Map of the Roman Empire - Philippopolis
Philippopolis
M-4 on the Map
Philippopolis. A city in Thrace established by Philip II of Macedon. The modern name is Plovdiv.
Philippopolis. (Philippoupolis (Φιλιππούπολις). Now Philippopoli; an
important town in Thrace, founded by Philip of Macedon, was situated in a large
plain, southeast of the Hebrus, on a hill with three summits, whence it was
sometimes called Trimontium. Under the Roman Empire it was the capital of the
province of Thracia. - Harry Thurston Peck. Harpers Dictionary
of Classical Antiquities. New York. Harper and Brothers. 1898.
Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria with
a population of 381,738. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces
of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC. It is the administrative
center of Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria and three municipalities
(Plovdiv, Maritsa and Rodopi) and Bulgaria's Yuzhen tsentralen planning region
(NUTS II), as well as the largest and most important city in Northern Thrace and
the wider international historical region of Thrace. The city is an important
economic, transport, cultural and educational center. Known in the West for most
of its history by the Greek name Philippopolis, it was originally a Thracian
settlement before becoming a major Roman city. In the Middle Ages, it retained
its strategic regional importance, changing hands between the Byzantine and
Bulgarian Empires. It came under Ottoman rule in the 14th century. In 1878,
Plovdiv was made the capital of the autonomous Ottoman region of Eastern Rumelia;
in 1885, it became part of Bulgaria with the unification of that region and the
Principality of Bulgaria. Plovdiv is situated in the southern part of the
Plovdiv Plain on the two banks of the Maritsa River. The city has historically
developed on seven syenite hills, some of which are 250 m (820.21 ft) high.
Because of these seven hills, Plovdiv is often referred to in Bulgaria as "The
City of the Seven Hills".
The Name Plovdiv was given various names throughout its long history. It was originally a Thracian settlement by the name of Eumolpias. Philip II of Macedon conquered the area in 342-341 BC and renamed the city Philippoupolis (Greek: Φιλιππούπολις), of which the later Thracian name for the city, Pulpudeva, is a translation. After the Romans took control of the area, the city was named Latin: Trimontium, meaning the Three Hills. - Wikipedia
Ancient Plovdiv. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Plovdiv's written post-Bronze Age history lists it as a Thracian fortified settlement named Eumolpias. In 4th century BC the city was a centre of a trade fair (called panegyreis). In 342 BC, it was conquered by Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, who renamed it "Φιλιππόπολις", Philippopolis or "the city of Philip" in his own honour. Later, it was reconquered by the Thracians who called it Pulpudeva (a reconstructed translation of Philipopolis). In 72 AD it was seized by the Roman general Terentius Varo Lukulus and was incorporated into the Roman Empire, where it was called Trimontium (City of Three Hills) and served as metropolis (capital) of the province of Thrace. It gained a city status in late 1st century. Trimontium was an important crossroad for the Roman Empire and was called "The largest and most beautiful of all cities" by Lucian. Although it was not the capital of the Province of Thrace, the city was the largest and most important centre in the province. In those times, the Via Militaris (or Via Diagonalis), the most important military road in the Balkans, passed through the city. The Roman times were a period of growth and cultural excellence. The ancient ruins tell a story of a vibrant, growing city with numerous public buildings, shrines, baths, and theatres. The city had an advanced water system and sewerage. It was defended with a double wall. Many of those are still preserved and can be seen by tourists. Today only a small part of the ancient city has been excavated. - Wikipedia
Philippopolis
PHILIPPO´POLIS (Φιλιππούπολις) Ptol. 3.11.12; Plb. 5.100; Steph. B. sub voce a
town of Thrace, founded by Philip of Macedon, on the site of a previously
existing town, called Eumolpias or Poneropolis. (Ammian. 26.10.4; Plin. Nat.
4.11. s. 18.) From its situation on a hill with three peaks or summits, it was
also called Trimontium. (Plin. l.c.; Ptol. l.c.) It lay on the SE. side of the
Hebrus. The Thracians, however, regained possession of it (Polyb. l.c.; Liv.
39.53), and it remained in their hands till they were subdued by the Romans. Its
size maybe inferred from the fact of the Goths having slaughtered 100,000
persons in it (Ammian. 31.5.17), though doubtless many persons from the environs
had taken refuge there. The assumption that it likewise bore the name of
Hadrianopolis, rests only on an interpolation in Ptolemy. It is still called
Philippopoli, and continues to be one of the most considerable towns of Thrace.
(Tac. Ann. 3.38; Itin. Ant. p. 136; Hierool. p. 635.) [T.H.D]
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Geography (1854) William Smith, LLD, Ed.