Nicomedes I of Bithynia founded the city of
Nicomedia [modern Ismid], at the head of the
Gulf of Astacus[?] (which opens on the
Propontis), in 264 B.C. The city has ever since been one of the chief towns in this part of
Asia Minor. It was the metropolis of Bithynia under the Roman empire (see
Nicaea), and
Diocletian made it the chief city of the Eastern
Roman empire. Owing to its position at the convergence of the Asiatic roads to the new capital, Nicomedia retained its importance even after the foundation of
Constantinople and its own capture by the Turks (1338).
See C. Texier, Asie mineure (Paris, 1839); V. Cuenet, Turquie d'Asie (Paris, 1894).
Original text from http://1911encyclopedia.org (http://1911encyclopedia.org)