In this volume the Byzantine provinces of Bithynia and Hellespont are treated. They comprise
the whole northwest of Asia Minor. The region is especially important because of its position
across from the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The shores opposite Constantinople were
considered its suburbs where the emperors and the aristocracy built their palaces and villas
and founded many monasteries and churches. Products of agriculture from Bithynia to a lesser
part also from Hellespont contributed considerably to the provision of the capital with
food.The close relations between Bithynia and Hellespont with Constantinople result in a great
number of written sources that mention many settlements in the area under consideration. The
present volume aims to draw a picture of the region from the point of view of the Historical
Geography. For this purpose written sources are used as well as travel reports from the Early
Modern Period onwards archaeological documentation and observations of the author in the
country. In the introductory chapters the borders of the area its geography history church
history lines of communication and economic conditions are treated by way of an overview. In
the main part the history and or the archaeological remains of all Byzantine settlements
fortresses churches and monasteries as well as of mountains and rivers are presented in an
alphabetical catalogue. A choice of characteristic landscapes and of ruins and other remains
are shown on photographical tables. Added to the volume is a map (scale 1 : 800.000) that shows
not only the area comprised in this volume but also the region north of the Sea of Marmara
(treated as Ostthrakien by A. Külzer volume 12 of the TIB) so that the entire Region of the
the Sea of Marmara with its centre Constantinople is displayed. Densely inhabited areas are
also shown on three maps with larger scales.
