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121-573: The Regional History Museum in Plovdiv was established in 1951 as a research and cultural organization for investigation, study, preservation and display of cultural assets from the past of the city of Plovdiv and its region in the period 15th–20th century. The History Museum in Plovdiv manages four expositions. 42°8′59″N 24°45′16″E  /  42.14972°N 24.75444°E  / 42.14972; 24.75444 This article about

242-655: A century and hard work to recover the city. However, it was destroyed again by Attila 's Huns in 441–442 and by the Goths of Teodoric Strabo in 471. An ancient Roman inscription written in Ancient Greek dated to 253 – 255 AD were discovered in the Great Basilica . The inscription refers to the Dionysian Mysteries and also mentions Roman Emperors Valerian and Gallienus . It has been found on

363-462: A considerable impact on the later development of the empire with a richer, more stable eastern empire surviving the end of Roman rule in the west . While imperial revenues fell, imperial expenses rose sharply. More soldiers, greater proportions of cavalry, and the ruinous expense of walling in cities all added to the toll. Goods and services previously paid for by the government were now demanded in addition to monetary taxes. The empire suffered from

484-405: A crippling labour shortage. The steady exodus of both rich and poor from the cities and now-unprofitable professions forced Diocletian to use compulsion; conscription was made universal, most trades were made hereditary, and workers could not legally leave their jobs or travel elsewhere to seek better-paying ones. This included the unwanted middle-class civil service positions and under Constantine,

605-489: A half-free class of Roman citizen known as coloni . They were tied to the land, and in later Imperial law, their status was made hereditary. This provided an early model for serfdom , the origins of medieval feudal society and of the medieval peasantry. The decline in commerce between the imperial provinces put them on a path toward increased self-sufficiency. Large landowners, who had become more self-sufficient, became less mindful of Rome's central authority, particularly in

726-561: A large stele which was used as construction material during the building of the Great Basilica. In August 2024, archaeologists from the Regional Archaeological Museum announced the discovery of a well-preserved Thracian temple dated to the third century BCE. The 10-metre-long temple is made of dry joints and clay-sand mortar and has two rooms. The Slavs had fully settled in the area by the middle of

847-631: A major city, with the city walls rebuilt and new Christian basilicas and Roman baths constructed in the 4th century. The city was again sacked by the Huns in 441/442, and the walls were again rebuilt. Roman Philippopolis resisted another attack, by the Avars in the 580s, after the walls were renewed yet again by Justinian the Great ( r.  527–565 ). In the Middle Ages , Philippopolis fell to

968-630: A museum in Bulgaria is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Plovdiv Plovdiv ( Bulgarian : Пловдив , pronounced [ˈpɫɔvdif] ) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria , 93 miles southeast of the capital Sofia . It had a population of 371 536 as of 2024 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub in Bulgaria and was the European Capital of Culture in 1999 and 2019. The city

1089-626: A result of a successful revolt against Alexander the Great 's rule resulting in a stalemate. The Odrysian kingdom gradually overcame the Macedonian suzerainty, while the city was destroyed by the Celts as part of the Celtic settlement of Eastern Europe , most likely in the 270s BCE. In 183 BCE, Philip V of Macedon conquered the city, but shortly after, the Thracians re-conquered it. In 72 BCE,

1210-719: A sanjak centre within Rumelia between 1443 and 1593, the sanjak centre in Silistra Eyalet between 1593 and 1826, the sanjak centre in Eyalet of Adrianople between 1826 and 1867, and the sanjak centre of Edirne Vilayet between 1867 and 1878. During that period, Plovdiv was one of the major economic centers in the Balkans, along with Istanbul ( Constantinople ), Edirne , Thessaloniki , and Sofia. The richer citizens constructed beautiful houses, many of which can still be seen in

1331-572: A second wall was built to encompass Trimontium which had already extended out of the Three hills into the valley. Many of those are still preserved and can be seen by tourists. Today only a small part of the ancient city has been excavated. In 250 the city was captured and looted after the Battle of Philippopolis by the Goths , led by their ruler Cniva . Many of its citizens, 100,000 according to Ammianus Marcellinus , died or were taken captive. It took

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1452-525: A series of tough, energetic barracks emperors were able to reassert central authority. Further victories by Claudius Gothicus drove back the Alamanni and recovered Hispania from the Gallic Empire. He died of the plague in 270 and was succeeded by Aurelian , who had commanded the cavalry at Naissus. Aurelian reigned (270–275) through the worst of the crisis, gradually restoring the empire. He defeated

1573-568: A sign of ethnic and national consciousness. Thus, although there is a little doubt about the Bulgarian origin of the Gulidas, the city could be considered of Greek or Bulgarian majority in the 19th century. Raymond Detrez has suggested that when the Gudilas and Langeris claimed to be Greek it was more in the sense of " Romei than Ellines, in a cultural rather than an ethnic sense". According to

1694-514: A single ruler to effectively counter multiple threats at the same time. These continuing problems were addressed by the radical reforms of Diocletian, who broke the cycle of usurpation. He began by sharing his rule with a colleague, then formally established the Tetrarchy of four co-emperors in 293. However the trend of civil war would continue after the abdication of Diocletian in the Civil wars of

1815-465: A supporting faction, distinguished ancestors, or a hereditary claim to the imperial throne. As their rule rested on military might and generalship, they operated as warlords reliant on the army to maintain power. Maximinus continued the campaigns in Germania but struggled to exert his authority over the whole empire. The Senate was displeased at having to accept a peasant as Emperor. This precipitated

1936-621: A union with Bulgaria. The Latin Empire conquered Philippopolis in 1204, and there were two short interregnum periods as the city was twice occupied by Kaloyan of Bulgaria before his death in 1207. In 1208, Kaloyan's successor Boril was defeated by the Latins in the Battle of Philippopolis . Under Latin rule, Philippopolis was the capital of the Duchy of Philippopolis , which was governed by Renier de Trit and later on by Gerard de Strem. The city

2057-546: Is 73% and is highest in December at 86% and the lowest in August at 62%. The total precipitation is 540 mm (21.26 in) and is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest months of the year are May and June, with an average precipitation of 66.2 mm (2.61 in), and the driest month is August, with an average precipitation of 31 mm (1.22 in). Gentle winds (0 to 5 m/s) are predominant in

2178-563: Is an important economic, transport, cultural, and educational centre. Plovdiv joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016. Plovdiv is in a fertile region of south-central Bulgaria on the two banks of the Maritsa River . The city has historically developed on seven syenite hills, some of which are 250 metres (820 feet) high. Because of these hills, Plovdiv is often referred to in Bulgaria as "The City of

2299-401: Is hot, moderately dry and sunny, with July and August having an average high of 33 °C (91 °F). Plovdiv sometimes experiences very hot days which are typical in the interior of the country. Summer nights are mild. Autumn starts in late September; days are long and relatively warm in early autumn. The nights become chilly by September. The first frost usually occurs by November. Winter

2420-585: Is normally cold and snow is common. The average number of days with snow coverage in Plovdiv is 15. The average depth of snow coverage is 2 to 4 cm (1 to 2 in), and the maximum is normally 6 to 13 cm (2 to 5 in), but some winters coverage can reach 70 cm (28 in) or more. The average January temperature is −0.4 °C (31 °F). Spring begins in March and is cooler than autumn. The frost season ends in March. The days are mild and relatively warm in mid-spring. The average relative humidity

2541-454: Is suggested to have been modern Plovdiv by numismatic research or Odrin . The Greek historian Theopompus mentioned it in the 4th century BCE as a town named Poneropolis ( Greek : ΠΟΝΗΡΟΠΟΛΙΣ "town of villains") in pejorative relation to the conquest by king Philip II of Macedon who is said to have settled the town with 2,000 men who were false-accusers, sycophants, lawyers, and other possible disreputables. According to Plutarch ,

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2662-577: Is the most densely populated city in Bulgaria, with 3,769 inhabitants per km . Inside the city proper are six syenite hills. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were seven syenite hills, but one ( Markovo tepe ) was destroyed. Three of them are called the Three Hills ( Bulgarian : Трихълмие Trihalmie ), the others are called the Hill of the Youth ( Bulgarian : Младежки хълм , Mladezhki halm ),

2783-524: The protospatharios Nikephoros Xiphias . In the middle 11th century, the city was attacked by the Pechenegs , who occupied it briefly around 1090. The city continued to prosper, with the walls restored in the 12th century, during which the historian and politician Niketas Choniates was its governor and the physician Michael Italikos was its metropolitan bishop . According to the Latin historian of

2904-606: The Battle of Maritsa in 1371, after which, the citizens and the Bulgarian army fled leaving the city without resistance. Refugees settled in Stanimaka . During the Ottoman Interregnum in 1410, Musa Çelebi conquered the city killing and displacing inhabitants. The city was the centre of the Rumelia Eyalet from 1364 until 1443, when it was replaced by Sofia as the capital of Rumelia . Plovdiv served as

3025-748: The Bulgars of the First Bulgarian Empire in 863, during the reign of Boris I ( r.  852–889 ), having been briefly abandoned by the Christian inhabitants in 813 during a dispute with the khan Krum ( r.   c.  803  – 814 ). During the Byzantine–Bulgarian wars , the emperor Basil the Bulgar-Slayer ( r.  960–1025 ) used Philippopolis as a major strategic fortification, governed by

3146-611: The Byzantine Empire in 855–856 for a short time until it was returned to Boris I of Bulgaria . From Philippopolis, the influence of dualistic doctrines spread to Bulgaria forming the basis of the Bogomil heresy. The city remained in Bulgarian hands until 970. However, the city is described at the time of Constantine VII in the 10th century as being within the Byzantine province ( theme of Macedonia ). Philippopolis

3267-676: The Church of Virgin Mary , the Christmas liturgy was served for the first time in the Bulgarian language since the beginning of the Ottoman occupation. Until 1906 there were Bulgarian and Greek bishops in the city. In 1868 the school expanded into the first grammar school. Some of the intellectuals, politicians, and spiritual leaders of the nation graduated that school. The city was conquered by

3388-745: The Danube , the Aegean Sea , and the Black Sea . The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius ( r.  161–180 CE ) built a new wall around the city. In Late Antiquity , Philippopolis was an important stronghold, but was sacked in 250 during the Crisis of the Third Century , after the Siege of Philippopolis by the Goths led by Cniva . After this the settlement contracted, though it remained

3509-725: The Fourth Crusade , Geoffrey of Villehardouin , Philippopolis was the third largest city in the Byzantine Empire, after Constantinople ( Istanbul ) and Thessalonica ( Thessaloniki ). It suffered damage from the armies passing through the city during the Crusades as well as from sectarian violence between the Eastern Orthodox and the Armenian Orthodox and Paulician denominations. The city

3630-854: The International Fair Plovdiv , the international theatrical festival "A stage on a crossroad", the TV festival "The golden chest", and many more novel festivals, such as Night/Plovdiv in September, Kapana Fest, and Opera Open. The oldest American educational institution outside the United States , the American College of Sofia , was founded in Plovdiv in 1860 and later moved to Sofia. Plovdiv has been given various names throughout its long history. The Odrysian capital Odryssa ( Greek : ΟΔΡΥΣΣΑ , Latin : ODRYSSA )

3751-553: The Palmyrene Empire (including the eastern provinces of Syria Palaestina and Aegyptus ); and, between them, the Italian-centered Roman Empire proper. The reign of Aurelian (270–275) marks a turning point in the crisis period. Aurelian successfully reunited the empire by defeating the two breakaway states, and carried out a series of reforms which helped restore some measure of stability to

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3872-421: The Palmyrene Empire in 267. The remaining provinces, centered on Italy, stayed under a single ruler but now faced threats on every side. An invasion of Macedonia and Greece by Goths , who had been displaced from their lands on the Black Sea , was defeated by emperor Claudius II Gothicus at the Battle of Naissus in 268 or 269. Historians see this victory as the turning point of the crisis. In its aftermath,

3993-474: The Pax Romana , starting with Augustus , the empire's economy had depended in large part on trade between Mediterranean ports and across the extensive road systems to the Empire's interior. Merchants could travel from one end of the empire to the other in relative safety within a few weeks, moving agricultural goods produced in the provinces to the cities, and manufactured goods produced by the great cities of

4114-536: The Plague of Cyprian devastated the Roman Empire to such a degree that some cities, such as the city of Alexandria , experienced a 62% decline in population. These plagues greatly hindered the Roman Empire's ability to ward off barbarian invasions but also factored into problems such as famine , with many farms becoming abandoned and unproductive. A second and longer-term natural disaster that took place during

4235-600: The Treaty of San Stefano on 3 March 1878, the Principality of Bulgaria included the lands with predominantly Bulgarian population. Plovdiv which was the biggest and most vibrant Bulgarian city was selected as a capital of the restored country and for a seat of the Temporary Russian Government. Great Britain and Austria-Hungary , however, did not approve that treaty and the final result of the war

4356-421: The debasement of currency and a breakdown in both trade networks and economic productivity , with the Plague of Cyprian contributing to the disorder. Roman armies became more reliant over time on the growing influence of the barbarian mercenaries known as foederati . Roman commanders in the field, although nominally loyal to the state, became increasingly independent of Rome's central authority. During

4477-657: The 16–17 century a significant number of Sephardic Jews settled along with a smaller Armenian community from Galicia . The Paulicians adopted Catholicism or lost their identity. The abolition of Slavonic as the language of the Bulgarian Church as well as the complete abolition of the church in 1767 and the introduction of the Millet System led to ethnic division among people of different religions. Christian and Muslim Bulgarians were subjected to Hellenization and Turkification respectively. A major part of

4598-598: The 2nd–3rd millennium BCE have been discovered, while the Thracian town was established between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BCE. The town was a fort of the independent local Thracian tribe Bessi . In 516 BCE during the rule of Darius the Great , Thrace was included in the Persian empire . In 492 BCE, the Persian general Mardonius subjugated Thrace again, and it nominally became a vassal of Persia until 479 BCE and

4719-541: The 3rd century, Rome was ruled by a series of generals, coming into power through frequent civil wars which devastated the empire. The first and most immediately disastrous of the natural disasters that the Roman Empire faced during the Third Century was the plague. The Antonine Plague that preceded the Crisis of the Third Century sapped manpower from Roman armies and proved disastrous for the Roman economy . From 249 to 262,

4840-472: The 4th century CE that the then city had been the old Eumolpias / Eumolpiada, ( Latin : EVMOLPIAS, EVMOLPIADA ), the oldest name chronologically. It was named after the mythical Thracian king Eumolpos , son of Poseidon or Jupiter , who may have founded the city around 1200 BCE or 1350 BCE. It is also possible that it was named after the Vestal Virgins in the temples – evmolpeya. In

4961-593: The 500 years of Ottoman rule, Filibe served as one of the important commercial and transportation nodes in the Ottoman Balkans. It also played a role as an administrative centre of various sanjaks and eyalets . On 4 January 1878, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) , Plovdiv was taken away from Ottoman rule by the Russian army. It remained within the borders of Bulgaria until July of

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5082-492: The 6th century CE, Jordanes wrote that the former name of the city was Pulpudeva ( Latin : PVLPVDEVA ) and that Philip the Arab named the city after himself. This name is most likely a Thracian oral translation of the other as it kept all consonants of the name Philip + deva (city) . Although the two names sound similar, they may not share the same origin as Odrin and Adrianople do, and Pulpudeva may have predated

5203-473: The 6th century. This was done peacefully as there are no records for their attacks. With the establishment of Bulgaria in 681, Philippoupolis, the name of the city then, became an important border fortress of the Byzantine Empire . It was captured by Khan Krum in 812, but the region was fully incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire in 834 during the reign of Khan Malamir . It was reconquered by

5324-645: The Aegean coasts, and – most important of all – grain from the wheat-growing districts of North Africa, Egypt, and the Danube Valley for the needs of the great cities; all these commodities, under the influence of a highly organized system of transport and marketing, moved freely from one corner of the Empire to the other. With the onset of the Crisis of the Third Century, however, this vast internal trade network broke down. The widespread civil unrest made it no longer safe for merchants to travel as they once had, and

5445-431: The Danube since the 230s, however, paled in comparison to the threat the empire faced in the East. There, Sassanid Persia represented a far greater danger to Rome than the isolated attacks of Germanic tribes . The Sassanids had in 224 and 226 overthrown the Parthian Arsacids, and the Persian King Ardashir I , who also wanted to prove his legitimacy through military successes, had already penetrated into Roman territory at

5566-520: The East to the more rural provinces. Large estates produced cash crops for export and used the resulting revenues to import food and urban manufactured goods. This resulted in a great deal of economic interdependence among the empire's inhabitants. The historian Henry St. Lawrence Beaufort Moss describes the situation as it stood before the crisis: Along these roads passed an ever-increasing traffic, not only of troops and officials but of traders, merchandise and even tourists. An interchange of goods between

5687-410: The Hill of the Liberators ( Bulgarian : Хълм на освободителите , Halm na osvoboditelite ), and the Hill of Danov ( Bulgarian : Данов хълм , Danov halm ). Plovdiv has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) with considerable humid continental influences. There are four distinct seasons with large temperature jumps between seasons. Summer (mid-May to late September)

5808-451: The Neolithic era (roughly 6000–5000 BCE) like the mounds Yasa Tepe 1 in the Philipovo district and Yasa Tepe 2 in Lauta park. Archaeologists have discovered fine pottery and objects of everyday life on Nebet Tepe from as early as the Chalcolithic era, showing that at the end of the 4th millennium BCE, there was already an established settlement there which was continuously inhabited since then. Thracian necropolises dating back to

5929-404: The Roman cities began to change in character. The large cities of classical antiquity slowly gave way to the smaller, walled cities that became common in the Middle Ages. These changes were not restricted to the third century, but took place slowly over a long period, and were punctuated with many temporary reversals. In spite of extensive reforms by later emperors, however, the Roman trade network

6050-424: The Roman economy. The crisis is said to have ended with Diocletian and his restructuring of the Roman imperial government, economy and military. The last is seen as a pivotal moment in Roman history, signaling the beginning of the Dominate . The crisis resulted in such profound changes in the empire's institutions, society, economic life, and religion that it is increasingly seen by most historians as defining

6171-402: The Russians under Aleksandr Burago for several hours during the Battle of Philippopolis on 17 January 1878. It was the capital of the Provisional Russian Administration in Bulgaria between May and October. According to the Russian census of the same year, Filibe had a population of 24,000 citizens, of which ethnic Bulgarians comprised 45.4%, Turks 23.1% and Greeks 19.9%. According to

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6292-420: The Second World War, the tobacco industry expanded as well as the export of fruit and vegetables. In 1943, 1,500 Jews were saved from deportation in concentration camps by the archbishop of Plovdiv, Cyril , who later became the Bulgarian Patriarch. In 1944, the city was bombed by the British-American coalition. Tobacco Depot workers went on strike on 4 May 1953 . On 6 April 1956, the first trolleybus line

6413-465: The Senate, popular approval, and acceptance by the army, in particular the Praetorian Guard . A family connection to a previous emperor was beneficial, but it did not determine the issue in the way a formal system of hereditary succession would. From the Julio-Claudian dynasty onwards there was sometimes tension between the Senate's preferred choice and the army. As the Senatorial class declined in political influence and more generals were recruited from

6534-423: The Serbs were defeated in the Serbo-Bulgarian War , Bulgaria and Turkey reached an agreement that the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia had a common government, Parliament, administration, and army. Today, 6 September is celebrated as the Unification Day and the Day of Plovdiv. After the unification, Plovdiv remained the second most populous city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia . The first railway in

6655-468: The Seven Hills". There is evidence of habitation in the area dating back to the 6th millennium BCE, when the first Neolithic settlements were established. The city was subsequently a Thracian settlement, later being conquered and ruled also by Persians , Ancient Macedonians , Celts , Romans , Byzantines , Goths , Huns , Bulgarians , Thraco-Romans , Bulgars , Slavic tribes , Crusaders , and Ottoman Turks . Philippopolis ( Greek : Φιλιππούπολις)

6776-429: The Tetrarchy (306–324) until the rise of Constantine the Great as sole Emperor. The empire survived until 476 in the West and until 1453 in the East . From the beginning of the Principate there were no clear rules for the imperial succession, largely because the empire maintained the facade of a republic. During the early Principate, the process for becoming an emperor relied on a combination of proclamation by

6897-478: The Union of Thracians. 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, theatres, a stadium, and the only developed ancient water supply system in Bulgaria. The city had an advanced water system and sewerage . In 179

7018-533: The Vandals, Visigoths , Palmyrene Empire, and finally the remainder of the Gallic Empire. By late 274, the Roman Empire had been reunited into a single entity. However, Aurelian was assassinated in 275, sparking a further series of competing emperors with short reigns. The situation did not stabilize until Diocletian , himself a barracks emperor, took power in 284. More than a century would pass before Rome again lost military ascendancy over its external enemies. However, dozens of formerly thriving cities, especially in

7139-435: The Western Empire, and were downright hostile toward its tax collectors. The measure of wealth at this time began to have less to do with wielding urban civil authority and more to do with controlling large agricultural estates in rural regions since this guaranteed access to the only economic resource of real value – agricultural land and the crops it produced. The common people of the empire lost economic and political status to

7260-445: The Western Empire, had been ruined. Their populations dead or dispersed, these cities could not be rebuilt, due to the economic breakdown caused by constant warfare. The economy was also crippled by the breakdown in trading networks and the debasement of the currency. Major cities and towns, including Rome itself, had not needed fortifications for many centuries, but now surrounded themselves with thick walls . Fundamental problems with

7381-521: The architectural reserve of Old Plovdiv. From the early 15th century till the end of 17th century the city was predominantly inhabited by Muslims. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire , Filibe (as the city was known at that time) was a focal point for the Bulgarian national movement and survived as one of the major cultural centers for Bulgarian culture and tradition. Filibe was described as consisting of Turks, Bulgarians, Hellenized Bulgarians, Armenians, Jews, Vlachs, Arvanites, Greeks, and Roma people. In

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7502-448: The army's manpower, and drafting replacement soldiers strained the labour force further. Fighting on multiple fronts, increasing size and pay of the army, increasing cost of transport, populist " bread and circuses " political campaigns, inefficient and corrupt tax collection, unorganised budgeting, and paying off foreign nations for peace all contributed to financial crisis. The emperors responded by confiscating assets and supplies to combat

7623-408: The birthplace of Bulgaria's movement for democratic reform, which by 1989 had garnered enough support to enter government. Plovdiv has hosted specialized exhibitions of the World's Fair in 1981, 1985, and 1991. Plovdiv is located on the banks of the Maritsa river, southeast of the Bulgarian capital Sofia . The city is in the southern part of the Plain of Plovdiv , an alluvial plain that forms

7744-492: The chaotic Year of the Six Emperors during which all of the original claimants were killed: in 238 a revolt broke out in Africa led by Gordian I and Gordian II , which was soon supported by the Roman Senate , but this was quickly defeated with Gordian II killed and Gordian I committing suicide. The Senate, fearing Imperial wrath, raised two of their own as co-Emperors, Pupienus and Balbinus , with Gordian I's grandson Gordian III as Caesar . Maximinus marched on Rome but

7865-410: The city Filibe , a corruption of "Philip", in a document from 1448. The history of the region spans more than eight millennia. Numerous nations have left their traces on the twelve-metre-thick (39- foot ) cultural layers of the city. The earliest signs of habitation in the territory of Plovdiv date as far back as the 6th millennium BCE. Plovdiv has settlement traces including necropolises dating from

7986-418: The city in 183 BCE and his successor Perseus ( r.  179–168 BCE ) held the city with the Odrysians until the Roman Republic conquered the Macedonian kingdom in 168 BCE. Philippopolis became the capital of the Roman province of Thracia . The city was at the centre of the road network of inland Thrace, and the strategic Via Militaris was crossed by several other roads at the site, leading to

8107-405: The city that recounted the deeds of Alexander the Great and his predecessors over 1300 years before. Byzantine rule was interrupted by the Third Crusade (1189–1192) when the army of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick Barbarossa conquered Philippopolis. Ivanko was appointed as the governor of the Byzantine Theme of Philippopolis in 1196, but between 1198 and 1200 separated it from Byzantium in

8228-403: The city was built in 1874 connecting it with the Ottoman capital, and in 1888, it was linked with Sofia. In 1892 Plovdiv became the 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. The noteworthy English travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor visited Plovdiv in

8349-409: The city was seized by the Roman general Marcus Lucullus but was soon restored to Thracian control. In 46 CE, the city was finally incorporated into the Roman Empire by emperor Claudius ; it served as the capital of the province of Thrace . Although it was not the capital of the Province of Thrace, the city was the largest and most important centre in the province. As such, the city was the seat of

8470-422: The city with wind speeds of up to 1 m/s, representing 95% of all winds during the year. Mists are common in the cooler months, especially along the banks of the Maritsa. On average there are 33 days with mist during the year. Meteomanz (precipitation and days 2000-2013) The population by permanent address for the municipality of Plovdiv in 2007 was 380,682, which makes it the second most populated in

8591-416: The city, but a treaty restored Byzantine rule once again in 1323. In 1344 the city and eight other cities were surrendered to Bulgaria by the regency for John V Palaiologos as the price for Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria 's support in the Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 . In 1364 the Ottoman Turks under Lala Shahin Pasha seized Plovdiv. According to other data, Plovdiv was not an Ottoman possession until

8712-556: The conflict in their co-rule. But with the major influence of their mother, Julia Domna , this division of the empire was not possible. Instead of warring in foreign lands, the Roman empire was increasingly put on the defensive by marauding enemies and civil wars. This cut off the essential source of income gained from plundering enemy countries, while opening up the Roman countryside to economic devastation from looters both foreign and domestic. Frequent civil wars contributed to depletion of

8833-572: The crisis, there were at least 26 claimants to the title of emperor, mostly prominent Roman generals , who assumed imperial power over all or part of the empire. The same number of men became accepted by the Roman Senate as emperor during this period and so became legitimate emperors. By 268, the empire had split into three competing states: the Gallic Empire (including the Roman provinces of Gaul , Britannia and, briefly, Hispania );

8954-632: The deficit. The situation of the Roman Empire became dire in 235. Many Roman legions had been defeated during a previous campaign against Germanic peoples raiding across the borders, while the emperor Severus Alexander had been focused primarily on the dangers from the Sassanid Empire . Leading his troops personally, the emperor resorted to diplomacy and accepting tribute to pacify the Germanic chieftains quickly, rather than military conquest. According to Herodian this cost Severus Alexander

9075-592: The early rule of Xerxes I . The town became part of the Odrysian kingdom (460 BCE – 46 CE), a Thracian tribal union. The town was conquered by Philip II of Macedon , and the Odrysian king was deposed in 342 BCE. Ten years after the Macedonian invasion, the Thracian kings started to exercise power again after the Odrysian Seuthes III had re-established their kingdom under Macedonian suzerainty as

9196-469: The east. Climate changes and a sea level rise disrupted the agriculture of what is now the Low Countries , forcing tribes residing in the region to migrate into Roman lands. Further disruption arose in 251, when the Plague of Cyprian (possibly smallpox ) broke out. This plague caused large-scale death, severely weakening the empire. The situation was worsened in 260 when the emperor Valerian

9317-428: The emperors of the third century needed above all military successes. The centre of decision-making shifted away from Rome and to wherever the emperor was with his armies, typically, in the east. This led to the transfer of the capital to the four cities Milan, Trier, Nicomedia, and Sirmium, and then to Constantinople. The Senate ceased to be the main governing organ and instead members of the equestrian class who filled

9438-399: The empire still remained. The right of imperial succession had never been clearly defined, which was a factor in the continuous civil wars as competing factions in the military, Senate, and other parties put forward their favored candidate for emperor. The sheer size of the empire, which had been an issue since the late Roman Republic three centuries earlier, continued to make it difficult for

9559-710: The empire's great urban areas, they began to manufacture many goods locally, often on their own estates, thus beginning the self-sufficient "house economy" that would become commonplace in later centuries, reaching its final form in the manorialism of the Middle Ages. The common, free people of the Roman cities, meanwhile, began to move out into the countryside in search of food and better protection. Made desperate by economic necessity, many of these former city dwellers, as well as many small farmers, were forced to give up hard-earned basic civil rights in order to receive protection from large land-holders. In doing so, they became

9680-413: The financial crisis that struck made exchange very difficult with the debased currency. This produced profound changes that, in many ways, foreshadowed the very decentralized economic character of the coming Middle Ages . Large landowners, no longer able to successfully export their crops over long distances, began producing food for subsistence and local barter. Rather than import manufactured goods from

9801-549: The first Bulgarian school was inaugurated, and in 1850, modern secular education began when the "St Cyrill and Methodius" school was opened. On 11 May 1858, the day of Saints Cyril and Methodius was celebrated for the first time; this later became a National holiday which is still celebrated today (but on 24 May due to Bulgaria's 1916 transition from the Old Style ( Julian ) to the New Style ( Gregorian ) calendar). In 1858 in

9922-467: The frontiers were stabilized by the Illyrian Emperors . However, barbarian migrations into the empire continued in greater and greater numbers. Though these migrants were initially closely monitored and assimilated, later tribes eventually entered the Roman Empire en masse with their weapons, giving only token recognition of Roman authority. The defensive battles that Rome had to endure on

10043-420: The height of the crisis, the Roman state had split into three distinct and competing polities. The crisis began in 235 with the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander by his own troops. During the following years, the empire saw barbarian invasions and migrations into Roman territory, civil wars, peasant rebellions and political instability , with multiple usurpers competing for power. This led to

10164-631: The inhabitants was fully or partly Hellenized due to the Greek patriarchate. The "Langeris" are described as Greeks from the area of the nearby Stenimachos . The process of Hellenization flourished until the 1830s but declined with the Tanzimat as the idea of the Hellenic nation of Christians grew and was associated with ethnic Greeks. The re-establishment of the Bulgarian Church in 1870 was

10285-622: The kendrisi. Another assumed name is the 1st century CE Tiberias in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius , under whom the Odrysian Kingdom was a client of Rome. After the Romans had taken control of the area, the city was named in Latin : TRIMONTIUM , meaning "The Three Hills", and mentioned in the 1st century by Pliny . At times the name was Ulpia , Flavia , Julia after the Roman families. Ammianus Marcellinus wrote in

10406-466: The land-holding nobility, and the commercial middle classes waned along with their trade-derived livelihoods. The Crisis of the Third Century thus marked the beginning of a long gradual process that would transform the ancient world of classical antiquity into the medieval one of the Early Middle Ages . However, although the burdens on the population increased, especially the lower strata of

10527-541: The late summer of 1934 and he was charmed by the town and a local woman name Nadjeda. In the beginning of the 20th century, Plovdiv grew as a significant industrial and commercial center with well-developed light and food industry. In 1927 the electrification of Plovdiv has started. German, French, and Belgian capital was invested in the city in the development of modern trade, banking, and industry. In 1939, there were 16,000 craftsmen and 17,000 workers in manufacturing factories, mainly for food and tobacco processing. During

10648-407: The military officer corps became increasingly prominent. Several emperors who rose to power through acclamation of their troops attempted to create stability by giving their descendants the title of Augustus and so making them co-emperors who later succeeded to the throne after their death or on some occasions their relatives managed to become an emperor immediately after their death. This led to

10769-475: The military's "accession bonus" and the easiest way to do so was by inflating the coinage severely, a process made possible by debasing the coinage with bronze and copper. This resulted in runaway rises in prices, and by the time Diocletian came to power, the old coinage of the Roman Empire had nearly collapsed. Some taxes were collected in kind and values often were notional, in bullion or bronze coinage. Real values continued to be figured in gold coinage, but

10890-537: The military. Constantine also tried to provide social programs for the poor to reduce the labour shortage. All the barracks emperors based their power on the military and on the soldiers of the field armies, not on the Praetorians in Rome. Thus, Rome lost its role as the political center of the empire during the third century, although it remained ideologically important. In order to legitimize and secure their rule,

11011-571: The nation. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (NSI), the population of people who actually live in Plovdiv is 346,790. According to the 2012 census, 339,077 live within the city limits and 403,153 in the municipal triangle of Plovdiv, including Maritsa municipality and Rodopi municipality . Population of Plovdiv: At the first census after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1880 with 24,053 citizens, Plovdiv

11132-553: The other names meaning "lake city" in Thracian . Since the 9th century CE the Slavic name began to appear as Papaldiv/n, Plo(v)div, Pladiv, Pladin, Plapdiv, Plovdin, which originate from Pulpudeva . As a result, the name has lost any meaning. In British English the Bulgarian variant Plòvdiv has become prevalent after World War I . The Crusaders mentioned the city as Prineople , Sinople and Phinepople . The Ottomans called

11253-427: The pay of legionaries, and gave substantial donativum to the troops. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors. His son Caracalla raised the annual pay and lavished many benefits on the army in accordance with the advice of his father to keep their loyalty, and considered dividing the empire into eastern and western sectors with his brother Geta to reduce

11374-480: The population, this cannot be generalized to the whole empire, especially since living conditions were not uniform. Although the structural integrity of the economy suffered from the military conflicts of that time and the inflationary episode of the 270s, it did not collapse, especially because of the complex regional differences. Recent research has shown that there were regions that prospered even further, such as Egypt, Africa and Hispania. But even for Asia Minor, which

11495-571: The provinces, this tension increased. Whenever the succession appeared uncertain, there was an incentive for any general with support of a sizable army to attempt to seize power, sparking civil war. The most recent example of this prior to the Crisis was the Year of the Five Emperors which resulted in the victory of Septimius Severus . After the overthrow of the Severan dynasty, for the rest of

11616-414: The respect of his troops, who may have felt that more severe punishment was required for the tribes that had intruded on Rome's territory. The troops assassinated Severus Alexander and proclaimed the new emperor to be Maximinus Thrax , commander of one of the legions present. Maximinus was the first of the barracks emperors – rulers who were elevated by the troops without having any political experience,

11737-476: The same year, when it became the capital of the autonomous Ottoman region of Eastern Rumelia . In 1885, Plovdiv and Eastern Rumelia joined Bulgaria. There are many preserved ruins such as the ancient Plovdiv Roman theatre , a Roman odeon , a Roman aqueduct , the Plovdiv Roman Stadium , the archaeological complex Eirene, and others. Plovdiv is host to a huge variety of cultural events such as

11858-408: The silver coin, the denarius, used for 300 years, was gone (1 pound of gold = 40 gold aurei = 1,000 denarii = 4,000 sestertii ). This currency had almost no value by the end of the third century, and trade was carried out without retail coinage. One of the most profound and lasting effects of the Crisis of the Third Century was the disruption of Rome's extensive internal trade network. Ever since

11979-437: The statistics by the Bulgarian and Greek authors, there were no Turks in the city; according to an alternative estimate the city was of Turkish majority. Filibe had an important role in the struggle for Church independence which was, according to some historians, a peaceful bourgeois revolution. Filibe became the center of that struggle with leaders such as Nayden Gerov , Dr Valkovich, Joakim Gruev , and whole families. In 1836

12100-515: The third century was the increased variability of weather. Drier summers meant less agricultural productivity and more extreme weather events led to agricultural instability. This could also have contributed to the increased barbarian pressure on Roman borders, as they too would have experienced the detrimental effects of climate change and sought to push inward to more productive areas of the Mediterranean region. Barbarian invasions came in

12221-498: The time of Severus Alexander , probably taking the strategically important cities of Nisibis and Carrhae in 235/236. Internally, the empire faced hyperinflation caused by years of coinage devaluation . This had started earlier under the Severan emperors who enlarged the army by one quarter, and doubled the base pay of legionaries. As each of the short-lived emperors took power, they needed ways to raise money quickly to pay

12342-706: The town was named by this king after he had populated it with a crew of rogues and vagabonds, but this is possibly a folk name that did not actually exist. The names Dulon polis ( Greek : ΔΟΥΛΩΝ ΠΟΛΙΣ "slaves' town") and possibly Moichopolis ( Greek : ΜΟΙΧΟΠΟΛΙΣ "adulterer's town") likely have similar origins. The city has been called Philippopolis ( ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΠΟΛΙΣ pronounced [pʰilipopolis] ; Greek : Φιλιππούπολη , in modern Greek, Philippoupoli pronounced [filipupoli] ) or "the city of Philip", from Greek Philippos "horse-lover", most likely in honor of Philip II of Macedon after his death or in honor of Philip V , as this name

12463-858: The transition between the historical periods of classical antiquity and late antiquity . Year of the Six Emperors   (238) Reign of Gordian III   (238–244) Reign of Philip the Arab   (244–249) Reign of Decius   (249–251) Reign of Trebonianus Gallus   (251–253) Reign of Aemilianus   (253) Reign of Valerian and Gallienus   (253–260) Reign of Gallienus   (260–268) Reign of Claudius Gothicus   (268–270) Reign of Aurelian   (270–275) Reign of Tacitus   (275-276) Reign of Probus   (276-282) Reign of Carus   (282-283) Reign of Carinus   (283-285) The army required larger and larger bribes to remain loyal. Septimius Severus raised

12584-511: 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

12705-507: The various provinces rapidly developed, which soon reached a scale unprecedented in the previous history and not repeated until a few centuries ago. Metals mined in the uplands of Western Europe, hides, fleeces, and livestock from the pastoral districts of Britain, Spain, and the shores of the Black Sea, wine and oil from Provence and Aquitaine, timber, pitch and wax from South Russia and northern Anatolia, dried fruits from Syria, marble from

12826-531: The wake of civil war, plague, and famine. Distress caused in part by the changing climate led various barbarian tribes to push into Roman territory. Other tribes coalesced into more formidable entities (notably the Alamanni and Franks ), or were pushed out of their former territories by more dangerous peoples such as the Sarmatians (the Huns did not appear west of the Volga for another century). Eventually,

12947-706: The western portion of the Upper Thracian Plain . From there, the peaks of the Sredna Gora mountain range rise to the northwest, the Chirpan Heights to the east, and the Rhodope mountains to the south. Originally, Plovdiv's development occurred south of Maritsa, with expansion across the river taking place only within the last 100 years. Modern Plovdiv covers an area of 101 km (39 sq mi), less than 0.1% of Bulgaria's total area. It

13068-484: Was an old name of the city. Its earliest recorded use is on an artifact mentioning that king Beithys , priest of the Syrian goddess, brought gifts to Kendriso Apollo ; the deity is recorded to be named multiple times after different cities. Later Roman coins mentioned the name which is possibly derived from Thracian god Kendriso who is equated with Apollo, the cedar forests, or from the Thracian tribe artifacts known as

13189-628: Was assassinated by his Legio II Parthica , and subsequently Pupienus and Balbinus were murdered by the Praetorian Guard . In the following years, numerous Roman generals fought each other for control of the empire and neglected their duties of defending it from invasion. There were frequent raids across the Rhine and Danube frontier by foreign tribes, including the Carpians , Goths , Vandals , and Alamanni , and attacks from Sassanids in

13310-564: Was captured by the Byzantines in 969, shortly before it was sacked by the ruler of Rus' Sviatoslav I of Kiev who impaled 20,000 citizens. Before and after the Rus' massacre, the city was settled by Paulician heretics transported from Syria and Armenia to serve as military settlers on the European frontier with Bulgaria. Aime de Varennes in 1180 encountered the singing of Byzantine songs in

13431-486: Was captured in battle by the Sassanids (he later died in captivity). Throughout the period, numerous usurpers claimed the imperial throne. In the absence of a strong central authority, the empire broke into three competing states. The Roman provinces of Gaul , Britain , and Hispania broke off to form the Gallic Empire in 260. The eastern provinces of Syria , Palestine , and Aegyptus also became independent as

13552-594: 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. The Ottoman Empire created a constitution and appointed a governor. In the spring of 1885, Zahari Stoyanov formed the Secret Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee in the city which actively conducted propaganda for

13673-546: Was destroyed by Kaloyan of Bulgaria ( r.  1196–1207 ) in 1206 and rebuilt thereafter. In 1219, the city became the capital of the Crusader Duchy of Philippopolis , part of the Latin Empire . The Second Bulgarian Empire recovered the city in 1263, but lost it to Byzantine control before recapturing it in 1323. The Ottoman Empire conquered Philippopolis ( Turkish : Filibe ) in 1363 or 1364. During

13794-421: Was directly affected by attacks, no general decline can be observed. While commerce and the overall economy flourished in several regions, with several provinces not affected by hostilities, other provinces experienced some serious problems, as evidenced by personal hoards in the northwestern provinces of the empire. However, there can be no talk of a general economic crisis throughout the whole of Empire. Even

13915-443: Was first mentioned in the 2nd century BCE by Polybius in connection with the campaign of Philip V. Philippopolis was identified later by Plutarch and Pliny as the former Poneropolis . Strabo identified Philip II's settlement of most "evil, wicked" (Gr. πονηροτάτους ponerotatous ) as Calybe ( Kabyle ), whereas Ptolemy considered the location of Poneropolis different from the rest. Kendrisia ( Greek : ΚΕΝΔΡΕΙϹΕΙΑ )

14036-563: Was founded as a polis by the father of Alexander the Great , Philip the Great ( r.  359–336 BCE ), the king of ancient Macedonia , settling there both Thracians and 2,000 Macedonians ( Greeks ) in 342 BCE. Control of the city alternated between the Macedonian kingdom and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom during the Hellenistic period ; the Macedonian king Philip V ( r.  221–179 BCE ) reoccupied

14157-601: Was never able to fully recover to what it had been during the Pax Romana (27 BC – AD 180). This economic decline was far more noticeable and important in the western part of the empire, which was also invaded by barbarian tribes several times during the century. Hence, the balance of power clearly shifted eastward during this period, as evidenced by the choice of Diocletian to rule from Nicomedia in Asia Minor , putting his second in command, Maximian , in Milan . This would have

14278-532: Was opened and in the 1950s the Trimontsium Hotel was constructed. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a construction boom and many of the modern neighborhoods took shape. In the 1970s and 1980s, antique remains were excavated and the Old Town was fully restored. In 1990 the sports complex "Plovdiv" was finished. It included the largest stadium and rowing canal in the country. In that period, Plovdiv became

14399-447: Was possibly at times a vassal of Bulgaria or Venice . Ivan Asen II conquered the duchy finally in 1230 but the city had possibly been conquered earlier. Afterwards, Philippopolis was conquered by Byzantium. According to some information, by 1300 Philippopolis was a possession of Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria. It was conquered from Byzantium by George Terter II of Bulgaria in 1322. Andronikos III Palaiologos unsuccessfully besieged

14520-698: Was the second largest city with 126,563 inhabitants compared to 487,000 for the capital. Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century , also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (235–284), was a period in Roman history during which the Roman Empire had nearly collapsed under the combined pressure of repeated foreign invasions , civil wars and economic disintegration . At

14641-406: Was the third largest city behind Stara Zagora , which had 25,460 citizens prior to being burnt to the ground as well as Ruse , which had 26,163 citizens then, and ahead of the capital Sofia , which had 20,501 citizens then. As of the 1887 census, Plovdiv was the largest city in the country for several years with 33,032 inhabitants compared to 30,428 for Sofia. According to the 1946 census, Plovdiv

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