Basilica of Alkyson, Nikopolis, Greece, 2006 (photo)

The foundation of the city (1st century BC) was designed primarily to secure military control over west Greece and to benefit the region's economic and social situation. Roman Nikopolis is surrounded by fortification walls and there is a large complex of public buildings outside the wall to the northeast of the city. The most important monuments of the Christian city are the Early Christian churches and their annexes (4th-6th centuries). Four of these basilicas are preserved within the Byzantine enceinte. The Basilica of Alkyson, still with the frame of its west door standing, dates from the 6th century AD.