Nicaea

Nicaea is the ancient city located at modern-day İznik in Bursa Province, Turkey, historically important as a Roman and Byzantine urban centre and the site of major ecumenical church councils. It later developed as a centre of Ottoman ceramic production.

Its most notable historical event was the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, convened to address theological and ecclesiastical issues in the early Christian church; the Second Council of Nicaea met there in 787 AD. The surviving city walls, medieval gate structures and archaeological remains reflect the city’s long urban history.

In later centuries İznik became known for its ceramic production, especially under the Ottomans when İznik tiles and pottery were exported across the empire. The town sits on the eastern shore of Lake İznik and retains a compact historic core with visible fortifications.

Geographically it lies in Bursa Province in northwestern Turkey, on the eastern shore of Lake İznik and within reach of the larger regional centres of Bursa and the Marmara region.

• First Council of Nicaea: The city of ancient Nicaea is the site of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, an ecumenical church council convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine I.
• Walls and ceramics: Modern Iznik preserves remains of city walls and Ottoman-era architecture and is known historically for high-quality ceramics produced from the late medieval period into the Ottoman era.