SEVERUS ALEXANDER 222AD Nicaea Bithynia LEGION SYMBOLS Ancient Roman Coin i57286

Decorations

The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (dona) for 
valour to its legionaries. Hasta pura was a miniature spear; phalerae 
were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass; armillae 
were bracelets worn on the wrist; and

torques were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest 
awards were the coronae (“crowns”), of which the most prestigious was the
corona civica, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a 
fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the corona 
muralis, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy 
rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.

There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual 
decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the 
whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g.
torquata (“awarded a torque”) or armillata (“awarded bracelets”). 
Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles 
and decorations e.g. cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R..

Nicaea was a Hellenic city in northwestern
Anatoliaia
, and is primarily known as the site of 
the
First
and
Second
Councils of Nicaea (the first and 
seventh
Ecumenical councils
in the early history of the
Christian Church
), the
Nicene Creed
(which comes from the First 
Council), and as the capital city of the
Empire of Nicaea
. Nicaea served as the interim 
capital city of the
Byzantine Empire
between 1204 and 1261, 
following the
Fourth Crusade
in 1204, until the recapture of
Constantinople
by the Byzantines in 1261.

The ancient city is located within modern
Iznik
,
Turkey
, and is situated in a fertile basin at 
the eastern end of
Lake Ascanius
, bounded by ranges of hills to 
the north and south. It is situated with its west wall rising from the lake 
itself, providing both protection from siege from that direction, as well as a 
source of supplies which would be difficult to cut off. The lake is large enough 
that it could not be blockaded from the land easily, and the city was large 
enough to make any attempt to reach the harbour from shore-based siege weapons 
very difficult.

The ancient city is surrounded on all sides by 5 km (3 mi) of walls about 
10 m (33 ft) high. These are in turn surrounded by a double ditch on the land 
portions, and also included over 100 towers in various locations. Large gates on 
the three landbound sides of the walls provided the only entrance to the city.

Today the walls have been pierced in many places for roads, but much of the 
early work survives and, as a result, it is a major tourist destination.

History

Early history, Roman and Byzantine Empires

The Lefke Gate, part of Nicaea’s city walls.

The place is said to have been colonized by
Bottiaeans
, and to have originally borne the 
name of Ancore (Steph. 
B. s. v.) or Helicore (Geogr. Min. p. 40, ed. Hudson); but it 
was subsequently destroyed by the
Mysians
. A few years after the death of
Alexander the Great
,
Macedonian
king
Antigonus
 — who had taken control of much of
Asia Minor
upon the death of Alexander (under 
whom Antigonus had served as a general) — probably after his victory over
Eumenes
, in 316 BC, rebuilt the town, and 
called it, after himself, Antigoneia (Greek:
Αντιγόνεια). (Steph. B. l. c.; Eustath. ad 
Horn. II. ii. 863)

Several other of Alexander’s generals (known together as the
Diadochi
(Latin “successors”)) later 
conspired to remove Antigonus, and after defeating him the area was given to
Thessalian
general
Lysimachus
(Lysimakhos) (circa 355 
BC-281 BC) in 301 BC as his share of the lands. He renamed it Nicaea 
(Greek:
Νίκαια
, also
transliterated
as Nikaia or Nicæa; 
see also
List of traditional Greek place names
), in 
tribute to his wife
Nicaea
, a daughter of
Antipater
. (Steph. B., Eustath., Strab., ll. 
cc.)

According to another account (Memnon, ap. Phot. Cod. 224. p. 233, ed. Bekker), 
Nicaea was founded by men from
Nicaea
near
Thermopylae
, who had served in the army of 
Alexander the Great. The town was built with great regularity, in the form of a 
square, measuring 16 stadia in circumference; it had four gates, and all its 
streets intersected one another at right angles, so that from a monument in the 
centre all the four gates could be seen. (Strabo 
xii. pp. 565 et seq.) This monument stood in the gymnasium, which was 
destroyed by fire, but was restored with increased magnificence by the
younger Pliny
(Epist. x. 48), when he was 
governor of Bithynia
.

The city was built on an important crossroads between
Galatia
and
Phrygia
, and thus saw steady trade. Soon after 
the time of Lysimachus, Nicaea became a city of great importance, and the kings 
of Bithynia, whose era begins in 288 BC with
Zipoetes
, often resided at Nicaea. It has 
already been mentioned that in the time of Strabo it is called the metropolis of 
Bithynia, an honour which is also assigned to it on some coins, though in later 
times it was enjoyed by
Nicomedia
.

The two cities kept up a long and vehement dispute about the precedence, and 
the 38th oration of
Dio Chrysostomus
was expressly composed to 
settle the dispute. From this oration, it appears that Nicomedia alone had a 
right to the title of metropolis, but both were the first cities of the country.

The theatre, restored by
Pliny
, but now fallen once again 
into dilapidation.

The younger Pliny makes frequent mention of Nicaea and its public buildings, 
which he undertook to restore when governor of Bithynia. (Epist. x. 40, 48, 
etc.) It was the birthplace of the mathematician and astronomer
Sporus
(circa 240), the astronomer
Hipparchus
(circa 194 BC), and the historian
Dio Cassius
(circa 165). It was the death-place 
of the comedian
Philistion
.

The numerous coins of Nicaea which still exist attest the interest taken in 
the city by the emperors, as well as its attachment to the rulers; many of them 
commemorate great festivals celebrated there in honour of gods and emperors, as 
Olympia, Isthmia, Dionysia, Pythia, Commodia, Severia, Philadelphia, etc.

Throughout the imperial period, Nicaea remained an important town; for its 
situation was particularly favourable, being only 40 km (25 mi) distant from
Prusa
(Pliny 
v. 32), and 70 km (43 mi) from
Constantinople
. (It. 
Ant. p. 141.) When Constantinople became the capital of the
Eastern Empire
, Nicaea did not lose in 
importance; for its present walls, which were erected during the last period of 
the Empire, enclose a much greater space than that ascribed to the place in the 
time of Strabo. Much of the existing architecture and defensive works date to 
this time, early 4th century.

Nicaea suffered much from earthquakes in 358, 362 and 368; after the last of 
which, it was restored by the emperor
Valens
.

Nicaea in early 
Christianity

The First Council of Nicaea (/naɪ’si:ə/;
Greek
: Νίκαια 
/’ni:kaɪja/) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in
Bithynia
(present-day
İznik
in
Turkey
) by the
Roman Emperor

Constantine I
in
AD
325. This first
ecumenical council
was the first effort to 
attain
consensus
in the church through an
assembly
representing all of
Christendom
. The
doctrine
of the Trinity was finalized at the 
Council of Constantinople in 381 AD which expressly included the Holy Ghost as 
equal to the Father and the Son.

The first Nicene Council was probably held in what would become the now 
ruined mosque of Orchan. The church of Hagia Sophia was built by
Justinian I
in the middle of the city in the 
6th century (modelled after the larger
Hagia Sophia
in Constantinople), and it was 
there that the
Second Council of Nicaea
met in 787 to discuss 
the issues of
iconography
. The city was
assaulted
by the
Umayyads
in 727 but held firm.

Crusades

The city saw a long period of peace under Byzantine rule, which lasted until 
the rise of the
Seljuk Turks
. In 1077 they took the city, which 
changed hands several times in the next year until it was firmly in their 
control by 1078. Here they formed their capital. This event was instrumental in 
starting the
First Crusade
at Byzantium’s request in 1095, 
resulting in armies from Europe along with smaller units from Byzantium 
converging on the city in 1097. After the European armies
laid siege to the city
and penetrated the 
walls, they were surprised to awake the next morning to see the Roman flags of 
Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos
flying over the city. Robbed 
of their chance to plunder the city, the crusaders and Byzantines were soon at 
odds. In the peace which was afterwards concluded the city was ceded to the 
Byzantines.

The 12th century saw a period of relative stability and prosperity at Nicaea. 
The
Komnenian
emperors Alexios, John and Manuel 
campaigned extensively to strengthen the Byzantine presence in Asia Minor. Major 
fortifications were constructed across the region, especially by John and 
Manuel, which helped to protect the city and its fertile hinterland. There were 
also several military bases and colonies in the area, for example the one at
Rhyndakos
in Bithynia, where the emperor John 
spent a year training his troops in preparation for campaigns in southern Asia 
Minor.

Constantinople later fell in 1204 to the European armies in the
Fourth Crusade
, who set up the
Latin Empire
of Constantinople. They had poor 
control over the area, and a number of Byzantine successor states sprang up as 
well, including
Epirus
and
Trebizond
. It was Nicaea that formed the core 
of the successor Byzantine Empire after
Theodore Laskaris
(who became Theodore I) 
founded the
Empire of Nicaea
(western Asia Minor) there.

Building on the strong military infrastructure built up in the area over the 
last century, Theodore I and his successors slowly expanded their domains, and 
in 1259
Michael VIII Palaeologus
usurped the throne. He 
captured Constantinople from the Latins in 1261, and restored the Byzantine 
Empire.

Ottoman Empire

In 1331, the city was conquered and incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire
by
Orhan I
. Many of its public buildings were 
destroyed, and the materials were used by the
Ottomans
in erecting their mosques and other 
edifices. With the
fall of Constantinople
in 1453, the town lost a 
great degree of its importance, but later became a major center with the 
creation of a local faïence
pottery
-making industry in the 17th century.

Ruins

The ancient walls, with their towers and gates, are relatively well 
preserved. Their circumference is 3,100 m (10,171 ft), being at the base from 5 
to 7 m (16 to 23 ft) in thickness, and from 10 to 13 m (33 to 43 ft) in height; 
they contain four large and two small gates. In most places they are formed of 
alternate courses of Roman tiles and large square stones, joined by a cement of 
great thickness. In some places columns and other architectural fragments from 
the ruins of more ancient edifices have been inserted. As with those of 
Constantinople, the walls seem to have been built in the 4th century. Some of 
the towers have
Greek
inscriptions.

The ruins of mosques, baths, and houses, dispersed among the gardens and 
apartment buildings that now occupy a great part of the space within the Roman 
and Byzantine fortifications, show that the Ottoman era town center, though now 
less considerable, was once a place of importance; but it never was as large as 
the Byzantine city. It seems to have been almost entirely constructed of the 
remains of the Byzantine era Nicaea, the walls of the ruined mosques and baths 
being full of the fragments of ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine temples and 
churches. In the northwestern parts of the town, two moles extend into the lake 
and form a harbour; but the lake in this part has much retreated, and left a 
marshy plain. Outside the walls are the remnants of an ancient aqueduct.The 
Church of the Dormition, the principal Greek Orthodox church in Nicaea, was one 
of the most architecturaly important Byzantine churches in
Asia Minor
. A domed church with a cross-shaped 
nave and elongated apse, and dating from the perhaps as early as the end of the 
6th century, its bema was decorated with very fine mosaics that had been 
restored in the 9th century. The Church of the Dormition was destroyed in 1922; 
only the lower portions of some of its walls survive today.

Excavations are underway in the Ottoman kilns where the historic Nycean 
tileware were made. The Hagia Sophia is also undergoing restoration.

Contemporary influence

Nicaea remains a
titular see
of the
Roman Catholic Church
, Nicaenus; the 
seat has been vacant since the death of its last bishop in 1976.It is also a 
titular
metropolitan
see of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
. The 
incumbent 2001–2010 was the former
Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland
, 
Metropolitan
Johannes (Rinne)
.

Notable people

• Hipparchus
  (2nd century BC) Greek 
  astronomer, geographer, and mathematician
• Sporus of Nicaea
  (b. ca. 240; d. ca. 300) 
  Greek mathematician and astronomer
• Georgius Pachymeres
  (1242 – c. 1310), 
  Byzantine historian
• Cassius Dio
  (AD c.165–c.229), Roman 
  historian

Aurelius  Severus Alexander (October 1, 208–March 18, 235 AD), commonly 

called Alexander Severus, was the last

Roman emperor

(11 March 222–235) of the

Severan dynasty

. Alexander Severus succeeded his cousin,

Elagabalus
 

upon the latter’s assassination in 222 AD, and was ultimately assassinated 

himself, marking the

epoch event

for the

Crisis of the Third Century

—nearly fifty years of disorder, Roman civil 

wars, economic chaos, regional rebellions, and external threats that brought the 

Empire to near-collapse.

Alexander Severus was the

heir 

apparent
to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered 

along with his mother by his own guards—and as a mark of contempt, had their 

remains cast into the

Tiber river

. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and 

powerful Julia Maesa

, who had arranged for Elagabalus’ acclamation as Emperor by the 

famed

Third Gallic Legion

.

A rumor of Alexander’s death circulated, triggering the assassination of 

Elagabalus.

Alexander’s reign was marked by troubles. In military conflict against the 

rising

Sassanid Empire

, there are mixed accounts, though the Sassanid threat was 

checked. However, when campaigning against

Germanic tribes

of

Germania
, 

Alexander Severus apparently alienated his legions by trying diplomacy and 

bribery, and they assassinated him.

 Life

Alexander was born with the name Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus. 

Alexander’s father,

Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus

was a Syrian

Promagistrate

. His mother

Julia Avita Mamaea

was the second daughter of

Julia 

Maesa
and Syrian noble

Julius Avitus

and maternal aunt of Emperor

Elagabalus
. 

He had an elder sister called Theoclia and little is known about her. 

Alexander’s maternal great-aunt was empress

Julia 

Domna
(also Maesa’s younger sister) and his great-uncle in marriage was 

emperor Lucius

Septimius Severus

. Emperors

Caracalla
 

and

Publius Septimius Geta

, were his mother’s maternal cousins. In 221, 

Alexander’s grandmother, Maesa, persuaded the emperor to adopt his cousin as 

successor and make him

Caesar

and Bassianus changed his name to Alexander. In the following 

year, on March 11, Elagabalus was murdered, and Alexander was proclaimed emperor 

by the

Praetoriansns

and accepted by the Senate.

When Alexander became emperor, he was young, amiable, well-meaning, and 

entirely under the dominion of his mother. Julia Mamaea was a woman of many 

virtues, and she surrounded the young emperor with wise counsellors. She watched 

over the development of her son’s character and improved the tone of the 

administration. On the other hand, she was inordinately jealous. She also 

alienated the army by extreme parsimony, and neither she nor her son were strong 

enough to impose military discipline. Mutinies became frequent in all parts of 

the empire; to one of them the life of the jurist and praetorian praefect

Ulpian
was 

sacrificed; another compelled the retirement of

Cassius 

Dio
from his command.

On the whole, however, the reign of Alexander was prosperous until the rise, 

in the east, of the

Sassanids

. Of the war that followed there are various accounts. (Mommsen 

leans to that which is least favourable to the Romans). According to Alexander’s 

own dispatch to the senate, he gained great victories. At all events, though the 

Sassanids were checked for the time, the conduct of the Roman army showed an 

extraordinary lack of discipline. The emperor returned to

Rome and celebrated 

a triumph in 233.

The following year he was called to face German invaders in

Gaul, who had 

breached the Rhine frontier in several places, destroying forts and over-running 

the countryside. Alexander mustered his forces, bringing legions from the 

eastern provinces, and crossed the Rhine into Germany on a pontoon bridge. 

Initially he attempted to buy the German tribes off, so as to gain time. Whether 

this was a wise policy or not, it caused the Roman legionaries to look down on 

their emperor as one who was prepared to commit unsoldierly conduct.

Herodian
 

says “in their opinion Alexander showed no honourable intention to pursue the 

war and preferred a life of ease, when he should have marched out to punish the 

Germans for their previous insolence”. These circumstances drove the army to 

look for a new leader. They chose

Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus

, a Thracian soldier who had worked his way up 

through the ranks.

Following the nomination of Maximinus as emperor, Alexander was slain (on 

either March 18 or March 19, 235), together with his mother, in a mutiny of the

Primigenia Legio XXII

. These assassinations secured the throne for 

Maximinus.

The death of Alexander is considered as the end of the Principate 

system established by

Augustus
. 

Although the Principate continued in theory until the reign of

Diocletian
, 

Alexander Severus’ death signalled the beginning of the chaotic period known as 

the

Crisis of the Third Century

which weakened the empire considerably.

 Legacy

Alexander was the last of the Syrian emperors. Under the influence of his 

mother, he did much to improve the morals and condition of the people. His 

advisers were men like the famous jurist Ulpian, the historian Cassius Dio and a 

select board of sixteen senators; a municipal council of fourteen assisted the 

urban praefect in administering the affairs of the fourteen districts of Rome. 

The luxury and extravagance that had formerly been so prevalent at the court 

were put down; the standard of the coinage was raised; taxes were lightened; 

literature, art and science were encouraged; the lot of the soldiers was 

improved; and, for the convenience of the people, loan offices were instituted 

for lending money at a moderate rate of interest.

In religious matters Alexander preserved an open mind. It is said that he was 

desirous of erecting a temple to the

founder of 

Christianity
, but was dissuaded by the pagan priests.

 Marriage

Alexander was married three times. His most famous wife was

Sallustia Orbiana

,

, whom he married in 225. He divorced and exiled her in 227, 

after her father,

Seius Sallustius

, was executed for attempting to assassinate the emperor. 

Another wife was Sulpicia Memmia. Her father was a man of consular rank; her 

grandfather’s name was Catulus.