Bithynia From Trajan to Constantinian Dynasty: Socio-economic structure, civic life and urban environment

Bithynia, one of the first provinces of the Roman Empire in Anatolia, has been one of the regions that have attracted attention throughout history with its location connecting Anatolia and the Balkans as well as the Aegean and the Black Sea. Having solved its administrative problems since the reign of Emperor Trajan, the Bithynia region showed a great development with its cities and cultural structure. The region entered a phase of stagnation and decline as a result of the great earthquakes experienced during the Constantinian dynasty, yet it maintained its vitality compared to many other regions in Anatolia. In this historical process, the social layers and socio-economic environment that make up the cities provide valuable information and shed light on the changes and transformations that the region has undergone. The structural characteristics of the Bithynia region, which is the western part of the double province of Pontus et Bithynia under the Roman Empire, from Trajan to the end of the Constantinian Dynasty, the changes and transformations of the persons in the social structure, and the socio-economic structure of the region are also the subject of this study. Instead of a Roman-centred perspective, the study is centred on the Bithynian groups that continued their lives under Roman influence, such as the local elites, sophists, intellectuals, and priests, as well as the masses of the people formed by various professional groups such as producers and merchants. Subjects concerning the socio-economic and social structure, from the local administration mechanisms in which these groups are involved to the phyles in which all parts are together, from the professions in the regional cities to the religious communities in the social structure, have been analysed within the scope of this study.