EMPIRE of NICAEA.Anonymous.(1227-1261).Tetarteron.

Obv : I - C X - C.
Ornamented cross.

Rev : Pelleted B and retrograde B.
Sear 2155.

Condition : Good very fine.

Weight : 2.46 gr
Diameter : 15 mm

Iznik was founded in 316 BC by Antigonius Monophthalmos, one of the commanders of Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia. According to the traditions of that era, it was named "Antigonia" because of its founder Antigonius. The heirs of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian emperor, General Antigonius and General Lysimachus, fought each other to take control of the Empire. Lysimachus defeated Antigonius in 301 BC and took the city under his rule, naming it Nicaea, after his beloved wife, according to the traditions of that period. The Roman Empire, which faced difficulties in every respect due to its extensive borders on three continents, was divided into Eastern and Western Roman Empires in 476 AD, and Iznik remained within the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire, which later became Byzantium. Nicaea underwent great construction in the hands of the Byzantines. Churches, waterways and cisterns were built in the city. After the Seljuk Sultan Alpaslan defeated the Byzantine armies in Malazgirt in 1071, the Seljuks marched into the interior of Byzantium at the end of the 11th century. Kutalmışoğlu Süleyman Şah captured Nicaea in 1075 and made it the capital of the Seljuk state in 1080. He changed its name to "İznik", meaning the trace of Nicaea. Thus, İznik became the first Turkish capital in Anatolia. The 1st Crusader Army of 600,000 men, under the command of Godefroy De Bouillon, laid siege to İznik in May 1097. After fierce battles, the Turks surrendered the city to the Byzantines in June 1097, preventing it from being plundered. The 2nd Byzantine period began when the Crusaders captured İznik and left it to the Byzantines. The Seljuk Turks were only able to hold the city for about 22 years. IV. The Latins who participated in the Crusade preferred to plunder Constantinople (Istanbul) rather than shed blood in Anatolia and occupied it, establishing the Latin Empire (1204). The Byzantine royal line, Theodoros Lascaris, fled to Nicaea and declared himself emperor there. Thus, Nicaea became the administrative center of the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was under Latin occupation for 57 years. During this period, important repairs were undertaken on the walls and the protection of the city was strengthened by building a fore wall (front wall) in front of the walls. Four emperors ascended to the throne in the capital Nicaea after Theodoros Lascaris. The last, Michael VIII (1259-1282), recaptured Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1261, ending the Latin Empire. Thus, Constantinople became the capital of the Byzantine Empire once again.