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Hellenistic Bithynia was an independent kingdom from the 4th century BC. Its capital Nicomedia was rebuilt on the site of ancient Astacus in 264 BC by Nicomedes I of Bithynia. Bithynia was bequeathed to the Roman Republic in 74 BC, and became united with the Pontus region as the province of Bithynia and Pontus.
In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletian who ruled in the east), a status which the city maintained during the Tetrarchy system (293–324).
First the capital of the Bithynian kingdom (Memnon 20.1), and later of the Roman province of Bithynia, Nicomedia was astride the great highroad connecting Europe and the East, and was a port as well; Nicaea was its rival.
Constantine I [g] (27 February c.272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.
Bithynia, ancient district in northwestern Anatolia, adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea, thus occupying an important and precarious position between East and West. Late in the 2nd millennium bc, Bithynia was occupied by warlike tribes of Thracian origin who harried Greek
Mar 14, 2024 · The dual province of Bithynia and Pontus formed a “periphery within” the Roman Empire: a sparsely populated landscape in one of the most urbanized parts of the Empire, known for its rugged land and people and rival local dynasties.
Nicomedia was made the eastern capital of the Roman Empire by Diocletian in 286 CE, further enhancing its status. It served as a residence for several Roman emperors and was a center for military and administrative activities.
