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Nicomedia

Ancient name
Nikomedeia
Modern name
İzmit
Modern country
Turkey
Nicomedia (on the site of present-day Izmit, Turkey) was located at the end of a long northeastern arm of the Sea of Marmara. It was the capital of Roman Bithynia, and when Diocletian established the tetrarchy he made it the senior capital of the Eastern Empire. The city played a significant role in the early crusades but fell to the Ottomans in 1337. While the Byzantines managed to retake it temporarily in 1402, the Ottomans reclaimed control permanently in 1419. Spelling note: By Dati's day, most European maps use a version of this toponym that omits the first syllable, so the Sfera maps usually label it as comidia or commedia. Campbell #1325.
Coordinates
40.77, 29.92
This toponym does not appear in the poem, only on the maps accompanying it.
Map of the location M020

Variant spellings of Nicomedia in Sfera manuscripts

Variant Manuscripts
[Co...?] Pnc4
chomedie Fn8
chomedria Marc1
chomidie Marc1, Pal8
Chomidio Pal5
chomidio Pal6
chomido Laur5
CHOMMEDIA Fn8
Co[...] Par2
Com[m]edia Ricc6
comed[...] Barb3
Comedie Clas2, Fn9, He3
comedie NB
comedio Spe
comedriA Ricc9
Comida Chig1
comiden NYPL3
comidi[...] Con4
comidi[e] Laur3
Comidie Fo, Parm2, Per2
comidie Fo, He2, Laur3, Magl2, NB, Per2, Pnc5, Ricc15, Ricc8
Comidio Cap1, Ricc17
comidio Marc2, Yale4
comido Fn12
commidie Ricc12
Mezomondia He1
mezomondia Par4
nichomidia Tre
nichomodia Par4
nicomidia Tre
Nicomodia He1
thomidie Con1
Suggested citation
Beneš, Carrie. “Nicomedia.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, February 10, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/nicomedia/.