Æ28 - Commodus ΤοΝ ΚΤΙϹΤΗΝ ΝΙΚΑΙΕΙϹ?

The honorific ΤΟΝ ΚΤΙΣΤΗΝ — "the founder" — applied to Commodus by Nicaea is a striking piece of civic flattery, likely tied to benefactions or rebuilding activity following the earthquake damage that periodically destabilized cities across Bithynia in the second century. Nicaea was competitive with its neighbor Nicomedia over titles and imperial favor, and such honorifics were currency in that rivalry. Whether Commodus did anything to earn it specifically, or whether the city was simply playing the game aggressively, the epigraphic record doesn't settle.