Turkish city founded in 264 B.C. by King Nicomedes I over ancient city of Astacus. Nicomedes made Nicomedia capital of Bithynia. It remained capital of the province when Bithynia was taken by Romans. Place of death of Hannibal, in 186 B.C. Site of Christian slaying in 303 during the Tenth Persecution of the Roman Empire. Later, controlled by the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople. Sultan Orkhan of the Ottoman Empire took this city in 1328, actually restoring some of the former grandeur of Nicomedia. Today called Ismidt, or Ismit, or Ismet. (I found three separate spellings.) about 200,000 inhabitants, very poor town, with very little commerce. It is also the capital of the state of Kocaeli.