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{{about|the ancient town in Asia Minor|the Ecumenical Council of the year 451|Council of Chalcedon|the American political religious organization|Chalcedon Foundation|the mineral|Chalcedony|the municipality in Greece|Chalkidona|the stringed instrument (or [[Colascione|Colachon]])|Mandora|the Italian fashion group|Calzedonia}}
{{confuse|Châteldon}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Chalcedon
| native_name             = Χαλκηδών
| native_name_lang        = he
| settlement_type         = Town
| image_skyline           = Sancte Euphemia Kadıköy.jpg
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = The small [[Church of St Euphemia, Chalcedon|Church of St Euphemia]] that serves as the Greek Orthodox cathedral of the [[Metropolis of Chalcedon|Metropolitan Diocese]]
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| etymology               = Carthage 
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| image_map               = Roman Empire - Bythinia et Pontus (125 AD).svg
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| map_caption             = Bithynia as part of Bithynia and Pontus, a province of the [[Roman Empire]], 120 AD
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| subdivision_name        = Bithynia
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{{Location map
|Turkey Istanbul|relief=1
|label='''Chalcedon'''
|label_size=100
|lat=40.983333
|long=29.033333
|marksize=9
|position=right
|width=280
|float=right
|caption=Chalcedon marked on a map of the Istanbul region
}}

'''Chalcedon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|æ|l|s|ɪ|ˌ|d|ɒ|n|,_|k|æ|l|ˈ|s|iː|d|ən}};<ref>{{cite Dictionary.com|Chalcedon |access-date=2008-09-21}}</ref> {{langx|grc|{{wikt-lang|grc|Χαλκηδών}}|{{grc-transl|Χαλκηδών}}|}}) was an ancient [[maritime history|maritime]] town of [[Bithynia]], in [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]], [[Turkey]]. It was located almost directly opposite [[Byzantium]], south of [[Üsküdar|Scutari]] (modern [[Üsküdar]]) and it is now a district of the city of [[Istanbul]] named '''[[Kadıköy]]'''. The name ''Chalcedon'' is a variant of Calchedon, found on all the coins of the town as well as in manuscripts of [[Herodotus]]'s ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'', [[Xenophon]]'s ''[[Hellenica]]'', [[Arrian]]'s ''[[Anabasis Alexandri|Anabasis]]'', and other works. Except for the [[Maiden's Tower]], almost no above-ground vestiges of the ancient city survive in Kadıköy today; artifacts uncovered at Altıyol and other excavation sites are on display at the [[Istanbul Archaeological Museum]].

The site of Chalcedon is located on a small peninsula on the north coast<!--but the north coast is in Europe--> of the [[Sea of Marmara]], near the mouth of the [[Bosphorus]]. A stream, called the Chalcis or Chalcedon in antiquity<ref name="Smith">[[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]], LLD, ed. (1854). ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography]]''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200727194452/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:alphabetic%20letter=C:entry%20group=12:entry=chalcedon-geo&toc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DT "Chalcedon"].</ref> and now known as the Kurbağalıdere (Turkish: ''stream with frogs''), flows into Fenerbahçe Bay. There, Greek colonists from [[Megara]] in [[Attica]] founded the settlement of Chalcedon in 685 BC, some seventeen years before Byzantium.

The Greek name of the ancient town is from its [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] name {{lang|phn|qart-ħadaʃt}}, meaning "New Town", whence Karkhēd(ōn),<ref>{{OEtymD|Chalcedony|accessdate=2010-05-19}}</ref> as similarly are the names of [[Carthage]] and [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]]. The mineral [[chalcedony]] is named after the city.<ref>Erika Zwierlein-Diehl: Antike Gemmen und ihr Nachleben. Berlin (Verlag [[Walter de Gruyter]]) 2007, S. 307 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=OtaMtKzaKR8C&dq=chalcedon+Plinius&pg=PA307 online])</ref>

==Prehistory==
The mound of [[Fikirtepe, Kadıköy|Fikirtepe]] has yielded remains dating to the [[Copper Age|Chalcolithic period]] (5500–3500 BC) and attest to a continuous settlement since prehistoric times. [[Phoenicians]] were active traders in this area.

Pliny states that Chalcedon was first named Procerastis, a name which may be derived from a point of land near it: then it was named Colpusa, from the harbour probably; and finally Caecorum Oppidum, or the town of the blind.<ref>Pliny. ''Nat.'' 5.43</ref>

==Megarian colony==
[[Image:Symposium stele Chalcedon IstArchMu.jpg|left|thumb|180px|[[Funerary stele]] from the 1st century BC]]

Chalcedon originated as a [[Megara|Megarian]] colony in 685 BC.  The colonists from Megara settled on a site that was viewed in antiquity as so obviously inferior to that visible on the opposite shore of the Bosphorus (with its small settlements of Lygos and Semistra on [[Seraglio Point]]), that the 6th-century BC Persian general [[Megabazus]] allegedly remarked that Chalcedon's founders must have been blind.<ref>Herodotus. ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]''. 4.144.</ref> Indeed, Strabo and Pliny relate that the [[oracle of Apollo]] told the Athenians and Megarians who founded Byzantium in 657 BC to build their city "opposite to the blind", and that they interpreted "the blind" to mean Chalcedon, the "City of the Blind".<ref>Strabo (p. 320).</ref><ref>Pliny. ''Nat.'' 9.15</ref>

Nevertheless, trade thrived in Chalcedon; the town flourished and built many temples, including one to [[Apollo]], which had an oracle. Chalcedonia, the territory dependent upon Chalcedon,<ref>Herodotus. ''Histories''. 4.85.)</ref> stretched up the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus at least as far as the temple of [[Zeus|Zeus Urius]], now the site of [[Yoros Castle]], and may have included the north shore of the Bay of [[Astacus (ancient city)|Astacus]] which extends towards [[İzmit|Nicomedia]]. Important villages in Chalcedonia included Chrysopolis<ref>Xenophon, Xen. Anab. 6.6, 38-Z1.</ref> (the modern [[Üsküdar]]) and Panteicheion ([[Pendik]]). Strabo notes that "a little above the sea" in Chalcedonia lies "the fountain Azaritia, which contains small crocodiles".<ref>Strabo 1.597.</ref>

In its early history Chalcedon shared the fortunes of Byzantium. Later, the 6th-century BC Persian [[satrap]] [[Otanes]] captured it. The city vacillated for a long while between the [[Sparta|Lacedaemonian]] and the [[Athens|Athenian]] interests. [[Darius I of Persia|Darius the Great]]'s bridge of boats, built in 512 BC for his [[Scythia]]n campaign, extended from Chalcedonia to [[Thrace]]. Chalcedon formed a part of the [[kingdom of Bithynia]], whose king [[Nicomedes IV of Bithynia|Nicomedes]] willed Bithynia to the Romans upon his death in 74 BC.

== Roman city ==

{{see also|Battle of Chalcedon (74 BC)}}
The city was partly destroyed by [[Mithridates VI of Pontus|Mithridates]]. The governor of Bithynia, [[Marcus Aurelius Cotta (consul 74 BC)|Cotta]], had fled to Chalcedon for safety along with thousands of other Romans. Three thousand of them were killed, sixty ships captured, and four ships destroyed in Mithridates' assault on the city.<ref>Appian. ''Mithrid.'' 71; Plut. ''Luc.'' 8.</ref>

During the Empire, Chalcedon recovered, and was given the status of a free city. It fell under the repeated attacks of the [[barbarian]] hordes who crossed over after having ravaged Byzantium, including some referred to as Scythians who attacked during the reign of Valerian and Gallienus in the [[Crisis of the Third Century|mid 3rd century]].<ref>Zosimus 1.34.</ref>

== Byzantine and Ottoman suburbs ==
[[Image:Silver jug Chalcedon IstArchMu.jpg|thumb|180px|Small silver [[jug (container)|jug]] from Chalcedon]]

Chalcedon suffered somewhat from its proximity to the new imperial capital at [[Constantinople]]. First the Byzantines and later the [[Ottoman Turks]] used it as a quarry for building materials for [[Constantinople]]'s monumental structures.<ref>Ammian. 31.1, and the notes of Valesius.</ref> Chalcedon also fell repeatedly to armies attacking Constantinople from the east.

In 361 AD it was the location of the [[Chalcedon tribunal]], where [[Julian the Apostate]] brought his enemies to trial.

In 451 AD an [[ecumenical council]] of Christian leaders convened here. See below for this [[Council of Chalcedon]].

The general [[Belisarius]] probably spent his years of retirement on his estate of Rufinianae in Chalcedonia.

Beginning in 616 and for at least a decade thereafter, Chalcedon furnished an encampment to the [[Sasanian Empire|Persians]] under [[Khosrau II of Persia|Chosroes II]]<ref>Gibbon. ''Decline, &c.'' 100.46.</ref> (cf. [[Siege of Constantinople (626)]]). It later fell for a time to the Arabs under [[Yazid I|Yazid]] (cf. [[Siege of Constantinople (674)]]).

Chalcedon was badly damaged during the [[Fourth Crusade]] (1204). It came definitively under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule under [[Orhan I|Orhan Gazi]] a century before the [[Fall of Constantinople|Ottoman conquest of Constantinople]].

== Ecclesiastical history ==
[[File:Nicetas of Chalcedon.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Nicetas of Chalcedon]]]]

{{Main|Metropolis of Chalcedon}}
Chalcedon was an [[episcopal see]] at an early date and several Christian [[martyr]]s are associated with Chalcedon:
* The virgin [[Euphemia|St. Euphemia]] and her companions in the early 4th century; the cathedral of Chalcedon was consecrated to her.
* St. Sabel the Persian and his companions.

It was the site of various ecclesiastical councils. The Fourth [[Ecumenical Council]], known as 'the' [[Council of Chalcedon]], was convened in 451 and defined the human and divine natures of [[Jesus]], which provoked the schism with the churches composing [[Oriental Orthodoxy]].

After the council, Chalcedon became a [[metropolitan see]], but without [[suffragan]]s. There is a list of its bishops in [[Michel Le Quien|Le Quien]],<ref>Michel Le Quien, ''Oriens christianus'', I, 599.</ref> completed by [[Anthimus Alexoudes]],<ref>In ''Anatolikos Aster'' XXX, 108.</ref> revised for the early period by [[Jules Pargoire|Pargoire]].<ref>In ''Échos d'Orient'' III, 85, 204; IV, 21, 104.</ref> Among others are:<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03554a.htm Sophrone Pétridès, "Chalcedon" in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York 1908)]</ref>

* [[Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia|St. Adrian, a martyr]];
* St. John, Sts. Cosmas and [[Nicetas of Medikion|Nicetas]], during the Iconoclastic period;
* [[Maris (bishop)|Maris]], the [[Arianism|Arian]];
* Heraclianus, who wrote against the [[Manichaeans]] and the [[Monophysites]];
* Leo, persecuted by [[Alexius I Comnenus]].

=== Greek and Catholic successions ===
The [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] [[metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of Chalcedon holds senior rank (currently third position) within the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople#Holy Synod|Greek Orthodox patriarchal synod of Constantinople]]. The incumbent is Metropolitan Athanasios Papas. The cathedral is that of [[Euphemia|St. Euphemia]].

After the [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]], the [[Latin Church]] retained Chalcedon as a [[titular see]] with archiepiscopal rank,<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 855</ref> with known incumbents since 1356. Among the [[titular bishop]]s named to this see were [[William Bishop (bishop)|William Bishop]] (1623–1624) and [[Richard Smith (bishop)|Richard Smith]] (1624–1632), who were appointed [[vicar apostolic|vicars apostolic]] for the pastoral care of Catholics in England at a time when that country had no Catholic diocesan bishops. Such appointments ceased after the [[Second Vatican Council]] and the titular see has not been assigned since 1967.<ref>[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2c08.html Chalcedon (Titular See)]</ref>

Chalcedon has also been a [[titular archbishopric]] for two Eastern Catholic church dioceses: 
* Syrian ([[Antiochian Rite]], established in 1922; vacant since 1958) 
* Armenian Catholic ([[Armenian Rite]], established 1951, after two incumbents, suppressed in 1956)

== Notable people ==
* [[Euphemia]] (3rd century AD), Christian saint and martyr, [[patron saint]] of Chalcedon
* [[Boethus of Chalcedon]] (2nd century BC), Greek sculptor
* [[Herophilos]] (2nd century BC), Greek physician
* [[Phaleas of Chalcedon]] (4th century BC), Greek statesman
* [[Thrasymachus]] (5th century BC), Greek sophist
* [[Xenocrates]] (4th century BC), Greek philosopher

== See also ==
* [[List of ancient Greek cities]]
* [[List of traditional Greek place names]]
* [[Chalkidona|Chalkidona, Greece]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
*{{SmithDGRG|title=Chalcedon}}

{{Former settlements in Turkey}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Greek colonies in Bithynia]]
[[Category:Megarian colonies]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Turkey]]
[[Category:Kadıköy]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 7th century BC]]
[[Category:Members of the Delian League]]
[[Category:Populated places in Bithynia]]
[[Category:Catholic titular sees in Asia]]
[[Category:Places in Greek mythology]]