148-498: Warna may refer to: Varna, Bulgaria , a city in Bulgaria Warna , a music album by Joey Alexander Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 , or WARNA, a US law See also [ edit ] All pages with titles containing Warna Warana, Maharashtra Warna Warta , a newspaper Warna 94.2FM , a Singaporean radio station Warna Agung ,
296-677: A bold attempt to capture the sultan, earning the sobriquet Warneńczyk ( of Varna in Polish; he is also known as Várnai Ulászló in Hungarian or Ladislaus Varnensis in Latin). The failure of the Crusade of Varna made the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 all but inevitable, and Varna (with all of Bulgaria) was to remain under Ottoman domination for over four centuries. Today, there
444-406: A building of Roman thermae from the 5th century AD. Major athletic games were held every five years, possibly attended by Gordian III in 238. The main aqueduct of Odessos was recently discovered during rescue excavations north of the defensive wall. The aqueduct was built in three construction periods between the 4th and the 6th centuries; in the 4th century the aqueduct was built together with
592-602: A busy hub for European imports to the capital; 12 foreign consulates opened in the city. Local Bulgarians took part in the National Revival ; Vasil Levski set up a secret revolutionary committee. In 1878, the city, which had 26,000 inhabitants, was given to Bulgaria by Russian troops, who entered on 27 July. Varna became a front city in the First Balkan War and the First World War ; its economy
740-556: A call for aid from Alexius , the First Crusade assembled at Constantinople in 1096, but declining to put itself under Byzantine command set out for Jerusalem on its own account. John II built the monastery of the Pantocrator (Almighty) with a hospital for the poor of 50 beds. With the restoration of firm central government, the empire became fabulously wealthy. The population was rising (estimates for Constantinople in
888-643: A center of culture and education of the Mediterranean basin, Constantinople came to be known by prestigious titles such as Basileuousa (Queen of Cities) and Megalopolis (the Great City) and was, in colloquial speech, commonly referred to as just Polis ( ἡ Πόλις ) 'the City' by Constantinopolitans and provincial Byzantines alike. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently. The medieval Vikings, who had contacts with
1036-634: A city-state until it was annexed by Darius I in 512 BC into the Persian Empire , who saw the site as the optimal location to construct a pontoon bridge crossing into Europe as Byzantium was situated at the narrowest point in the Bosphorus strait. Persian rule lasted until 478 BC when as part of the Greek counterattack to the Second Persian invasion of Greece , a Greek army led by
1184-838: A dwindling and depopulated city. In 1261, the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos liberated the city, and after the restoration under the Palaiologos dynasty, it enjoyed a partial recovery. With the advent of the Ottoman Empire in 1299, the Byzantine Empire began to lose territories, and the city began to lose population. By the early 15th century, the Byzantine Empire was reduced to just Constantinople and its environs, along with Morea in Greece, making it an enclave inside
1332-732: A fire. A British and a French monument mark the cemeteries where cholera victims were interred. In 1866, the first railroad in Bulgaria connected Varna with the Rousse on the Danube, linking the Ottoman capital Constantinople with Central Europe; for a few years, the Orient Express ran through that route. The port of Varna developed as a major supplier of food—notably wheat from the adjacent breadbasket Southern Dobruja —to Constantinople and
1480-475: A football club Varna (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Warna . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Warna&oldid=1039241168 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1628-407: A key role in the development of Cyrillic script by Bulgarian scholars under the guidance of one of Saints Cyril and Methodius ' disciples. Karel Škorpil suggested that Boris I may have been interred there. The synthetic culture with Hellenistic Thracian, Roman, as well as eastern—Armenian, Syrian, Persian—traits that developed around Odessos in the 6th century under Justinian I, may have influenced
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#17327835955611776-466: A major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia. Historically known as Odessos ( Ancient Greek : Ὀδησσός ), Varna developed from a Thracian seaside settlement into a major seaport on the Black Sea . Varna is an important centre for business, transportation, education, tourism, entertainment, and healthcare. The city is referred to as the maritime capital of Bulgaria and has
1924-539: A major grain-producing and viticulture centre, seat of the nation's oldest institution of higher learning outside Sofia, a popular venue for international festivals and events, and the country's de facto summer capital with the erection of the Euxinograd royal summer palace (currently, the Bulgarian government convenes summer sessions there). Mass tourism emerged since the late 1950s. Heavy industry and trade with
2072-411: A mild climate influenced by the sea with long, mild, akin to Mediterranean, autumns, and sunny and hot, yet considerably cooler than Mediterranean summers moderated by breezes and regular rainfall. Although Varna receives about two-thirds of the average rainfall for Bulgaria, abundant groundwater keeps its wooded hills lush throughout summer. The city is cut off from north and northeast winds by hills along
2220-646: A new bodyguard known as the Varangian Guard . They were known for their ferocity, honour, and loyalty. It is said that, in 1038, they were dispersed in winter quarters in the Thracesian Theme when one of their number attempted to violate a countrywoman, but in the struggle she seized his sword and killed him; instead of taking revenge, however, his comrades applauded her conduct, compensated her with all his possessions, and exposed his body without burial as if he had committed suicide. However, following
2368-667: A new city wall in his name, the Severan Wall. Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Having restored the unity of the Empire, and, being in the course of major governmental reforms as well as of sponsoring the consolidation of the Christian church , he was well aware that Rome was an unsatisfactory capital. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, and it offered an undesirable playground for disaffected politicians. Yet it had been
2516-665: A peace treaty between Theodosius II and Attila was conducted at Odessos. In 513, it became a focal point of the Vitalian revolt. In 536, Justinian I made it the seat of the Quaestura exercitus ruled by a prefect of Scythia or quaestor Justinianus and including Lower Moesia, Scythia , Caria, the Aegean Islands and Cyprus; later, the military camp outside Odessos was the seat of another senior Roman commander, magister militum per Thracias . It has been suggested that
2664-649: A year, as the holidaymakers may reach as many as 200,000 daily during the high season. Thus, there are about 600,000 people in the city in July and August. Constantinople Constantinople ( see other names ) became the capital of the Roman Empire during the reign of Constantine the Great in 330. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, Constantinople remained
2812-538: Is Todor Balabanov ( GERB ). Varna regional court is one of the busiest courts in the country. The city also headquarters the district, administrative, and military court, and a court of appeal as well as regional, military, and appellate prosecutor's offices. The city is divided by law into five boroughs ( Bulgarian : райони , romanized : rayoni ), each with its mayor and council: Asparuhovo , Mladost, Odessos (the historic centre), Primorski (the largest one with official population of 102,000 also comprising
2960-596: Is a cenotaph of Ladislaus III in Varna. A major port, agricultural, trade and shipbuilding centre for the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, preserving a significant and economically active Bulgarian population, Varna was later made one of the Quadrilateral Fortresses (along with Rousse , Shumen, and Silistra ) severing Dobruja from the rest of Bulgaria and containing Russia in
3108-666: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Varna, Bulgaria Varna ( Bulgarian : Варна , pronounced [ˈvarnɐ] ) is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna , the city has been
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#17327835955613256-572: Is known about this initial settlement. The site, according to the founding myth of the city, was abandoned by the time Greek settlers from the city-state of Megara founded Byzantium ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιον , romanized : Byzántion ) in around 657 BC, across from the town of Chalcedon on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. Hesychius of Miletus wrote that some "claim that people from Megara, who derived their descent from Nisos, sailed to this place under their leader Byzas, and invent
3404-481: Is of Thracian origin. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas . The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honor of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was more likely just a play on the word Byzantion . The city was briefly renamed Augusta Antonina in the early 3rd century AD by
3552-618: Is still used by members of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the title of one of their most important leaders, the Orthodox patriarch based in the city, referred to as "His Most Divine All-Holiness the Archbishop of Constantinople New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch". In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpoli(s) ( Κωνσταντινούπολις/Κωνσταντινούπολη ) or simply just "the City" ( Η Πόλη ). Constantinople
3700-686: Is the tumulus dated 8th–7th c. BC found near Belogradets , Varna Province. The region around Odessos was densely populated with Thracians long before the coming of the Greeks on the west seashore of the Black Sea. Pseudo-Scymnus writes: "...Around the city [Odessos] lives the Thracian tribe named Crobises." This is also evidenced by various ceramic pottery, made by hand or by a Potter's wheel , bronze ornaments for horse-fittings and iron weapons, all found in Thracian necropolises dated 6th–4th c. BC near
3848-437: Is very close to the Thracian style, a possible explanation for the frequent mixture of both folks in northeastern Thrace. Many bronze artefacts give testimony for such process, for example, applications and front plates for horseheads, as well as moulds for such products in nearby and more distanced settlements. Since the 4th c. BC the region had been populated by more Getae , which is a Thracian tribe populating both shores around
3996-618: The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax ; and as Odyssos or Odyssus in the Synecdemus and in Procopius . It was established in the second quarter of the sixth century BC (585–550 BC) by Miletian Greeks on the site of a previous Thracian settlement. The Miletian founded an apoikia (trading post) of Odessos towards the end of the 7th c. BC (the earliest Greek archaeological material is dated 600–575 BC), or, according to Pseudo-Scymnus , in
4144-815: The Church of John the Baptist to house the skull of the saint (today preserved at the Topkapı Palace ), put up a memorial pillar to himself in the Forum of Taurus, and turned the ruined temple of Aphrodite into a coach house for the Praetorian Prefect ; Arcadius built a new forum named after himself on the Mese, near the walls of Constantine. After the shock of the Battle of Adrianople in 378, in which Valens and
4292-582: The Church of the Resurrection or the New Church. Chariot-racing had been important in Rome for centuries. In Constantinople, the hippodrome became over time increasingly a place of political significance. It was where (as a shadow of the popular elections of old Rome) the people by acclamation showed their approval of a new emperor, and also where they openly criticized the government, or clamoured for
4440-536: The Danube Delta . Celts started populating the region after their invasion of the Balkan peninsula in 280 BC. All over northeast Bulgaria and even near Odessos were found a significant number of bronze items with Celtic ornaments and typical weapons, all quickly adopted by Thracians. Arkovna, 80 km near Odessos, was probably the permanent capital of Celts' last king Kavar (270/260–216/210 BC). Probably after
4588-582: The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and guardian of Christendom 's holiest relics, such as the Crown of Thorns and the True Cross . Constantinople was famous for its massive and complex fortifications, which ranked among the most sophisticated defensive architectures of antiquity . The Theodosian Walls consisted of a double wall lying about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west of
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4736-576: The Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbor. Already then, in Greek and early Roman times, Byzantium was famous for the strategic geographic position that made it difficult to besiege and capture, and its position at the crossroads of the Asiatic-European trade route over land and as the gateway between the Mediterranean and Black Seas made it too valuable a settlement to abandon, as Emperor Septimius Severus later realized when he razed
4884-536: The Mediterranean Sea . These links were reflected in some local productions, for example, forms of bronze fibula of the age, either imported or locally made. There is no doubt that interactions occurred mostly by sea and the bay of Odessos is one of the places where the exchanges took place. Some scholars consider that during the 1st millennium BC, the region was also settled by the half-mythical Cimmerians . An example of their, probably accidental, presence,
5032-544: The Pax Romana , for nearly three centuries until the late 2nd century AD. Byzantium was never a major influential city-state like that of Athens , Corinth or Sparta , but the city enjoyed relative peace and steady growth as a prosperous trading city lent by its remarkable position. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean , and had in
5180-519: The Russo-Turkish wars . The Russians temporarily took over the city in 1773 and again in 1828, following the prolonged Siege of Varna , returning it to the Ottomans two years later after the medieval fortress was razed. In the early 19th century, many local Greeks joined the patriotic organisation Filiki Eteria . Αt the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence (1821) revolutionary activity
5328-524: The hinterland . Excavations at nearby Thracian sites have shown uninterrupted occupation from the 7th to the 4th century BC and close commercial relations with the colony. The Greek alphabet has been used for inscriptions in Thracian since at least the 5th century BC. Odessos was included in the assessment of the Delian league of 425 BC. In 339 BC, it was unsuccessfully besieged by Philip II (priests of
5476-493: The "Varna- Devnya - Provadiya agglomeration" is not considered identical to the "Varna metro area". Varna is one of the few cities in Bulgaria with a positive natural growth (6300 births vs. 3600 deaths in 2009 ) and new children's day care centers opening (6 expected in 2009). Since December 2006, various sources, including the Bulgarian National Television , national newspapers, research agencies,
5624-592: The 10th Olympic Congress took place in the Palace of Culture and Sports . Varna became a popular resort for Eastern Europeans, who were barred from travelling to the West until 1989. One of them, the veteran East German communist Otto Braun , died on a vacation in Varna in 1974. The city occupies 238 km (92 sq mi) on verdant terraces (Varna monocline of the Moesian Platform ) descending from
5772-608: The 12th century vary from some 100,000 to 500,000), and towns and cities across the realm flourished. Meanwhile, the volume of money in circulation dramatically increased. This was reflected in Constantinople by the construction of the Blachernae palace, the creation of brilliant new works of art, and general prosperity at this time: an increase in trade, made possible by the growth of the Italian city-states, may have helped
5920-423: The 12th century. Toward the end of Manuel I Komnenos 's reign, the number of foreigners in the city reached about 60,000–80,000 people out of a total population of about 400,000 people. In 1171, Constantinople also contained a small community of 2,500 Jews. In 1182, most Latin (Western European) inhabitants of Constantinople were massacred . In artistic terms, the 12th century was a very productive period. There
6068-522: The 13th and 11th centuries BC. The site, according to the founding myth of the city, was abandoned by the time Greek settlers from the city-state of Megara founded Byzantium ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιον , Byzántion ) in around 657 BC, across from the town of Chalcedon on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. The origins of the name of Byzantion , more commonly known by the later Latin Byzantium , are not entirely clear, though some suggest it
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6216-422: The 17th century operating from their colony in nearby Provadiya ). The city was flanked by two fortresses with smaller commercial ports of their own, Kastritsi and Galata, within sight of each other, and was protected by two other strongholds overlooking the lakes, Maglizh and Petrich. Wheat, animal skins, honey and wax, wine, timber and other local agricultural produce for the Italian and Constantinople markets were
6364-451: The 51-member legislature) is the city's legislative body composed of 51 members. As of January 2015 it consists of: centre-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), 22 council members; centre-right/right-wing Reformist Bloc Patriotic Front (Bulgaria) , 6; centre-left Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), 5; "Varna" Coalition including Attack , 4; other smaller parties, groups and independent members, 14. The Council chairman
6512-475: The 681 AD peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire that established the new Bulgarian state was concluded at Varna and the first Bulgarian capital south of the Danube may have been provisionally located in its vicinity—possibly in an ancient city near Lake Varna's north shore named Theodorias (Θεοδωριάς) by Justinian I—before it moved to Pliska 70 kilometres (43 miles) to the west. Asparukh fortified
6660-561: The Bosporus and plundered the monasteries and other properties on the suburban Princes' Islands . Oryphas , the admiral of the Byzantine fleet, alerted the emperor Michael, who promptly put the invaders to flight; but the suddenness and savagery of the onslaught made a deep impression on the citizens. In 980, the emperor Basil II received an unusual gift from Prince Vladimir of Kiev: 6,000 Varangian warriors, which Basil formed into
6808-681: The Caesar (Emperor)', from the Slavonic words tsar ('Caesar' or 'King') and grad ('city'). This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις ( Vasileos Polis ), 'the city of the emperor [king]'. In Persian the city was also called Asitane (the Threshold of the State), and in Armenian , it was called Gosdantnubolis (City of Constantine). The modern Turkish name for
6956-515: The Danube about this time and advanced into Thrace, but he was deserted by many of his followers, who joined with the Romans in driving their king back north of the river. Subsequent to this, new walls were built to defend the city and the fleet on the Danube improved. After the barbarians overran the Western Roman Empire, Constantinople became the indisputable capital city of the Roman Empire. Emperors were no longer peripatetic between various court capitals and palaces. They remained in their palace in
7104-433: The Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211), who razed the city to the ground in 196 for supporting a rival contender in the civil war and had it rebuilt in honor of his son Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (who succeeded him as Emperor), popularly known as Caracalla . The name appears to have been quickly forgotten and abandoned, and the city reverted to Byzantium/Byzantion after either the assassination of Caracalla in 217 or, at
7252-411: The Gate of the Droungarios ( Turkish : Odun Kapısı ) on the Golden Horn. Nevertheless, the destruction wrought by the 1197 fire paled in comparison with that brought by the Crusaders. In the course of a plot between Philip of Swabia , Boniface of Montferrat and the Doge of Venice , the Fourth Crusade was, despite papal excommunication, diverted in 1203 against Constantinople, ostensibly promoting
7400-428: The Getae persuaded him to conclude a treaty) but surrendered to Alexander the Great in 335 BC, and was later ruled by his diadochus Lysimachus , against whom it rebelled in 313 BC as part of a coalition with other Pontic cities and the Getae. Nevertheless, at the end of the 4th c. BC the city became one of the strongholds of Lysimachus. The city became very prosperous from this time due to strong sea trade with many of
7548-420: The Great City and sent generals to command their armies. The wealth of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia flowed into Constantinople. The emperor Justinian I (527–565) was known for his successes in war, for his legal reforms and for his public works. It was from Constantinople that his expedition for the reconquest of the former Diocese of Africa set sail on or about 21 June 533. Before their departure,
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#17327835955617696-433: The Mediterranean states and cities supported by a wide range of local products. Shortly after 108 BC, Odessos recognised the suzerainty of Mithridates VI of Pontus . The Roman city, Odessus , first included into the Praefectura orae maritimae and then in 15 AD annexed to the province of Moesia (later Moesia Inferior ), covered 47 hectares in present-day central Varna and had prominent public baths, Thermae , erected in
7844-435: The Ottoman Empire. The city was finally besieged and conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1453, remaining under its control until the early 20th century, after which it was renamed Istanbul under the Empire's successor state , Turkey. According to Pliny the Elder in his Natural History , the first known name of a settlement on the site of Constantinople was Lygos , a settlement likely of Thracian origin founded between
7992-410: The Pliska-Preslav culture of the First Bulgarian Empire, ostensibly in architecture and plastic decorative arts, but possibly also in literature, including Cyrillic scholarship. In 1201, Kaloyan took over the Varna fortress, then in Byzantine hands, on Holy Saturday using a siege tower , and secured it for the Second Bulgarian Empire . By the late 13th century, with the Treaty of Nymphaeum of 1261,
8140-434: The Soviet Union boomed in the 1950s to the 1970s. From 20 December 1949 to 20 October 1956 the city was renamed Stalin by the communist government after Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin . In 1962, the 15th Chess Olympiad , also known as the World Team Championship, organized by FIDE , was held in Varna. In 1969 and 1987, Varna was the host of the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. From 30 September to 4 October 1973,
8288-491: The Spartan general Pausanias captured the city which remained an independent, yet subordinate, city under the Athenians, and later to the Spartans after 411 BC. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c. 150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. This treaty would pay dividends retrospectively as Byzantium would maintain this independent status, and prosper under peace and stability in
8436-440: The Thracian shore at the mouth of the Pontos, where two pups drink of the gray sea, where fish and stag graze on the same pasture, set up their dwellings at the place where the rivers Kydaros and Barbyses have their estuaries, one flowing from the north, the other from the west, and merging with the sea at the altar of the nymph called Semestre" The city maintained independence as
8584-407: The Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script. After that, as part of the Turkification movement, Turkey started to urge other countries to use Turkish names for Turkish cities , instead of other transliterations to Latin script that had been used in Ottoman times and the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. The name Constantinople
8732-414: The Varna Necropolis in 1974, 294 burial sites have been found, with over 3000 golden items inside. Theophanes the Confessor first mentions the name Varna , as the city came to be known, within the context of the Slavic conquest of the Balkans in the 6th to 7th centuries. The name could be of Varangian origin, as Varangians had been crossing the Black Sea for many years, reaching Constantinople in
8880-519: The Varna river lowland by a rampart against a possible Byzantine landing; the Asparuhov val (Asparukh's Wall) is still standing. Numerous 7th-century Bulgar settlements have been excavated across the city and further west; the Varna lakes north shores, of all regions, were arguably most densely populated by Bulgars. It has been suggested that Asparukh was aware of the importance of the Roman military camp ( campus tribunalis ) established by Justinian I outside Odessos and considered it (or its remnants) as
9028-402: The accession of Theodosius I , emperors had been resident only in the years 337–338, 347–351, 358–361, 368–369. Its status as a capital was recognized by the appointment of the first known Urban Prefect of the City Honoratus, who held office from 11 December 359 until 361. The urban prefects had concurrent jurisdiction over three provinces each in the adjacent dioceses of Thrace (in which the city
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#17327835955619176-534: The aristocracy, as well as valuable pateras and ritons . Despite ethnic diversity, numerous internal and external conflicts, and cultural differences, the populations of northeastern Bulgaria and the cities along the seashore have demonstrated stable tolerance to each other. Conservatism is easily noticed in ceramic items and in religion. The highest deity of all was the Thracian horseman , who had different names and functions in different places. Water-related deities were honoured as well, such as The Three Graces or
9324-428: The blue and green factions, innocent and guilty. This came full circle on the relationship within the Hippodrome between the power and the people during the time of Justinian. Fires started by the Nika rioters consumed the Theodosian basilica of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), the city's cathedral, which lay to the north of the Augustaeum and had itself replaced the Constantinian basilica founded by Constantius II to replace
9472-486: The calcareous Franga Plateau (height 356 m or 1,168 ft) on the north and Avren Plateau on the south, along the horseshoe-shaped Varna Bay of the Black Sea , the elongated Lake Varna , and two artificial waterways connecting the bay and the lake and bridged by the Asparuhov most . It is the centre of a growing conurbation stretching along the seaboard 20 km (12 mi) north and 10 km (6 mi) south (mostly residential and recreational sprawl) and along
9620-427: The capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire ; 330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence , the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara . Officially renamed Istanbul in 1930, the city is today the largest city in Europe , straddling the Bosporus strait and lying in both Europe and Asia , and
9768-455: The capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Nevertheless, Constantine identified the site of Byzantium as the right place: a place where an emperor could sit, readily defended, with easy access to the Danube or the Euphrates frontiers, his court supplied from the rich gardens and sophisticated workshops of Roman Asia, his treasuries filled by
9916-408: The center and the "cradle of Orthodox Christian civilization ". From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe. The city became famous for its architectural masterpieces, such as Hagia Sophia , the cathedral of the Eastern Orthodox Church , which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ; the sacred Imperial Palace , where
10064-462: The chief exports, and Mediterranean foods and luxury items were imported. The city introduced its own monetary standard, the Varna perper , by the mid-14th century; Bulgarian and Venetian currency exchange rate was fixed by a treaty. Fine jewellery, household ceramics, fine leather and food processing, and other crafts flourished; shipbuilding developed in the Kamchiya river mouth. Fourteenth-century Italian portolan charts showed Varna as arguably
10212-607: The city and five suburbs: Kamenar , Kazashko , Konstantinovo , Topoli , and Zvezditsa , served by the city public transport system. The municipal chief executive is the Mayor (кмет, kmet : the word is cognate with count ). Since the end of the de facto one-party communist rule in 1990, there have been four mayors: Voyno Voynov, SDS ( Union of Democratic Forces ), ad interim , 1990–91; Hristo Kirchev, SDS, 1991–99; Kiril Yordanov , independent, 1999–2013; Ivan Portnih , GERB , 2013–2023; Blagomir Kotsev , PP–DB , 2023–present. The City council (общински съвет, obshtinski savet ,
10360-479: The city could no longer be supplied from Egypt as a result of the Persian wars: the population fell substantially as a result. While the city withstood a siege by the Sassanids and Avars in 626, Heraclius campaigned deep into Persian territory and briefly restored the status quo in 628, when the Persians surrendered all their conquests. However, further sieges followed the Arab conquests , first from 674 to 678 and then in 717 to 718 . The Theodosian Walls kept
10508-461: The city impenetrable from the land, while a newly discovered incendiary substance known as Greek fire allowed the Byzantine navy to destroy the Arab fleets and keep the city supplied. In the second siege, the second ruler of Bulgaria , Khan Tervel , rendered decisive help. He was called Saviour of Europe . In the 730s Leo III carried out extensive repairs of the Theodosian walls, which had been damaged by frequent and violent attacks; this work
10656-431: The city to the ground for supporting Pescennius Niger 's claimancy . It was a move greatly criticized by the contemporary consul and historian Cassius Dio who said that Severus had destroyed "a strong Roman outpost and a base of operations against the barbarians from Pontus and Asia". He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina , fortifying it with
10804-456: The city wall, then at the end of the 4th to early 5th centuries when a pipeline was laid inside the initial masonry aqueduct. Thirdly in the 6th century, an extra pipeline was added parallel to the original west of it and entered the city through a reconstruction of the fortress wall. The city minted coins, both as an autonomous polis and under the Roman Empire from Trajan to Salonina , the wife of Gallienus , some of which survive. Odessos
10952-518: The city was also called 'Second Rome', 'Eastern Rome', and Roma Constantinopolitana ( Latin for 'Constantinopolitan Rome'). As the city became the sole remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew, the city also came to have a multitude of nicknames. As the largest and wealthiest city in Europe during the 4th–13th centuries and
11100-574: The city, İstanbul , derives from the Greek phrase eis tin Polin ( εἰς τὴν πόλιν ), meaning '(in)to the city'. This name was used in colloquial speech in Turkish alongside Kostantiniyye , the more formal adaptation of the original Constantinople , during the period of Ottoman rule, while western languages mostly continued to refer to the city as Constantinople until the early 20th century. In 1928,
11248-678: The city. Constantine laid out a new square at the centre of old Byzantium, naming it the Augustaeum . The new senate-house (or Curia) was housed in a basilica on the east side. On the south side of the great square was erected the Great Palace of the Emperor with its imposing entrance, the Chalke , and its ceremonial suite known as the Palace of Daphne . Nearby was the vast Hippodrome for chariot-races, seating over 80,000 spectators, and
11396-477: The claims of Alexios IV Angelos brother-in-law of Philip, son of the deposed emperor Isaac II Angelos . The reigning emperor Alexios III Angelos had made no preparation. The Crusaders occupied Galata , broke the defensive chain protecting the Golden Horn , and entered the harbour, where on 27 July they breached the sea walls: Alexios III fled. But the new Alexios IV Angelos found the Treasury inadequate, and
11544-619: The construction of the Theodosian Walls in the early 5th century, it was extended to the new Golden Gate , reaching a total length of seven Roman miles . After the construction of the Theodosian Walls, Constantinople consisted of an area approximately the size of Old Rome within the Aurelian walls, or some 1,400 ha. The importance of Constantinople increased, but it was gradual. From the death of Constantine in 337 to
11692-467: The day and 0 °C (32 °F) at night. Snow is possible in the coldest months, but can quickly melt. The highest temperature ever recorded was 41.4 °C (106.5 °F) in July 1927 and the lowest −24.3 °C (−11.7 °F) in February 1929. Varna is the administrative centre for Varna county (област, oblast , area). On the other hand, Varna municipality (община, obshtina , borough) comprises
11840-604: The death of an Emperor, they became known also for plunder in the Imperial palaces. Later in the 11th century the Varangian Guard became dominated by Anglo-Saxons who preferred this way of life to subjugation by the new Norman kings of England . The Book of the Eparch , which dates to the 10th century, gives a detailed picture of the city's commercial life and its organization at that time. The corporations in which
11988-713: The downfall of his kingdom, Celts blended with the greatly numbered Thracians in the country. Between the 2nd–1st c. BC in present Dobrudja land between Dyonissopolis ( Balchik ) and Odessos were created many small Scythian states. Their "kings" minted their coins in mints located in cities on the west Black Sea coast, including Odessos. The Thracians in northeast Thrace seem to be underdeveloped compared to their counterparts in South Thrace. The people lived in two types of settlements: non-fortified, located in fertile lands near water sources and stone-built fortresses in hard to reach mountain environment, where were usually located
12136-717: The early Middle Ages. In Swedish , värn means 'shield, defense' – hence Varna could mean 'defended, fortified place'. Vikings invaded the settlement during the Middle Ages. The name may be older than that; perhaps it derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *u̯er- 'to flow, wet, water, river' (cf. Varuna ), or from the Proto-Slavic root varn 'black', or from Iranian bar or var 'camp, fortress' (see also Etymological list of provinces of Bulgaria ). According to Theophanes, in 680 Asparukh ,
12284-639: The emperors lived; the Hippodrome ; the Golden Gate of the Land Walls; and opulent aristocratic palaces. The University of Constantinople was founded in the 5th century and contained artistic and literary treasures before it was sacked in 1204 and 1453, including its vast Imperial Library which contained the remnants of the Library of Alexandria and had 100,000 volumes. The city was the home of
12432-710: The empire through their expansion in eastern Europe ( Varangians ), used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr (from mikill 'big' and garðr 'city'), and later Miklagard and Miklagarth . In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-Kubra (Great City of the Romans) and in Persian as Takht-e Rum (Throne of the Romans). In East and South Slavic languages, including in Kievan Rus' , Constantinople has been referred to as Tsargrad ( Царьград ) or Carigrad , 'City of
12580-585: The empress Irene restored the veneration of images through the agency of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The iconoclast controversy returned in the early 9th century, only to be resolved once more in 843 during the regency of Empress Theodora , who restored the icons. These controversies contributed to the deterioration of relations between the Western and the Eastern Churches. In
12728-528: The fable that his name was attached to the city". Some versions of the founding myth say Byzas was the son of a local nymph , while others say he was conceived by one of Zeus' daughters and Poseidon . Hesychius also gives alternate versions of the city's founding legend, which he attributed to old poets and writers: It is said that the first Argives, after having received this prophecy from Pythia, Blessed are those who will inhabit that holy city, a narrow strip of
12876-813: The famed Baths of Zeuxippus . At the western entrance to the Augustaeum was the Milion , a vaulted monument from which distances were measured across the Eastern Roman Empire. From the Augustaeum led a great street, the Mese , lined with colonnades. As it descended the First Hill of the city and climbed the Second Hill, it passed on the left the Praetorium or law-court. Then it passed through
13024-469: The financial center of Turkey . In 324,following the reunification of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, the ancient city of Byzantium was selected to serve as the new capital of the Roman Empire, and the city was renamed Nova Roma, or 'New Rome', by Emperor Constantine the Great . On 11 May 330, it was renamed Constantinople and dedicated to Constantine. Constantinople is generally considered to be
13172-401: The first Byzantine cathedral, Hagia Irene (Holy Peace). Justinian commissioned Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus to replace it with a new and incomparable Hagia Sophia . This was the great cathedral of the city, whose dome was said to be held aloft by God alone, and which was directly connected to the palace so that the imperial family could attend services without passing through
13320-495: The first wall and a moat with palisades in front. Constantinople's location between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara reduced the land area that needed defensive walls. The city was built intentionally to rival Rome , and it was claimed that several elevations within its walls matched Rome's 'seven hills'. The impenetrable defenses enclosed magnificent palaces, domes, and towers, the result of prosperity Constantinople achieved as
13468-569: The flower of the Roman armies were destroyed by the Visigoths within a few days' march, the city looked to its defences, and in 413–414 Theodosius II built the 18-metre (60-foot)-tall triple-wall fortifications , which were not to be breached until the coming of gunpowder. Theodosius also founded a University near the Forum of Taurus, on 27 February 425. Uldin , a prince of the Huns , appeared on
13616-401: The following countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine. Varna is twinned with: The first population data date back to the mid-17th century when the town was thought to have about 4,000 inhabitants, while the first population census in 1881 counted 24,555. According to the 1883 census, it
13764-552: The founder of the First Bulgarian Empire , routed an army of Constantine IV near the Danube River delta. Pursuing those forces, he reached "the so-called Varna near Odyssos [ sic ] and the midlands thereof" (τὴν λεγομένην Βάρναν, πλησίον Ὀδυσσοῦ). Perhaps the new name applied initially to an adjacent river or lake, a Roman military camp, or an inland area, and only later to the city itself. By
13912-497: The front and grown long at the back, and wide-sleeved tunics tight at the wrist; and to form gangs to engage in night-time muggings and street violence. At last these disorders took the form of a major rebellion of 532, known as the "Nika" riots (from the battle-cry of "Conquer!" of those involved). The Nika Riots began in the Hippodrome and finished there with the onslaught of over 30,000 people according to Procopius, those in
14060-531: The gateway between two continents ( Europe and Asia ) and two seas (the Mediterranean and the Black Sea). Although besieged on numerous occasions by various armies, the defenses of Constantinople proved impenetrable for nearly nine hundred years. In 1204, however, the armies of the Fourth Crusade took and devastated the city, and for several decades, its inhabitants resided under Latin occupation in
14208-494: The greatest works of Greek and Roman art were soon to be seen in its squares and streets. The emperor stimulated private building by promising householders gifts of land from the imperial estates in Asiana and Pontica and on 18 May 332 he announced that, as in Rome, free distributions of food would be made to the citizens. At the time, the amount is said to have been 80,000 rations a day, doled out from 117 distribution points around
14356-584: The growth of the economy. It is certain that the Venetians and others were active traders in Constantinople, making a living out of shipping goods between the Crusader Kingdoms of Outremer and the West, while also trading extensively with Byzantium and Egypt . The Venetians had factories on the north side of the Golden Horn, and large numbers of westerners were present in the city throughout
14504-711: The headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy and merchant marine. In 2008, Varna was designated as the seat of the Black Sea Euroregion by the Council of Europe . In 2014, Varna was awarded the title of European Youth Capital 2017. The oldest gold treasure in the world, belonging to the Varna culture , was discovered in the Varna Necropolis and dated to 4600–4200 BC. Since the discovery of
14652-698: The invaders poured in. Alexios V fled. The Senate met in Hagia Sophia and offered the crown to Theodore Lascaris , who had married into the Angelos dynasty , but it was too late. He came out with the Patriarch to the Golden Milestone before the Great Palace and addressed the Varangian Guard . Then the two of them slipped away with many of the nobility and embarked for Asia. By the next day
14800-401: The kings' residences. Thracians engaged in farming, wood processing, hunting and fishing. Among their art crafts is metal processing—especially weapons, excelling processing of bronze, making of bracelets, rings, Thracian type of fibulas, horse ornaments, arrowheads. Local goldsmiths used gold and silver to produce typical Thracian plate armour, ceremonial ornaments for the horses of the kings and
14948-499: The lake 25 km (16 mi) west (mostly transportation and industrial facilities). Since antiquity, the city has been surrounded by vineyards, orchards, and forests. Commercial shipping facilities are being relocated inland into the lakes and canals, while the bay remains a recreation area; almost all the waterfront is parkland. The urban area has in excess of 20 km of sand beaches and abounds in thermal mineral water sources (temperature 35–55 °C or 95–131 °F). It enjoys
15096-522: The last major battles of the Crusades in European history was fought outside the city walls. Ottomans routed an army of 20,000–30,000 crusaders led by Ladislaus III of Poland (also Ulászló I of Hungary), which had assembled at the port to set sail to Constantinople. The Christian army was attacked by a superior force of 55,000 or 60,000 Ottomans led by sultan Murad II . Ladislaus III was killed in
15244-558: The late 10th century, the name Varna was established so firmly that when Byzantines wrested back control of the area from the Bulgarians around 975, they kept it rather than restoring the ancient name Odessos . Prehistoric settlements are best known for the Chalcolithic necropolis (mid-5th millennium BC radiocarbon dating), a key archaeological site in world prehistory, eponymous Varna culture and internationally considered
15392-518: The late 11th century catastrophe struck with the unexpected and calamitous defeat of the imperial armies at the Battle of Manzikert in Armenia in 1071. The Emperor Romanus Diogenes was captured. The peace terms demanded by Alp Arslan , sultan of the Seljuk Turks, were not excessive, and Romanus accepted them. On his release, however, Romanus found that enemies had placed their own candidate on
15540-519: The late 2nd century AD (so-called Large (North) Ancient Roman Thermae), now the largest Roman remains in Bulgaria (the building was 100 m (328.08 ft) wide, 70 m (229.66 ft) long, and 25 m (82.02 ft) high) and fourth-largest-known Roman baths in Europe which testify to the importance of the city. There is also the Small (South) Ancient Roman Thermae from the 5th–6th century AD. In addition, archaeologists in 2019 discovered ruins of
15688-504: The late Roman and early Byzantine periods, Christianity was resolving fundamental questions of identity, and the dispute between the orthodox and the monophysites became the cause of serious disorder, expressed through allegiance to the chariot-racing parties of the Blues and the Greens. The partisans of the Blues and the Greens were said to affect untrimmed facial hair, head hair shaved at
15836-475: The latest, the fall of the Severan dynasty in 235. Byzantium took on the name of Constantinople ( Greek : Κωνσταντινούπολις, romanized : Kōnstantinoupolis; "city of Constantine") after its refoundation under Roman emperor Constantine I , who transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium in 330 and designated his new capital officially as Nova Roma ( Νέα Ῥώμη ) 'New Rome'. During this time,
15984-545: The legitimate seat of power for both Lower Moesia and Scythia. Control changed from Byzantine to Bulgarian hands several times during the Middle Ages . In the late 9th and the first half of the 10th century, Varna was the site of a principal scriptorium of the Preslav Literary School at a monastery endowed by Boris I who may have also used it as his monastic retreat. The scriptorium may have played
16132-421: The lowest for the country and sunshine is abundant. The summer begins in early May and lasts till early October. Temperatures in summer usually vary 27–30 °C (81–86 °F) during the day and between 17–18 °C (63–64 °F) at the night. Seawater temperature during the summer months is usually at the range 24–27 °C (75–81 °F). In winter temperatures are about 6–7 °C (43–45 °F) during
16280-470: The mayor's office, and local police, claim that Varna has a population by present address of over 500,000, making it the nation's second-largest city. Official statistics according to GRAO and NSI, however, have not supported their claims. In 2008, Deputy Mayor Venelin Zhechev estimated the actual population at 650,000. In December 2008, Mayor Kiril Yordanov claimed the actual number of permanent residents
16428-433: The military. However, it is noted that in Varna, the so-called mutri (Mafia) presence was by no means as visible as it was in smaller coastal towns and resorts. Over the last couple of years, crime has subsided, which is said to have contributed to Varna being named as Bulgaria's Best City to Live In (2007); in 2007, the regional police chief was promoted to the helm of the national police service. There are consulates of
16576-611: The most important seaport between Constantinople and the Danube delta; they usually labelled the region Zagora . The city was unsuccessfully besieged by Amadeus VI of Savoy, who had captured all Bulgarian fortresses to the south of it, including Galata, in 1366. In 1386, Varna briefly became the capital of the spinoff Principality of Karvuna , then was taken over by the Ottomans in 1389 (and again in 1444), ceded temporarily to Manuel II Palaeologus in 1413 (perhaps until 1444), and sacked by Tatars in 1414. On 10 November 1444, one of
16724-442: The north arm of the bay, yet January and February still can be bitterly cold at times, with blizzards. Black Sea water has become cleaner after 1989 due to decreased chemical fertiliser in farming; it has low salinity, lacks large predators or poisonous species, and the tidal range is virtually imperceptible. The city lies 470 km (292 mi) north-east of Sofia; the nearest major cities are Dobrich (45 km or 28 mi to
16872-401: The north), Shumen (80 km or 50 mi to the west), and Burgas (125 km or 78 mi to the south-west). Varna has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ). The specific Black sea climate is milder than the inland parts of the country and the sea influence lowers the effect of the occasional cold air masses from the north-east. Average precipitation is
17020-402: The offensive-defensive alliance between Michael VIII Palaeologus and Genoa that opened up the Black Sea to Genoese commerce, Varna had turned into a thriving commercial port city frequented by Genoese and later also by Venetian and Ragusan merchant ships. The first two maritime republics held consulates and had expatriate colonies there (Ragusan merchants remained active at the port through
17168-731: The oval Forum of Constantine where there was a second Senate-house and a high column with a statue of Constantine himself in the guise of Helios , crowned with a halo of seven rays and looking toward the rising sun. From there, the Mese passed on and through the Forum Tauri and then the Forum Bovis , and finally up the Seventh Hill (or Xerolophus) and through to the Golden Gate in the Constantinian Wall . After
17316-472: The people rose again: Alexios IV was imprisoned and executed, and Murzuphlos took the purple as Alexios V Doukas . He made some attempt to repair the walls and organise the citizenry, but there had been no opportunity to bring in troops from the provinces and the guards were demoralised by the revolution. An attack by the Crusaders on 6 April failed, but a second from the Golden Horn on 12 April succeeded, and
17464-467: The population of northeast Thrace was very diverse, including the region around Odessos. During 6th–4th c. BC the region was populated with Scythians who normally inhabited the central Eurasian Steppe (South Russia and Ukraine) and partly the area south of river Istros (the Thracian name of lower Danube ). Characteristic for their culture weapons and bronze objects are found all over the region. Scythian horse ornaments are produced in "animal style", which
17612-642: The religious processions of the clergy. He removed Theodora from the Great Palace to the Carian Palace and later to the monastery of Gastria , but, after the death of Bardas, she was released to live in the palace of St Mamas; she also had a rural residence at the Anthemian Palace, where Michael was assassinated in 867. In 860, an attack was made on the city by a new principality set up a few years earlier at Kiev by Askold and Dir , two Varangian chiefs: Two hundred small vessels passed through
17760-401: The removal of unpopular ministers. It played a crucial role during the riots and in times of political unrest. The Hippodrome provided a space for a crowd to be responded to positively or where the acclamations of a crowd were subverted, resorting to the riots that would ensue in coming years. In the time of Justinian, public order in Constantinople became a critical political issue. Throughout
17908-548: The seaside resorts north of the city centre), and Vladislav Varchenchik. The boroughs are composed of various districts with distinctive characters and histories. The villages too have а mayor or a mayoral lieutenant (кметски наместник, kmetski namestnik ). Varna was rumoured to be the hub of Bulgarian organised crime . Some sectors of the economy, including gambling, corporate security, tourism, real estate, and professional sports, were believed to be controlled in part by business groups with links to Communist-era secret services or
18056-685: The ship of the commander Belisarius was anchored in front of the Imperial palace, and the Patriarch offered prayers for the success of the enterprise. After the victory, in 534, the Temple treasure of Jerusalem , looted by the Romans in AD ;70 and taken to Carthage by the Vandals after their sack of Rome in 455, was brought to Constantinople and deposited for a time, perhaps in the Church of St Polyeuctus , before being returned to Jerusalem in either
18204-466: The streets. "The architectural form of the building was meant to reflect Justinian programmatic harmony: the circular dome (a symbol of secular authority in classical Roman architecture) would be harmoniously combined with the rectangular form (typical for Christian and pre-Christian temples)." The dedication took place on 26 December 537 in the presence of the emperor, who was later reported to have exclaimed, "O Solomon , I have outdone thee!" Hagia Sophia
18352-465: The throne in his absence; he surrendered to them and suffered death by torture, and the new ruler, Michael VII Ducas, refused to honour the treaty. In response, the Turks began to move into Anatolia in 1073. The collapse of the old defensive system meant that they met no opposition, and the empire's resources were distracted and squandered in a series of civil wars. Thousands of Turkoman tribesmen crossed
18500-571: The time of Astyages (here, usually 572–570 BC is suggested), within an earlier Thracian settlement. The name Odessos could have been pre-Greek, arguably of Carian origin. It was the presiding member of the Pontic Pentapolis , consisting of Odessos, Tomi , Callatis , Mesembria , and Apollonia . Odessos was a mixed community—contact zone between the Ionian Greeks and the Thracian tribes ( Getae , Krobyzoi , Terizi ) of
18648-419: The title clarus , not clarissimus , like those of Rome. It also lacked the panoply of other administrative offices regulating the food supply, police, statues, temples, sewers, aqueducts, or other public works. The new programme of building was carried out in great haste: columns, marbles, doors, and tiles were taken wholesale from the temples of the empire and moved to the new city. In similar fashion, many of
18796-479: The tradesmen of Constantinople were organised were supervised by the Eparch, who regulated such matters as production, prices, import, and export. Each guild had its own monopoly, and tradesmen might not belong to more than one. It is an impressive testament to the strength of tradition how little these arrangements had changed since the office, then known by the Latin version of its title, had been set up in 330 to mirror
18944-523: The unguarded frontier and moved into Anatolia. By 1080, a huge area had been lost to the Empire, and the Turks were within striking distance of Constantinople. Under the Komnenian dynasty (1081–1185), Byzantium staged a remarkable recovery. In 1090–91, the nomadic Pechenegs reached the walls of Constantinople, where Emperor Alexius I with the aid of the Kipchaks annihilated their army. In response to
19092-454: The urban prefecture of Rome. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Constantinople had a population of between 500,000 and 800,000. In the 8th and 9th centuries, the iconoclast movement caused serious political unrest throughout the Empire. The emperor Leo III issued a decree in 726 against images, and ordered the destruction of a statue of Christ over one of the doors of the Chalke, an act that
19240-625: The view. During Justinian I's reign, the city's population reached about 500,000 people. However, the social fabric of Constantinople was also damaged by the onset of the Plague of Justinian between 541 and 542 AD. It killed perhaps 40% of the city's inhabitants. In the early 7th century, the Avars and later the Bulgars overwhelmed much of the Balkans , threatening Constantinople with attack from
19388-400: The villages of Dobrina, Kipra, Brestak and other, all in Varna Province . The Thracians in the region were ruled by kings, who entered into unions with the Odrysian kingdom , Getae or Sapaeans —large Thracian states existing between 5th–1st c. BC. Between 336–280 BC these Thracian states along with Odessos were conquered by Alexander the Great . Archaeological findings have indicated that
19536-431: The water Nymphs and Zalmoxis by the Getae . During the centuries, especially by the end of the Hellenistic period (2nd–1st c. BC), Thracians adopted the more elaborated Hellenistic culture, thus acting as an intermediate for the continental Thracians. Odessos or Odessus ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ὀδησσός ) is one of the oldest ancient settlements in Bulgaria. Its name appears as Odesopolis (Ὀδησόπολις) in
19684-487: The wealthiest provinces of the Empire. Constantinople was built over six years, and consecrated on 11 May 330. Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis. Yet, at first, Constantine's new Rome did not have all the dignities of old Rome. It possessed a proconsul , rather than an urban prefect . It had no praetors , tribunes , or quaestors . Although it did have senators, they held
19832-488: The west. Simultaneously, the Persian Sassanids overwhelmed the Prefecture of the East and penetrated deep into Anatolia . Heraclius , son of the exarch of Africa, set sail for the city and assumed the throne. He found the military situation so dire that he is said to have contemplated withdrawing the imperial capital to Carthage, but relented after the people of Constantinople begged him to stay. The citizens lost their right to free grain in 618 when Heraclius realized that
19980-583: The world's oldest large find of gold artefacts, existed within modern city limits. In the wider region of the Varna lakes (before the 1900s, freshwater) and the adjacent karst springs and caves, over 30 prehistoric settlements have been unearthed with the earliest artefacts dating back to the Middle Paleolithic or 100,000 years ago. Since late Bronze Age (13th–12th c. BC) the area around Odessos had been populated with Thracians . During 8th–9th c. BC local Thracians had active commercial and cultural contacts with people from Anatolia , Thessaly , Caucasus and
20128-449: Was 970,000, or that there were 60% unregistered people. In January 2009, the Financial Times said that "Varna now draws about 30,000 new residents a year." The census, carried out in February 2011, enumerated 334,870 inhabitants. If unregistered population plus the commuters from the adjacent municipalities are taken into consideration, the real population of the city during a work day reaches 400,000. Varna attracts 2 to 3 million tourists
20276-399: Was a revival in the mosaic art, for example: Mosaics became more realistic and vivid, with an increased emphasis on depicting three-dimensional forms. There was an increased demand for art, with more people having access to the necessary wealth to commission and pay for such work. On 25 July 1197, Constantinople was struck by a severe fire which burned the Latin Quarter and the area around
20424-421: Was an early Christian centre, as testified by ruins of twelve early basilicas, a monophysite monastery, and indications that one of the Seventy Disciples , Ampliatus , follower of Saint Andrew (who, according to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church legend, preached in the city in 56 CE), served as bishop there. In 6th-century imperial documents, it was referred to as "holiest city," sacratissima civitas . In 442
20572-403: Was badly affected by the temporary loss of its agrarian hinterland of Southern Dobruja to Romania (1913–16 and 1919–40). In the Second World War , the Red Army occupied the city in September 1944 and helped to cement communist rule in Bulgaria. One of the early centres of industrial development and the Bulgarian labour movement, Varna established itself as the nation's principal port of export,
20720-420: Was fiercely resisted by the citizens. Constantine V convoked a church council in 754 , which condemned the worship of images, after which many treasures were broken, burned, or painted over with depictions of trees, birds or animals: One source refers to the church of the Holy Virgin at Blachernae as having been transformed into a "fruit store and aviary". Following the death of her husband Leo IV in 780,
20868-401: Was financed by a special tax on all the subjects of the Empire. Theodora, widow of the Emperor Theophilus (died 842), acted as regent during the minority of her son Michael III , who was said to have been introduced to dissolute habits by her brother Bardas. When Michael assumed power in 856, he became known for excessive drunkenness, appeared in the hippodrome as a charioteer and burlesqued
21016-460: Was founded by the Roman emperor Constantine I (272–337) in 324 on the site of an already-existing city, Byzantium , which was settled in the early days of Greek colonial expansion , in around 657 BC, by colonists of the city-state of Megara . This is the first major settlement that would develop on the site of later Constantinople, but the first known settlements was that of Lygos , referred to in Pliny's Natural Histories. Apart from this, little
21164-431: Was located), Pontus and Asia comparable to the 100-mile extraordinary jurisdiction of the prefect of Rome. The emperor Valens , who hated the city and spent only one year there, nevertheless built the Palace of Hebdomon on the shore of the Propontis near the Golden Gate , probably for use when reviewing troops. All the emperors up to Zeno and Basiliscus were crowned and acclaimed at the Hebdomon. Theodosius I founded
21312-411: Was recorded in Varna. As a result, local notables that participated in the Greek national movement were executed by the Ottoman authorities, while others managed to escape to Greece and continue their struggle. The British and French campaigning against Russia in the Crimean War (1854–1856) used Varna as headquarters and principal naval base; many soldiers died of cholera and the city was devastated by
21460-438: Was served by 600 people including 80 priests, and cost 20,000 pounds of gold to build. Justinian also had Anthemius and Isidore demolish and replace the original Church of the Holy Apostles and Hagia Irene built by Constantine with new churches under the same dedication. The Justinianic Church of the Holy Apostles was designed in the form of an equal-armed cross with five domes, and ornamented with beautiful mosaics. This church
21608-690: Was the second-largest in Bulgaria after Ruse . Thereafter Varna became Bulgaria's third-largest city and kept this position steadily for the next 120 years, while different cities took turns in the first, second, and fourth places. In January 2012, the city of Varna has a population of 334,781, which makes it the third-largest city in Bulgaria, while the Varna Municipality along with the legally affiliated adjacent villages had 343,643 inhabitants. The unofficial metro area (including Varna municipality and adjacent parts of Aksakovo, Avren, Beloslav, and Devnya municipalities, and excluding adjacent parts of Dobrich Province ) has an estimated population of 475,000. Here,
21756-427: Was to remain the burial place of the emperors from Constantine himself until the 11th century. When the city fell to the Turks in 1453, the church was demolished to make room for the tomb of Mehmet II the Conqueror. Justinian was also concerned with other aspects of the city's built environment, legislating against the abuse of laws prohibiting building within 100 ft (30 m) of the sea front, in order to protect
21904-434: Was unable to make good the rewards he had promised to his western allies. Tension between the citizens and the Latin soldiers increased. In January 1204, the protovestiarius Alexios Murzuphlos provoked a riot, it is presumed, to intimidate Alexios IV, but whose only result was the destruction of the great statue of Athena Promachos , the work of Phidias , which stood in the principal forum facing west. In February 1204,
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