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Bithynia

ancient region of Asia Minor

35 dated entries naming Bithynia, drawn from 33 separate years between 297 BCE and 1337 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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3rd century BC

  • 297 BCEZipoetes I assumes the title of basileus (king) in Bithynia.source
  • 280 BCENicomedes, King of Bithynia, is threatened with an invasion from Antiochus who has already made war upon his father, Zipoites. Antiochus actually invades Bithynia but withdraws again without risking a battle.source
  • 278 BCENicomedes I becomes the first ruler of Bithynia to assume the title of king. He founds the city of Nicomedia, which soon rises to great prosperity.source
  • 265 BCEZiaelas, king of Bithynia (approximate date)source
  • 243 BCEPrusias I Cholus (the Lame), king of Bithynia (approximate date)source

2nd century BC

  • 186 BCEEumenes II of Pergamum defeats Prusias I of Bithynia.source
  • 183 BCEThe Roman statesman Titus Quinctius Flamininus is sent to the court of Prusias I, king of Bithynia, to demand the surrender of the former Carthaginian statesman and general Hannibal. When Hannibal finds out that Prusias is about to agree to the Roman demands and thus betray him, he poisons himself in the village of Libyssa in Bithynia.source
  • 182 BCEPrusias I Chlorus, king of Bithynia (b. c. 228 BC)source
  • 154 BCEAfter a two-year struggle, Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamum is finally able to defeat Prusias II, the aggressive king of Bithynia in northern Anatolia. He is assisted in his battle against Prusias II by Ariarathes V of Cappadocia (who has sent his son Demetrius to command his forces) and by the Romans.source
  • 150 BCENicomedes, the son of king Prusias II of Bithynia, who has been sent to Rome to argue for smaller reparations arising from his father's unsuccessful war against Pergamum, gains the support of the Roman Senate to the point where Prusias sends an emissary with secret orders to assassinate Nicomedes. However, the emissary reveals the plot to Nicomedes and persuades him to rebel against his father.source
  • 149 BCEWith Roman help, Nicomedes II overthrows his father Prusias II as king of Bithynia.source
  • 149 BCEPrusias II, Greek king of Bithynia (b. c. 220 BC)source
  • 127 BCENicomedes II (Epiphanes), king of Bithyniasource

1st century BC

  • 94 BCEApproximate date – Nicomedes IV succeeds his father Nicomedes III as king of Bithynia.source
  • 89 BCEMithridates VI of Pontus invades Bithynia and Cappadocia, thus beginning the First Mithridatic War.source
  • 88 BCEMay – King Mithridates VI of Pontus invades Greece. Defeating the Roman forces four times in succession, he conquers Bithynia, Phrygia, Mysia, Lycia, Pamphylia, Ionia and Cappadocia. The Roman province of Asia is dismantled. On the king's orders, the local authorities in every city of the province round up and put to death all resident Italians in a single day (App.Mith.§§85–91). Plutarch (Sulla 24.4) says that 150,000 are killed, other sources calculate a figure of 80,000 people.source
  • 75 BCENicomedes IV of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to Rome on his death (75/4 BC). Angered by the arrangement, Mithridates VI of Pontus declares war on Rome and invades Bithynia, Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, thus starting the Third Mithridatic War.source
  • 74 BCENicomedes IV, last king of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to the Roman Senate upon his death (75/4 BC)source
  • 74 BCENicomedes IV (Philopator), king of Bithyniasource

1st century

  • 82Dio Chrysostom is banished from Rome, Italy, and Bithynia, after advising one of the Emperor's conspiring relatives.source

2nd century

  • 109Pliny the Younger is legate to Bithynia.source
  • 111Emperor Trajan sends Pliny the Younger to be governor (legatus Augusti) of Bithynia.source

3rd century

  • 284Emperor Numerian travels through Bithynia (Asia Minor) on his way home to Rome. Suffering from an inflammation of the eyes, he travels in a closed litter in which soldiers find his decaying corpse.source

4th century

  • 364February 26 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Emperor by officers of the Roman army at Nicaea in Bithynia. He addresses the soldiers (who threaten to riot) in a speech. He founds the Valentinianic dynasty and rules the Western portion of the Roman Empire, from Caledonia (Scotland) to the Rhine frontier, ensuring it a few years of relative security. He settles in Lutetia (Paris) and establishes a militia to defend the region.source
  • 365September 28 – Procopius revolts and bribes two legions passing by Constantinople. He proclaims himself Emperor, and takes control of Thrace and Bithynia.source

6th century

  • 513Anastasius I reduces taxes in the provinces of Bithynia and Asia, to prevent them from joining the rebellion. Vitalian marches to Constantinople and encamps at the suburb of Hebdomon (modern Turkey).source

7th century

  • 605Phocas has Constantina, empress consort of Maurice, and her three daughters arrested. He accuses her of conspiracy, and has them executed at Chalcedon (Bithynia).source
  • 608Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II invades Armenia, and raids deep into Anatolia through the Byzantine provinces of Cappadocia, Phrygia, Galatia, and Bithynia.source
  • 668Yazid reaches Chalcedon in Bithynia, and takes the important Byzantine center Amorium (modern Turkey).source

8th century

  • 705Spring – An army of 15,000 Bulgar and Slav horsemen under Justinian II appear before the walls of Constantinople. After three days, his troops discover an unused water conduit under the walls of the city, and enter through the Valens Aqueduct. Hearing that Justinian has taken control of the Blachernae Palace, Emperor Tiberios III flees to Bithynia (modern Turkey), where he evades capture for several months.source

11th century

  • 1092Summer – Emperor Alexios I Komnenos bribes one of Kilij Arslan's (sultan of the Sultanate of Rum) officials to recover Sinope (the capital of Paphlagonia), and neighbouring coastal regions. He uses the Byzantine fleet to defeat the Seljuk navy off the coast of Cius in Bithynia.source

12th century

  • 1113Spring – Siege of Nicaea: Malik Shah, Seljuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum, sends an expedition through Bithynia to the very walls of Nicaea. Seljuk forces raid Abydos on the Hellespont, with its rich custom-houses. Malik Shah attacks and captures Pergamum. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos sets out to meet the Seljuk invaders. He lifts the siege at Nicaea and wins a complete victory near Cotyaeum (modern Turkey).source

14th century

  • 1301Spring – Sultan Osman I calls for a military campaign to strike deep into Byzantine Bithynia. During the campaign, Ottoman forces capture the towns of İnegöl and Yenişehir. The later town will be transformed into a capital city, as Osman moves his administration and personal household within its walls. By the end of the year, Ottoman forces begin blockading the major Byzantine city of Nicaea.source
  • 1302July 27 – Battle of Bapheus: To counter the Turkish threat at Nicomedia, Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos sends a Byzantine force (some 2,000 men) to cross over the Bosporus to relieve the city. On the plain, Turkish forces (some 5,000 light cavalry) led by Sultan Osman I defeat the Byzantines, who are forced to withdraw to Nicomedia. After the battle, Andronikos loses control of the countryside of Bithynia, withdrawing to the forts. Meanwhile, Turkish forces capture Byzantine settlements, such as the coastal city of Gemlik.source
  • 1337Siege of Nicomedia: After its foundation by Osman I in about 1299, the Ottoman Empire expanded across Bithynia in north-west Anatolia by capturing territory from the Byzantine Empire.source

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