Microidentities in Hellenistic and Roman Imperial Bithynia: Archaological Survey at Nikaia (Iznik / Turkey)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christof Berns
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 230465509

The research project deals with the material culture of Nicaea (Iznik / Turkey) during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods (c. 300 BC to 395 AD). The aim is to catalogue the respective sources and to analyze them with respect to the problem of collective identities in political and cultural spaces of different scale and structure.Nicaea was a polis of regional impact in Bithynia in Northwestern Asia Minor. It is a significant example for a better understanding of the local conditioning of the so called romanization, i. e. the process that lead to a cultural integration of the ancient Mediterranean world. Originally belonging to the regional dominion of the Bithynian kings, Nicaea became a central place within the Roman province of "Bythinia et Pontus", and finally, after the splitting of the Roman empire, was part of the hinterland of the new residences Nikomedia and Constantinople. At the same time, it is the place with the most comprehensive material sources of these periods in whole Bithynia.Within the Turkish market town of Iznik, various ancient monuments are either preserved in situ or as spolia in post-Roman buildings, or kept in the local museum. In the course of the research they will be documented with an interdisciplinary survey including Classical Archaeology, Building Archaeology, and Geophysics. On this basis the monuments will be used as sources to answer the question during which historical phases, in which functional contexts, and depending on which social groups the creation of identities referred to local pecularities, and when in contrast to this supra-local narratives such as the traditions of Bithynia, the values of Hellenic culture or the belonging to the Roman empire became more important. In this context, the ancient town is understood as the primary framework of communication, wherein the various microidentities are negotiated.The research project is a complementary part of a large-scale cooperation for the study of Nicaea that is carried out by the Archaeological institutes of Bursa's Uludag University and Freie Universität Berlin. Other parts include an investigation into Nicaea's economical basis with an intensive, ceramic-based survey of the suburban areas (project Prof. Dr. Silvia Polla, Berlin), and research on its traffic infrastructure with a documentation of the ancient port of Iznik and the regional network of streets (Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sahin, Bursa). Taken as a whole, the project will contribute to a more systematic knowledge of the scarcely known archaeology of Bithynia and at the same time work as a case study for a microhistory of ancient territories.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Turkey
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Mustafa Sahin