Cyzicus

Cyzicus (sĭz`ĭkəs), ancient city, NW Turkey, at the neck of the Cyzicus Peninsula. Strategically located, it rivaled Byzantium in commercial importance. Founded (756 B.C.) by Greek colonists from Miletus, it was a member of the Delian League. In 410 B.C., Alcibiades defeated a Spartan fleet off Cyzicus, and in 74 B.C. the city withstood a siege by Mithradates VI of Pontus. As a reward for its loyalty, it became a free city under Roman rule. In A.D. 675 the town was pillaged by the Arabs and then used as a base for a siege of Constantinople. There are ruins of a large temple built by Roman Emperor Hadrian and of other public buildings.

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Cyzicus

an ancient Greek colony in NW Asia Minor on the S shore of the Sea of Marmara: site of Alcibiades' naval victory over the Peloponnesians (410 bc)

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Cyzicus 

(Greek, Kyzikos), an ancient Greek city on the southern shore of Propontis (Sea of Marmara), founded in the eighth or seventh century B.C. by colonists from Miletus. Cyzicus was one of the large commercial centers of antiquity. Its coins were widespread in the ancient world from the seventh to the fourth century B.C. The city belonged to the Delian League. Alcibiades was victorious over the Spartans in 410 B.C. at Cyzicus. The city was finally conquered by the Romans in A.D. 25. Beginning with Diocletian’s reign, Cyzicus was the capital of the province of Hellespont. The city was destroyed in 544 by an earthquake.

REFERENCE

Hasluck, F. W. Cyzicus. Cambridge, 1910.