From Roman City to Christian Town: A Case Study on the Urban Transformation of Prusias ad Hypium

Authors : Onur Sadık Karakuş

Pages : 203-225

Doi:10.58488/collan.1736530

View : 216 | Download : 407

Publication Date : 2025-12-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Although the administrative and social structure of the city of Prusias ad Hypium (Prousias) is well attested through epigraphic evidence from the Roman Imperial period, the history of the city extends beyond this chronological framework. Beginning in the 3rd century CE, Prusias gradually began to lose its earlier urban character and underwent a transformation into a new urban form during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods. In this process, public buildings were progressively replaced by ecclesiastical structures, and the local elite class was increasingly supplanted by members of the episcopal hierarchy. This study examines how Prusias\\\' social fabric transformed from a Roman urban model based on citizenship-oriented administration to a Christian society characterised by the increasing influence of religious authority. Focusing on the socio-political and religious changes that gathered pace from the 4th century CE onwards, the study aims to to contextualise the Christianisation of the city within a broader historical trajectory. Moreover, by reassessing the Christian period of Prusias in light of recent archaeological and epigraphic data, this study highlights aspects of the city\\\'s history that have remained understudied or overlooked in previous scholarship. In doing so, it seeks to offer a new perspective for future research on urban transformation in Late Antiquity. To better understand the dynamics of this transition, the study also considers key developments during the Roman Imperial period, with particular attention to the gradual decline of phyle organizations in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE.
Keywords : Geç Antik Çağ, Prusias, Bithynia, Hristiyanlık, Kentsel Yaşam

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