İznik Roma Tiyatrosu

The Roman Theatre of İznik is a theatre for about ten thousand spectators, built in the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. It lies inside the walled old town, about 400 metres south-west of the Ayasofya. The Dokuz Eylül University excavation team presents it as one of the most magnificent surviving Roman works in Anatolia. Pliny's letters The date of the building is known precisely, because Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia in AD 111, mentions the theatre under construction in his letters to the emperor. In these letters Pliny reports that the building was not yet finished and that there were financial and structural problems. According to the same letters, the people's assembly and generous citizens had decided to add colonnaded galleries to the theatre. In the 2016-2017 excavations, building elements of these colonnaded galleries were indeed uncovered on both sides of the stage building. According to an article by the excavation director Aygün Ekin Meriç, 10 million sesterces were spent on the building. Architecture The theatre does not lean against a hillside; it rises on a vaulted substructure on flat ground. This construction method, in line with Roman architectural tradition, is described as the only example of its kind in Turkey. The seating is arranged in three tiers, lower, middle and upper, and the building covers an area of 102 by 79 metres. A spectator in the top row watched the performances in the orchestra from a height of about twenty metres. The stage building consists of four main spaces separated by three entrance doors and corridors, and on the available evidence it is thought to have had two storeys. Mythological and plant motifs were used in its decoration. The core was built of rubble stone and mortar and then finished with limestone blocks; there is also marble cladding in the stage building and some other areas. A relief of a sword and shield found here documents the gladiator fights held in the theatre. Changing uses over the centuries The excavations show that the theatre was used for its original purpose for only about two hundred years. A fragment of a drinking cup dated to the 6th century BC, found at the foundation level of the stage building, pushed the history of the area back to the Archaic period for the first time. The Gothic raids of AD 259 devastated much of the city, but late column capitals found here show that the theatre was repaired in the 3rd century. According to the AA news agency, the building was also damaged in the earthquakes of 358, 362 and 368 and underwent repairs. After the 4th century the site was used for religious purposes, and after the earthquake of 557 it was abandoned and for a time became a place where rubble was dumped. When the city walls damaged in the Arab sieges of the 8th century were repaired, stone was also taken from the theatre and reused in the walls. After the 9th century the theatre and its surroundings became pottery workshops. After the Latins captured Istanbul in 1204, İznik served as the centre of Byzantine government for 57 years. In this period soldiers killed in battle were buried in mass graves on top of the seating, and a basilica was built over the middle tier. In the Ottoman period four pottery kilns, three rectangular and one round, together with workshop rooms, were set up inside the vaults that carry the seating. Once the tile kilns went out of use, the theatre's stones were removed for a long time to be reused in the surrounding houses. Excavation and restoration The theatre was first identified and sketched by the traveller Pococke in 1743. The first excavations were begun in 1980 by Bedri Yalman of the Bursa Museum and continued until 2006; during this period the orchestra, the seating, the side entrances, some vaulted galleries and the front of the stage building were uncovered. Between 2011 and 2015, under the direction of the İznik Museum, the rooms behind the stage building and the western side entrance were revealed. Since 2016 the excavations have been carried out by a team from the Department of Archaeology of Dokuz Eylül University. After a restoration sponsored by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality was completed, the theatre reopened to visitors in March 2024. Visiting As you walk around, look at the vaulted galleries beneath the seating; what sets this theatre apart from other ancient theatres is that it rises on these artificial supports instead of leaning against a slope. Knowing that Ottoman kilns were found inside these vaults during the excavations makes it easier to tell apart the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman layers of a single building. Many finds from the excavations are now on display in the İznik Museum, which lies less than half a kilometre south-east of the theatre. According to the Kültür Portalı, İznik is reached from the Bursa bus terminal, and the theatre from the town centre. For opening hours and admission, check the latest information with the İznik Museum or the official channels of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.