It is believed to have been built by Bishop Hyakinthos in the middle of the 8th century. It was a domed church with precious mosaics and frescoes. The apse half dome depicted Mary with Jesus in her arms on a gold background (like the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul) and four archangels dressed in emperor’s robes on either side. After 1204, after the Latins captured Constantinople (Istanbul), the Christian Romans (Byzantium) came to Iznik-Nicaea and made it their capital. When King Theodoros I of the Laskaris dynasty died, he was buried here next to his wife Anna. In 1922, it was blown up in the turmoil during the War of Independence. There may be a Temple of Asclepius under the church.
