A City Built on Ancient Foundations
Izmit, known today as the industrial and administrative capital of Kocaeli Province, sits on a history that spans more than two and a half millennia. The city was founded as Nicomedia around 264 BCE by the Bithynian king Nicomedes I, who chose this strategic location on the eastern shores of the Gulf of Izmit for its natural harbor and commanding geography.
The Glory of Nicomedia
At its peak, Nicomedia was one of the most important cities in the ancient world. During the Roman period, the Emperor Diocletian selected it as the eastern capital of the Roman Empire in 286 CE — a remarkable distinction that brought palaces, grand temples, and a flourishing intellectual community to the city's shores.
- Diocletian's Palace: The emperor governed the eastern empire from Nicomedia, constructing an imperial residence that rivaled Rome itself.
- Pliny the Younger: The famous Roman author served as governor of Bithynia-Pontus and wrote extensively about Nicomedia's urban life.
- Early Christianity: Nicomedia was a significant center of early Christian activity and witnessed the martyrdom of Saint George, according to tradition.
Byzantine and Ottoman Eras
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Nicomedia continued under Byzantine rule, though it suffered repeated raids and earthquakes that diminished its former grandeur. The city fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1337 under Orhan Gazi, becoming an important regional hub in the expanding empire. The Ottomans renamed it İzmid, a corruption of the Greek "Nicomedia," and the name eventually evolved into the modern Izmit.
Under Ottoman rule, the city developed a mixed character — Greek, Armenian, Turkish, and Jewish communities coexisted and contributed to a layered cultural identity that still influences local customs today.
The 20th Century and Modern Izmit
The 20th century brought dramatic change. Following the Turkish War of Independence and the population exchanges of the 1920s, Izmit was rebuilt as a Turkish industrial city. The post-war era transformed it into one of Turkey's key manufacturing centers, home to petrochemical plants, paper mills, and automotive factories.
The devastating 1999 Marmara Earthquake (magnitude 7.6) struck just east of Izmit, causing immense loss of life and destruction. The city's resilient rebuilding effort over the following decades reshaped much of its urban landscape.
Cultural Heritage Today
Despite rapid modernization, Izmit retains proud links to its past:
- The Izmit Archaeological Museum houses artifacts from the Nicomedia era through the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.
- The Pertev Pasha Mosque, an elegant 16th-century Ottoman structure, remains a working place of worship and a landmark of the old city.
- The Belvedere Hill (Tepecik) offers panoramic views and traces of the ancient citadel.
Understanding Izmit means appreciating this layered past — every neighborhood, hill, and harbor view carries echoes of the empires and communities that came before.