History of Plovdiv
The city of
which contributed to the city's various historical heritage.History of Plovdiv | |
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Timeline of events | |
6000–5000 BC | Establishment of the earliest settlements on the territory of modern Plovdiv (Yasa Tepe 1 and Yasa Tepe 2) |
5th century BC | Ancient Plovdiv was incorporated into the Odrysian kingdom |
347–342 BC | The Thracian town was conquered by Philip II of Macedon who named it Philippopolis |
46 | Philippopolis was incorporated into the Roman Empire by emperor Claudius |
1st–3rd century | Philippopolis became the central city of the Roman province Thracia |
250 | The whole city was burned down by the Goths |
4th century | Philippopolis regained its previous size. The city was part of the Eastern Roman Empire
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836 | Khan Malamir incorporated the city into the First Bulgarian Empire |
976–1014 | Basil II based his army in Philippopolis during the war with Samuel of Bulgaria |
1189 | The city was conquered by the crusader army of Frederick Barbarossa
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1205 | Philippopolis was conquered and raided by the Latin Empire and Kaloyan of Bulgaria |
1371 | Phillipopolis was conquered by the Ottomans. The city name was changed to Filibe |
January 1878 | Plovdiv was liberated from Ottoman rule during the Battle of Philippopolis
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July 1878 | Plovdiv became capital of Eastern Rumelia |
1885 | Plovdiv is at the center of the events that led to the Bulgarian unification |
1920–1960 | Period of industrialization |
1970-1980 | Discovery of the archeological sights in Plovdiv, the Old town was restored |
1999 | Plovdiv hosted European Cultural Month |
2014 | Plovdiv was awarded the title European capital of culture 2019
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Antiquity
Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Archaeologists have discovered pottery[1] and other objects of everyday life from as early as the Neolithic Age, showing that in the end of the 7th millennium B.C there already was an established settlement there. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Plovdiv's post-Bronze Age history places it as a Thracian fortified settlement named Eumolpias. In 342 BC, Plovdiv 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 (from Philipopolis).[2]
In 72 BC, Plovdiv was seized by the Roman general Terentius Varo Luculus. The city was incorporated into the Roman Empire, where it was called Trimontium (City of Three Hills) and served as capital of the province of Thrace. Thrimontium was an important crossroad for the Roman Empire and was called "The largest and most beautiful of all cities" by Lucian. In those times, the Via Militaris (or Via Diagonalis), the main military road in the Balkans, passed through the city.[3]
"This [Plovdiv] is the biggest and loveliest of all towns. Its beauty shines from faraway..."
Roman writer Lucian.
Roman times were a period of growth and culture in the city. The surviving ruins show a city with numerous public buildings, shrines, baths, and theatres, though only a small part of the ancient city has been excavated. The city had a water system and sewerage. It was defended with a double wall.[4]
Middle Ages
Byzantine rule was succeeded by the
In 1364 the Ottoman Turks under Lala Shakhin Pasha seized Plovdiv. The Turks called the city Filibe. It was the capital of Rumelia until 1382 when the Ottomans captured Sofia, which became the main city of the province. Plovdiv survived as one of the major cultural centers for Bulgarian culture and tradition. The name Plovdiv first appeared around that time and is derived from the city's Thracian name Pulpudeva (assumed to be a translation of Philippopolis, from Pulpu = Philippou and deva = city), which was rendered by the Slavs first as Pəldin (Пълдин) or Pləvdin.
National revival
Under the rule of the
Plovdiv played a role in the struggle for Church independence. Plovdiv became the center of that struggle with leaders such as
In 1880, a total of eight Greek educational institutions were active in the city: one for boys, two for girls, three mixed schools and two teachers seminary. Among them, the High School Zariphios, established at 1875, became one of the most well known Greek educational institutions of the region. The most important Greek newspaper was Pilippoupolis (bilingual until 1882, Greek since 1886), supported by the Greek state and nationalistic organizations, was also the forum of the Greek communities of the wider region.[7]
The city was captured from the Ottomans during the
Eastern Rumelia
According to the Treaty of San Stefano on 3 March 1878 the Principality of Bulgaria included the lands with predominantly Bulgarian population. Plovdiv was selected as a capital of the restored country and as a seat of the Temporary Russian Government.[8] Great Britain and Austria-Hungary, however, did not approve that treaty and the final result of the war was concluded in the Congress of Berlin which divided the newly liberated country into several parts. It separated the autonomous region of Eastern Rumelia from Bulgaria and Plovdiv became its capital. In three-month the Ottoman Empire created an Organization Chart (Constitution) of the province and appointed a governor.[9] At the time, it had a population of about 33,500, of which 45% were Bulgarians, 25% Greeks, 21% Turks, 6% Jews and 3% Armenians, a situation that changed rapidly in the following decades.
In the spring of 1885 Zahari Stoyanov formed the Secret Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee in the city which actively conducted propaganda for the unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. On 5 September several hundred armed rebels from Golyamo Konare (now Saedinenie) marched to Plovdiv. In the night of 5–6 September these men led by Danail Nikolaev took control of the city and removed from office the General-Governor Gavril Krastevich. A provisional government was formed led by Georgi Stranski and universal mobilization was announced. After the Serbs were defeated in the Serbo-Bulgarian War, Bulgaria and Turkey reached an agreement according to which the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia had common government, Parliament, administration and army. Today 6 September is celebrated as the Unification Day and the Day of Plovdiv.
Modern history
After Unification Plovdiv remained the second city in population and significance after the capital Sofia. The first railway in the city was built in 1874 and after 1888 it was linked with Sofia. In 1892 Plovdiv became host of the First Bulgarian Fair with international participation which was succeeded by the International Fair Plovdiv. After the liberation the first brewery was inaugurated in the city.
In the beginning of the 20th century Plovdiv grew as a significant industrial and commercial center with well-developed light and food industry. German, French and
During the period of
Plovdiv has hosted specialized exhibitions of the
See also
- Other names of Plovdiv
- Timeline of Plovdiv
Footnotes
- ^ Pre-historic Art Archaeological Museum Plovdiv
- ^ История на Пловдив Archived 28 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Cultural Corridors of South East Europe/Diagonal Road". Association for Cultural Tourism.
- ^ a b PlovdivCity.net Archived 12 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, посетен на 10 ноември 2007 г.
- ^ Vacalopoulos, Apostolos E. Origins of the Greek Nation. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1970) p. 22
- ^ Агенция Фокус – Цар Калоян получава корона, скиптър и знаме от кардинал Лъв, посетен на 17 ноември 2007 г.
- ISBN 978-90-272-3453-7.
- ^ Очерци из историята на Пловдив (стр. 80 – Космополитен град. Махали и квартали в ново време)
- ^ История на България, страница на МВНР
Further reading
- "Filibe", Bradshaw's Hand-Book to the Turkish Empire, vol. 1: Turkey in Europe, London: W.J. Adams, c. 1872