Where is the IMPERIAL PALACE?

None of the earliest descriptions, nor any later (after the 6th century) mentions of the palace in Nicaea, allow us to indicate the specific location of such a facility (read more about historical sources here). Perhaps when looking for a palace, we should consider not just one building, but the entire complex, referring to the patterns of the palaces built by Diocletian in Nicomedia and Split (buildings facing the sea), the palace of Galerius in Thessaloniki, or the later Bucoleon in Constantinople.

Here we present 7 conceptions where the palace couldbe located:

1. Senato Sarayı 2. Church of the Holy Fathers 3. Koimesis 4. Roman theater 5. Maltepe 6. Hagia Sophia 7. Sunken basilica

1. Senato Sarayı are structures preserved to this day on the west coast of the city of Iznik, partially submerged in the waters of the lake, which at the beginning of the 20th century functioned in local tradition as the remains of Constantine’s palace. However, the collected data do not allow us to determine when such a belief existed and what it resulted from. There is also a hypothesis that these structures are the remains of a port complex connecting with the western city walls. In studies (Şahin, 2011) they are also interpreted as a curtain wall, a lighthouse, a breakwater. Numerous spolia were used in the construction of the Senato Sarayı structure, therefore the date of its construction cannot be determined and the time of its construction is safely assigned to the Byzantine period. The 16th-century fresco by Cesare Nebbia from the Vatican Museum remains interesting. In the painting, next to the impressive council chamber, you can see the waters of the lake and the port facilities, which are sometimes identified (completely unreasonably) with the ruins of Senato Sarayı.

2. The Church of the Holy Fathers was once located in the north-western part of the city between the Istanbul Gate and the Lake of Ascania/Gol Kapisi gate. Archaeological research has led to the discovery of many structures from the Byzantine period in this area, including at least four temples, which may indicate the unique status of this area.  The Holy Fathers’ Church has been mentioned in written sources since the 8th century, and in the 11th century this temple was directly identified (for some reason) with the place of the First Council of Nicaea.

3. Koimesis near the church of Panagia (i.e. Koimesis/Jacinta monastery) appeared in the 16th century in records as the alleged site of the council. On May 30, 1575, S. Gerlach – a Lutheran chaplain had the opportunity to talk to the then bishop of Nicaea – Cyril. According to the priest, there were supposed to be three temples in the city itself, including the great church of Panagia, and next to it one could supposedly see the spacious and wonderful place where the council was held. Koimesis, built as part of the larger foundation of the Jacinta Monastery in the 8th century, survived until 1922.

4. The Roman theater was visited at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries by P. Lucas, a French antiquities hunter, who noticed the remains of a Greek church there. Apparently, according to the stories of the inhabitants of that time, a council was held there in 325 (today in the amphitheater you can see poorly preserved frescoes with Christian motifs in places). Lucas described that it was there, according to Nicaea sources, that the ruins of a place with a crescent-shaped structure, with stone benches where meetings were held, were preserved. In addition, as many as four temples were located in this area – three almost within the theater itself and one near the Yenişehir Gate.

5. Maltepe (treasure hill) is the name of a hill in the eastern part of Nicaea. Remains of floor mosaics were discovered in the southeast corner of Tekke/Müze Sokak and Maltepe Caddesi, and decorative architectural fragments were discovered just north of the hill. This area was densely built up already in Ottoman times.

6. The city center near Hagia Sophia is the intersection of the main streets cardo and decumanus, today marking the north-south axis. The author of the concept of locating the palace in this space is İ.M. Mert (2011), who concluded that the location of the palace in this area may be determined by the urban layout, which dates back to the Hellenistic period, when cities were planned according to the Hippodamean system. According to it, the main administrative and cult centers were designed in the city center at the intersection of main, mutually perpendicular streets. Roman engineers were inspired by this system. The concept of the palace functioning in the city center may also be supported by the location of the Hagia Sophia church, which was probably built on the site of a former pagan temple.

7. The sunken basilica, called Hagios Neophytos, from the end of the 4th century as a potential site of the council is a concept formulated by M. Şahin. Its discovery was an important international scientific event, and photos of the church ruins taken from an airplane launched in the world media at the time. The area where it is located is just behind the south-western range of fortifications, which have a specific irregular arrangement. This area is absorbed by the lake’s waters. It is possible that it was under the water surface as a result of its rising level as a result of one of the earthquakes. Hagios Neophytos is a three-nave basilica with a narthex and an atrium measuring 18 x 41 meters – so it was once the largest Christian temple in Nice, considering the size of the churches discovered here so far. Archaeological work on this extraordinary monument was started by the above-mentioned Turkish archaeologist Prof. Mustafa Şahin from the Department of Archeology, University of Bursa. Research carried out underwater at a shallow depth of approximately 2 m provided a lot of new information about this interesting building, including the thesis that it was built on the former temple of the god Apollo. The sunken basilica was of particular interest to researchers from our foundation. If, outside the city walls preserved to this day, there is an object from the 4th century hidden in the waters of the lake, then questions arise- why this temple is located outside the fortifications and whether it is the only such submerged object, or maybe part of the entire architectural complex?

The briefly mentioned concepts of possible locations of the imperial palace require further meticulous analyzes of written sources and initiation or continuation (with a focus on searching for the palace) of archaeological research. Unfortunately, the dense development of the city in modern Nicaea – Iznik makes it impossible to undertake activities that would disturb its structures, which means that some of the above hypotheses will not be verified by invasive research. During the past archaeological season (2024), excavations and conservation works took place in the Roman theater, around Koimesis and in the area of ​​the sunken basilica. Our Veroli foundation, under the scientific supervision of the foundation’s expert, Prof. Błażej Stanisławski from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, joined research in the area of ​​the basilica in 2023. So far, we are the only Polish and indeed foreign organization that has been able to undertake archaeological work in Iznik. Using the latest technologies, Veroli researchers made interesting discoveries.