in ruins.It
stillkeepssomefrescoesof a laterdate,
W. Carlyle could sit
muchblackenedby smokeand disfig-
amidst the overturned ured.Here in 787 a.D. was heldthesev-
stones, overcome by the enthOecumenicalCouncilwhichcon-
evanescence of past gran- cerneditselfwiththenicetiesof image
deur,and venthis emotions worship.
in indifferent verse:
- thosedomesare A superb specimenof the
Thosescenesarefled
- "windblownacanthus"capi-
sweptaway tal,fifth
century a.D. Lessfine
Succeedingdomesnow totterto their examples exist at Ravenna
fall, and Venice, where theyex-
And mouldering mosqueson moulder- cited Ruskin's enthusiasm.
ing fanes
decay The small "impost" capital
While desolationbendsto graspthem placed over it is of the sixth
all. century.

The Isnikof to-dayis a smallvillage

surroundedby groves of mulberry
trees, the cultivationof the silk
wormbeingthemain sourceof live-
lihood. The bug-ridden"Republic
Hotel" welcomesthe occasionalan-
tiquarian.

The citywails,stilllargelyintact,are
a patchworkof successiverepairs.
Stretchesof massiveRomanstoneal-
ternatewithneatByzantinebrick,or
themoreirregular Turkishworkwith
tilesarrangedinherringbone patterns.
The tower shown here was rebuilt
afterthegreatearthquake of IO66A.D.

108 ARCHAEOLOGY

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Iznik. An imaret
(kitchenforthepoor)
built in 1389 by Ni-
lüfer Hatïn, wife of
Orhan. The Sultan
was noted for his
charityand was often
seen servingsoup to
thepoorwithhisown
hands.

(Below) Minaret of
the "Green Mosque"
(1384-1389),whichis
entirelycoveredover
withglazed tilesbril-
liantly coloured.
Though ratherheavy
in appearance, and
not so well knownas
the Greenmosqueof
Bursa,it is neverthe-
less regardedas one of the masterpieces
of early
Ottomanarchitecture.

(Above) Iznik is the supposed home of a remarkable

potteryindustry whichreacheditsheightin thesixteenth
century. The beautifulstylizedtiles whichcoverthe in-
teriorsof the mosquesand palaces of Istanbulwerepro-
duced here,as well as vases and plateslike the one pic-
turedhere.The dominantcolorsare blue,turquoise,and
tomatored.The design,thoughformal,is nevermechani-
cal,and a certaindepthwas securedbya slightrunningof
the paint into the whitebackground.(LouvreMuseum)

Summer1951 109

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