Friendship and Rivalry: Local Relations and Cultural Environment in Constantinople and Nicomedia in the Light of Libanius' Orations and Letters

Year 2022, Issue: 26, 125 - 142, 04.08.2022

Onur Sadık Karakuş

https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.2022.1080451

Abstract

Nicomedia and Constantinople, the two largest cities of the Roman Empire on the Marmara coast, drew attention as very rich and developed metropoleis in the 3rd and 4th centuries. These two cities, which were successor capitals, also attracted the aristocrats, scholars, orators and statesmen of the period with their cultural environment. The sophist Libanius of Antioch, who lived in both these cities, gives very valuable information about these cities. Orations and letters of Libanius provide quite detailed information on remarkably interesting topics such as friendship relations, local rivalries and factions, schools, educators, social networks and the local policies of the emperors in these two great cities. By putting Libanius in the center, this study aims to show the local relations in Constantinople and Nicomedia in the 4th century, as well as the socio-cultural environment and the differences between these cities. In addition, the contributing factors of the cultural environment that allowed Nicomedia to compete with Constantinople, the new residence of the emperors, until the devastating earthquakes in Nicomedia, were also discussed.

Keywords

Libanius, Constantinople, Nicomedia, Roman Empire, Sophists

Thanks

I would like to thank the TUBITAK Directorate of Science Fellowships and Grant Programme (BIDEB) for financial support within the scope of 2214-a International Research Fellowship Programme for my doctoral thesis project.

Dostluk ve Rekabet: Libanius'un Söylev ve Mektupları Işığında Constantinopolis ve Nikomedia'da Yerel İlişkiler ve Kültürel Çevre

Abstract

Roma İmparatorluğu'nun Marmara kıyısındaki iki büyük kenti olan Nikomedia ve Constantinopolis, 3. ve 4. yüzyıllarda oldukça zengin ve gelişmiş metropolisler olarak dikkat çeker. Ardıl başkentler olan bu iki kent aynı zamanda kültürel ortamıyla da döneminin aristokratlarını, eğitmenlerini, hatiplerini ve devlet adamlarını da cezbetmiştir. Her iki kentte de yaşamış olan Antakyalı sofist Libanius, bu kentlere dair çok kıymetli bilgiler vermektedir. Libanius’un söylev ve mektupları bu iki büyük kentteki dostluk ilişkileri, yerel rekabetler ve hizipler, okullar, eğitmenler, sosyal ağlar ve İmparatorların yerel politikaları gibi oldukça ilgi çekici konulara ışık tutmaktadır. Bu çalışma da Libanius’u merkeze alarak, 4.yüzyılda Constantinopolis ve Nikomedia kentlerindeki yerel ilişkiler ve sosyokültürel ortamı ve kentler arasındaki farklılıkları göstermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Ayrıca Nikomedia’da meydana gelen oldukça yıkıcı depremlere kadar Nikomedia’nın İmparatorların yeni ikametgahı olan Constantinopolis’le rekabet edebilmesine olanak veren kültürel ortamın sağlayıcı etkenleri de tartışılmıştır.

Keywords

Libanius, Constantinopolis, Nikomedia, Roma İmparatorluğu, Sofistler

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