Opposition to Nestorius and Eutychius

To omit all reference, however brief, to the influence of ladies in the public life of Constantinople while Theodosius II. occupied the throne would be to omit an important feature of the time; a feature which often reappeared in the subsequent life of the Empire and profoundly affected the course of its history. Pulcheria, the sister of Theodosius II., was the power behind her brother’s throne. She directed his education, arranged his marriage, and was, with brief interruptions, the presiding genius of his career. The vow of virginity which she had taken, and which she persuaded her sisters to take, her charities, her activity in building churches, her orthodoxy, all rendered her popular in devout circles and with the dominant ecclesiastical party.

To her was due the strong religious tone of the Court, and in the theological disputes that agitated the Church and the State in her day she took an active interest, and helped materially to determine the particular form of their settlement Her opposition to Nestorius and Eutychius had much to do with the condemnation of their views. And notwithstanding the occasional loss of her influence over a brother who was too weak to adhere steadily to a single course, she triumphed at last over all her rivals, and upon his death mounted the throne as the consort of Marcian.

The story of Athenais, and her marriage to Theodosius II., is well known, but it will always retain the attraction which belongs to a life in which romance and tragedy acted their opposite parts. A beautiful and talented girl, brought up as a pagan by her father Leontius, who cultivated philosophy in the schools of Athens, she came to Constantinople to seek redress for what she deemed a great wrong. Her father, at his death, had divided his fortune between his sons, and left her to struggle with the world almost penniless.

This arrangement was a philosopher s eccentric way of indicating his appreciation of his daughter’s loveliness and genius, and his confidence that they would win greater success for their possessor than any prosperity his money could ever secure. But either because of her modesty or her practical sense, Athenais differed from her father on that point, and wished his decision reversed. We can readily imagine how her story would circulate in the society of the capital, and make its heroine a topic of general conversation and interest. It raised so many questions to discuss, it appealed to the sympathy of so many feelings. Naturally, the charming girl was introduced to Pulcheria.

She soon won the affection and admiration of the princess, under whose austerities a woman’s heart still beat, and it was not long before Pulcheria thought she could do more for Athenais than obtain for her a share in the fortune of Leontius. In fact she considered no one so fit to become the Emperor’s wife. The interest of Theodosius was readily excited by a description of the maiden’s charms: large eyes, the nose of Aphrodite, a fair complexion, golden hair, a slender figure, graceful manners, clever, accomplished, and “ of wondrous virtues.” Accom-panied by his friend Paulinus istanbul black sea blue gate, he went to his sister’s apartments, and standing concealed behind a curtain, saw the fair form and was conquered.

Joseph in Egypt

So Athenais received baptism, and under the name of Eudocia became the bride of the Emperor of the East Like Portia, her father had scanted her and hedged her by his wit that she might reach the pinnacle of human joys. And with the spirit of Joseph in Egypt she forgave the brothers who had injured her, summoned them to Constantinople, and secured for them high positions. Her talents appeared in her writings, and in her friendship with the mast intelligent men of the day.

But erelong clouds began to gather on this sunny sky. First came the natural rivalry between herself and Pulcheria as to whether a wife’s influence or a sister’s would be stronger over the mind of the Emperor; then estrangement, due to their different temperaments and education; then diversity of theological opinion, Eudocia taking the side opposite to Pulcheria in the controversy raised by Nestorius. But perhaps these clouds might have passed away, and the heavens grown radiant again, had not the friendship between the Empress and Paulinus aroused the jealousy of Theodosius, and excited his worst suspicions.

According to a discredited tale the crisis was brought about under the following circumstances:—“One day the Emperor was met by a peasant who presented him with a Phrygian apple of enormous size, so that the whole Court marvelled at it. And he gave the man a hundred and fifty gold pieces in reward, and sent the apple to the Empress Eudocia. But she sent it, as a present to Paulinus, the Master of the Offices, because he was a friend of the Emperor. But Paulinus, not knowing the history of the apple, took it and gave it to the Emperor as he reentered the palace.

Separate classroom for each teacher

In the charter, so to speak, of the University, particular stress is laid upon the need of a separate classroom for each teacher, lest the different classes should disturb one another by simultaneous talking and variety of languages, with the result that the ears and minds of the students would be diverted from their proper occupation. A candidate for a professor’s chair was required to undergo an examination before the Senate both as to his learning and his character. After twenty years’ service a professor was rewarded with the title of a Count of the Empire. Only the professors attached to the University were allowed to lecture in public, and they were not permitted to give private instruction.

The foundation of the University had two objects mainly in view—to prepare young men for the civil service, and to supersede the pagan schools of learning. It had certainly a lofty ideal, for, in the language of an inscription that refers to the institution, it was to be “a glory to scholars, an ornament to the city, the hope of youth, weapons to virtue, and wealth to the good.” Thus, while the shadows of ignorance were gathering to settle down upon western Europe, the light of knowledge was kept burning in the capital of the East until the darkness passed away. The study of Latin indeed was erelong abandoned in Constantinople, but Greek learning had always its friends there, who handed that treasure down from century to century, and bequeathed it at last to safer keeping and wider use.

Another act that does honour to the reign of Theodosius II. is the codification of the laws enacted since the time of Constantine the Great The compilation took nine years to be made, and is known as the Theodosian Code. How great a need it supplied is quaintly set forth in the preamble to the Code. “ The chaos presented by the state in which the laws were found was such that few persons had an adequate knowledge of the subject even though their faces have grown pale from late lucubrations tour packages balkan.” “When we consider,” to quote Professor Bury’s translation, “ the enormous multitude of books, the divers modes of process, and the difficulty of legal cases, and further the hugeness of imperial constitutions, which, hidden as it were under a veil of gross mist and darkness, precludes men’s intellects from gaining a knowledge of them, we feel that we have met a real need of our age, and, dispelling the darkness, have given light to the laws by a short compendium.”

Theodosian Code was superseded

On 23rd December of the year 438, the Code com-piled at Constantinople was presented to the Senate of Rome and recognised by that body. It was a curious reversal of the part which the elder city had acted in the world. The teacher had become the pupil Or is it truer to say, the pupil then did homage to the teacher? The Theodosian Code was superseded by the Code of Justinian the Great, but the earlier compilation retains the honour of being the first great legal instrument to confer upon New Rome the distinction of becoming the tribunal which has guided the most civilised nations of the world into the paths of righteousness and justice in the dealings between man and man. Into the religious controversies which agitated Constantinople while Theodosius II. was upon the throne, this is not the place to enter.

But Constantinople would not have been itself without a hard theological problem to discuss, if not to solve, and we do not know the soul, so to speak, of Constantinople unless we recognise what may be termed the religious temperament of the city. At a period, indeed, when a great religious revolution in the faith of men had taken place, and men were called to make clear to themselves what exactly they believed, and how their beliefs were to be harmonised with their philosophy and the general principles of reason, religious questions could not fail to be prominent everywhere.

They were as naturally prominent in the fourth and fifth centuries of our era, when Christianity became the religion of the State, as they were at the time of the Reformation. But Constantinople made these questions peculiarly its own. It could not well be otherwise where the seat of the chief bishop of the Church in the East was found, and in the capital of a Government which concerned itself in these debates as matters of political importance.

Illyrian fortresses to render

At the same time he strengthened also the Illyrian fortresses to render the north-western frontier more secure. Then, warned by a bread riot in Constantinople due to a scarcity of wheat in the city, he made arrangements for a more regular supply of grain from Egypt, thus making the population of the capital more friendly to the Government And lastly, as the crowning act of his administration, he decided to array the city in new and better armour, and make it the strongest citadel in the Roman world. The great wall, flanked by ninety- six towers, which forms the innermost line of the fortifications along the landward side of the city, notwithstanding the changes it has undergone since his day, is even in its ruins, a magnificent monument to his wisdom, and to his devotion to the public weal Those ramparts proved the shield of European civilisation for more than a thousand years. Their erection was one of those great acts in history which confer priceless benefits on mankind.

The change made by Anthemius in the position of the landward walls involved also the extension of the seaward fortifications to join the extremities of the new western limits. But, although that work must have been included in the plans of Anthemius, it was postponed for no less than a quarter of a century. Lack of funds, or the demands of more urgent necessities, or that happy sense of security from naval attack, in which the Government of Constantinople was tempted to indulge, in view of the city’s geographical position, may account for the delay. But whatever the explanation of the postponement, the gap in the defences of the capital could not be left open indefinitely, and at length, in 489, the thirty-first year of the reign of Theodosius II., the shores of the city were enclosed by Cyrus, the then Prefect of the city. It was the year in which the Vandals took Carthage, and possibly the alarm excited by their successes in Africa roused Constantinople to defend itself at every point.

The wall of Anthemius

Scarcely, however, had the city girded on its full armour, when, in the year 447, one of those violent earthquakes, to which Constantinople was liable, shook the city, and overthrew a large portion of the wall of Anthemius, with fifty-seven of its towers tour packages balkan. The seaward walls of Cyrus were also injured at the same time. Struck with panic, the population rushed from the city to the open country, as far away as the plains about the suburb of the Hebdomon (Makrikeui), and there, with Emperor, Senate^ and clergy, offered prayers and supplication that the quaking earth should keep stiff. It was a terrible catastrophe under any circumstances, but it was the more so at the moment when Attila was sweeping everything before him in his advance upon the city.

The crisis was, however, met with extraordinary energy. Under the direction of the Prefect Constantine (whom some authorities identify with Cyrus) the calamity which had overtaken the city was turned into an opportunity of building more formidable fortifications than those which had been destroyed. Requisitions of money and materials were made upon the citizens, and the Factions of the Hippodrome now vied with each other in the race to build the most and the fastest Not only was the wall of Anthemius repaired, but at a distance of about twenty yards in front of it was placed a second wall, also flanked with ninety-six towers, and then at a distance of some twenty yards from the latter line a broad and deep moat was constructed, with a battlement breast-high surmounting its inner side. So vigorously was the work pressed forward that the second wall was completed in two months.

Thus, the capital stood behind a barricade 190-207 feet thick and 100 feet high, comprising four lines of defence that rose tier above tier to permit concerted action, with ample room for the operation of large bodies of troops, and affording numerous points of vantage from which to pour upon an enemy every missile of death in the arsenal of ancient warfare—arrows, stones, and Greek fire. If men did their duty, the city was now impregnable, while the Prefect Constantine earned the right to be associated with Anthemius, as one of the forgers of the weapons with which Constantinople defended the higher life of mankind against the assaults of barbarism for ten centuries.

Two inscriptions on the Gate Yeni Mevlevi Khaneh Kapoussi (the ancient Gate of Rhegium)—one in Greek, the other in Latin— have proclaimed the services of the Prefect Constantine from his day to the present time. “ In sixty days, at the command of the sceptre-loving Emperor, Constantine the Eparch built wall to wall,” says the former in modest terms. The Latin legend breathes the pride and satisfaction which the work inspired. “By the commands of Theodosius, the second month not being completed, Constantine set up these strong fortifications. Scarcely could Pallas have built so quickly so firm a citadel”

Nicopolis ad Istrum and Marcianopolis

The Latin language infiltrated much more easily than elsewhere. This was mainly due to the presence of the army, which required a common language for communication. In the civilian settlements lived Roman citizens who had acquired these privileges by birth as Italians or by army service. They were the vehicles of the dominant language and culture in this province. The official Roman cults underlay the religious life in this area. In the 2nd century people from other parts of the Empire, primarily from the Hellenic East, came here, with the army or as civilians. Their presence however was not so conspicuous as in the cities in the interior.

Nicopolis ad Istrum and Marcianopolis, although to the north of the Haemus Mountain, initially belonged to the province of Thrace, and after 193 to Lower Moesia. Here the influence of the Greek language and culture was stronger. The government was on the model of the Greek poleis in the Eastern Mediterranean. The construction of the squares and their architectural decoration gives out the hand of the Eastern master. This influence is also evident in the cities south of the Balkan Range.

Mediterranean Dacia

The urbanization in Thrace was at a higher level compared to Moesia. What is more, with the exception of the ancient Greek poleis on the western Black Sea coast, until the reign of Trajan there were no urban centers in Moesia. In Thrace, Philippopolis was undoubtedly the most magnificent, large and beautiful city. Although during the first three centuries it was not a provincial center, it remained the most famous in these lands. Later it was chosen to be capital of the province of Thrace with the homonymous diocese of Thrace. Serdica became the chief city of Mediterranean Dacia, and Marcianopolis – capital of Second Moesia.

In Thrace the Hellenic influence persisted. The Greek language was spoken and written mainly in the cities, while in the villages Thracian dialects were used tour packages balkan. In the sphere of culture, art and religion, the local tradition was intertwined with influences from the neighboring Greek lands. In many aspects of life is evident a mixture of these two cultures and beliefs, the so- called syncretism.

The population was ethnically variegated. Three main groups were predominant. The Greeks were dominant in the seaside settlements, but they gradually penetrated into the interior. With the urbanization of Thrace and Moesia, many immigrants came from the Hellenic poleis in the eastern Mediterranean world (Nicomedia, Ephes, Smirna, etc.). Quite a few Syrians, Egyptians and Judeans also settled here. In the two provinces many Roman citizens lived too.

These were mostly veteran soldiers who received plots of land. They had adequate organizational and administrative experience, acquired during their long service. In the villages such men usually became mayors, and were often in the city government. The Thracian element, so strong in the rural areas, gradually penetrated in the cities. Wealthy local elite emerged, who occupied public and sacral posts. Men from different parts of the Empire served here (in the legions and their auxiliary units). In the 4th century, however, ethnic changes set in. Along the lower Danube and in the interior, federate tribes (allies) mostly of Gothic origin were settled. Gradually the so-called barbarian elements penetrated into Moesia and Thrace, in the military and civil life.

Even though not as imposing in appearance as the cities in Italy, North Africa and Asia Minor, the explored Roman period cities in Bulgaria exhibit a high urban development in comparison to other marginal or bordering provinces of the Empire.

Claudius Ptolemaeus from Alexandria in Egypt

The geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus from Alexandria in Egypt mentions Nicopolis on the river Nestum among the inland cities of the Thracian province. Across the fertile valley passed the important road from Philippopolis to the Aegean Sea. The area enclosed by the city walls was 12 hectares, and its shape was polygonal. Initially the settlement did not have a stonewall as it was situated in an interior land, unlike the right bank of the Danube, where the hazard of barbarian invasions was very high. The city was fortified as late as the

second half of the 4th century AD. From the wholly investigated southern wall are visible protruding towers and the gate. Inside, sectors of a large house with a colonnaded courtyard are uncovered. Off the southern wall a bathing structure catered for the needs of part of the citizens. It was built in the first quarter of the 4th century, but in 376-378 the Goths set it on fire. Later it was reconstructed but in the late 6th century the Avars and Slavs destroyed it. The building was totally ruined a little later by an earthquake.

Everyday life

Traces of a Thracian necropolis from the 1 st millennium BC have been found in the vicini-ty. The name of the tribe is still unknown.

When Nicopolis was founded, the population was of local Thracian or Greek origin. This is indicated by the numerous votive monuments to the Thracian Horseman, Zeus, Artemis, Hermes, Pluto. Greatly revered was also the local river god Nestos, who irrigated the valley and gave fertility. Treasures of coins from Histria, Latae, and particularly from the nearby island of Thasos, found in the area, speak of the connections of this region with other parts of the world. For a short period Nicopolis ad Nestum minted its own coins, from the reign of Commodus (180-192) to Caracalla (211-217).

In the 3rd-4th century a stonecutting workshop functioned in Nicopolis. It met the demands of the city and the surrounding set-tlements. Bases, columns, partition slabs, Dorian, Ionian and Roman-Corinthian capitals were produced. The local stonecutting school imitated the fashionable architectural details and types. Metallurgy and metal-working were also developed at a local level.

The citizens of Nicopolis enjoyed a precarious freedom during the Gothic wars of 376-378 and later, many of the besieged cities welcomed the invaders istanbul tourism conference. In many cases, when the barbarians came in, the administrative-tax burden was alleviated and sometimes even their attitude was better than the governors’. In other cases it was not so, if great resistance had been put up.

Historian Eunapius describes an instructive incident with the citizens of Nicopolis. They sneered at the other Thracians who expected help from the Emperor, which did not come. On the other hand, they cowardly awaited the enemy, uncertain about their fate. The citizens of Nicopolis however slighted those who were not able to defend themselves and precariously enjoyed their freedom.

The late antique author Socrates, who lived in the 5th century, mentions there was a bish-op in the city. Several early Christian basilicas have been found in the environs.

After a long interruption, human life continued here with a small settlement in the Bulgarian Middle Ages, between 10th-14th centuries.

Conclusion

The 14 Roman cities presented in this book sprang up near older Thracian settlements. The gifts of nature were used to the maximum – the cities were situated in plains, near a mountain, by pure drinking and mineral water springs, or on the bank of a large river (Marcianopolis, Serdica, Diocletianopolis, Pautalia, Philippopolis). The climate in the cities in Thrace was mild and agreeable, providing conditions for better living. In the Danube region the picture was a bit different. Here the winters were colder, with icy and searching winds, the springs and autumns were misty.

Ulpia Oescus, Novae and Durostorum were built on the right bank of the lower Danube. This was one of the most neuralgic zones at the Roman border (limes). Legions were stationed in all three of them. They had to repulse the barbarian attacks from the north. With the transfer of 5th Macedonian Legion, Oescus became a large city with the rank of a colony — the highest degree of provincial government. Later Novae and Durostorum became municipia. The administrative system was on the Italic model. The influence of Rome and the Italic cities, although on a smaller provincial scale, is also felt in the architecture. Thus, in Ulpia Oescus we have the typical elongated forum with temples, a basilica and a city hall (probably in the western part of the forum).

Asclepius Hygeia and Telesphoros

On the many discovered inscriptions we find Thracian, Greek and Latin names of individuals. Apart from the health-giving deities Asclepius, Hygeia and Telesphoros, here were worshipped Zeus and Hera, the Thracian Horseman, Dionysus, Hermes, Aphrodite. This is evident from their stamping on the Pautalian bronze coins, which the city was allowed to mint between the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161) and Caracalia (21 1-217). And when Emperor Septimius Sever (193-211) and his family came to visit Pautalia it was only natural to emit a special emission.

In the late antiquity (end of 4th – 6th c.) a stone fortification was built on the Hissarlak hill, which occupied an area of 2.12 hectares

From the epigraphic monuments and the rescue archaeological excavations conducted in Kyustendil we learn of the different professions and trades in Roman Pautalia. Namely: retail dealer, cook, innkeeper, tailor of tent skins, sculptor, jurist. One inscription bears the names of the architects Laomedon and Glaukias. Many potter’s workshops were set up for common earthenware and fine table

ceramics. The long nights required clay lamps, which imitated the basic types of the period. A lamp mould was uncovered, which is evidence of local production. Large workshops produced mass building ceramics such as bricks, roof tiles and tubes, to meet the demands of the growing urbanization of this center on the upper Struma.

Augusta Traiana and Pautalia are so far the two cities in the present-day Bulgarian lands, which feature developed local bronze produc-tion. Doubtlessly, the ore deposits in the vicinity were an important factor. The casts were primarily bronze appliques for chariots and carts (usually busts of the gods Apollo, Athena, Heracles, Pan, Eros, the river god Strimon, etc., statuettes and vessels.

A large stonecutting workshop functioned in the city for the needs of construction and interior decoration. This is evident from the strong stonewalls built in the lowland and up on the Hissarlak, from the uncovered ruins of private, public and cult edifices (bases, capitals, columns, friezes, frontons), from the street pavement. An inscription tells us about marble working istanbul tourism conference. Big and smaller statues were made, as well as votive tablets with the images of Asclepius-Hygeia-Telesphoros, Zeus and Hera, Apollo, Heracles. The mosaic art also flourished in the city. A multitude of black-and-white and polychrome floor mosaics have been found during archaeological excavations, which are indicative of local ateliers for their laying.

Within the territory of Pautalia was the fortress of Germania (present-day Sapareva Banya). The name derives from a Thracian word (geermes) meaning “warm, hot”. This is the site of the only geyser in the country. Germania is the birthplace of Velisarius, general of Emperor Justinian the Great (527-565). In the southernmost part of the Pautalian territory, in the direction of Blagoevgrad, was the Thracian village of Skaptopara. Its inhabitants had become quite affluent – the land was good, the mineral baths were visited by many, and the local fair gathered a lot of people. However, the peasants began to suffer losses from the provincial officials and some military

men, especially during the bathing proce-dures or at the marketplace. These did not pay anything for food or entrance. An inscription found in Gramada quarters (Blagoevgrad) contains their appeal to Emperor Gordian III (238- 244). The document was written by a Pautalian defense lawyer, dealing with disputes in the province. The inhabitants mentioned that if they were not rendered help, they would leave this place for good.

Constanta region in North Dobrudja

Emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan conquered the stubborn Dacians in 106 and founded the province of Dacia. But there was no city called “Victory City” there. So, he founded Tropaeum Traiani (Trajan’s Trophy) (at Adamclisi village, Constanta region in North Dobrudja) and erected an impressive memorial complex in memory of the perished Roman legions. Its location however was in Lower Moesia. Then he founded Nicopolis ad Istrum and Marcianopolis, called after his sister. These two cities then lied within the province of Thrace. In the south-westernmost parts of the province, near Macedonia and Achaia, was constructed Nicopolis ad Nestum or Mestum, which in translation means “City of the victory at Mesta river”.

Trajan has not fought battles in this region and this name is a little perplexing. Today the ruins of Nicopolis ad Nestum can be seen at Garmen village, 7 km northeast of the town of Gotse Delchev, not far away from the present-day Bulgarian-Greek border. In contrast to the garrisons and civilian settlements on the right bank of the Danube, where the climate was harshly continental, here the natural conditions were wonderful – mild winter, warm summer, pleasant spring and autumn.

Marcus Licinius Crassus helps the Dentheletai

Marcus Licinius Crassus helps the Dentheletai (Dantheletai)

In 29 BC Bastarnae and Dacians on the off side of the Danube crossed the frozen river and went far south in search of a new place for living. Thus they came to the present-day Kyustendil plain, which had long been inhabit-ed by the Dentheletai tribe. Marcus Crassus, governor of the Roman province of Macedonia, was just waiting for an excuse to invade the Thracian lands. He informed the leader of the Dentheletai that he was coming to their aid. Crassus marched into the fertile land and chased the newcomers away to the Danube. On the way back he passed through the same lands to make them a Roman dominion. Somewhere under the present-day Kyustendil we should be looking for the chief settlement of the tribe that inhabited the region in the Old Iron Age till the arrival of the Romans. The environment was wonderful – Struma river and its tributary Banshtitsa, the Hissarlak hill, part of the Osogovo Mountain, hot mineral springs and numerous ore deposits.

In 45 these parts fell within the southwest-ern boundaries of the Roman province of Thrace, and during the reign of Trajan (98-1 17) the urbanization of Pautalia started.

Ulpia Pautalia

The city was built at the foot of the Hissarlak hill. It was a major station on the route from Serdica (Sofia) to Stobi in Macedonia, with a side road to Thessalonica. There was a branch road to Sapareva Banya in the direction of Philippopolis. In the time of Marcus Aurelius (161-180) the ancient city was equipped with a stonewall and strong towers. In the 2nd – 4th centuries the enclosed area was about 30 hectares. Under the center of present-day Kyustendil lied the city agora (square). Several sectors of the street network have been explored. Some streets reach a width of 12-13 meters (including the sidewalks). Water was brought from several springs but the biggest was near the Hissarlak and the Osogovo Mountain to the south. A Greek inscription from 135 AD (the time of Emperor Antoninus Pius) tells us about the construction of a civil basilica. The basilica in Ulpia Oescus was built the same year istanbul tourism conference. Another inscription tells us that here there was a gymnasion for training youths. They also practiced sports indoors, as we learn from an epigraphic monument mentioning the name of the instructor

Among the most important investigated buildings in Pautalia are the Roman thermae, located in the southeastern part of the city. The building layout is rectangular and its floor- age is over 3000 sq. m. Probably it is part of a larger complex comprising the asclepion at the medicinal spring, the gymnsion and the sports school. The uncovered parts of an apodyterium, tepidarium and caldarium have a hypocaust system with columns and arcade, as well as radiant wall heating. The ceilings and floors of the rooms are covered with marble slates and have a rich architectural decoration of cornices and pilasters. To the north, the ruins of a sec-ond small bath, which also used mineral water, were investigated. South of one of the east-west streets (decumanus I) were situated shops with an inner court which served as a marketplace. Similar shops were also found in a north-south street (cardo 1). Next to the eastern fortress wall was uncovered a horreum, public storehouse for grain.

Newly founded province of Mediterranean Dacia

From the end of the 3rd century Pautalia was part of the newly founded province of Mediterranean Dacia with capital Serdica. With the establishment of Christianity, many basilicas were built here. Near the northern wall and not faraway west of the city square an architectural complex has been investigated, which comprises two public buildings and two early Christian basilicas. The second basilica is of special interest. It is a three-nave, one-apse basilica with a narthex and a transept. The polychromatic floor mosaic features geometric and plant ornaments of circles, squares, rhombs and octagons with depictions of birds, ducks, baskets of flowers, a running dog, fish, a pear-tree. The stylistic features of the mosaic and the basilica layout date it to the first years of the fifth century.

Pautalia was organized on the model of the Asia Minor urban centers. The government was concentrated in the hands of the city council (boule) and the archons, while the people’s assembly (demos) had an advisory nature. The official Roman state and imperial cult was served by a special college of priests, headed by a prelate.

Another college of priests took care of the cult of the deities in the Greco-Roman pantheon. The sacral area was concentrated at the foot of the Hissarlak hill. Among the trees rose temples and sanctuaries depicted on the Pautalian coins. The chief temple of Pautalia with a statue of Asclepius, the medicinal spring – personification of the river Strimon. Here there were appointed agoranomi, market supervisors.

MESAMBRIA PONTICA

They should be fair and condescending and by no means super-cilious or using force. The justice in the empo- rion was entrusted to them. Finally, it is men-tioned that the mayors alone should pick out good peasant families and settle them here. In exchange, the peasants shall be exempted from certain duties, such as payment in kind of contributions to Augusta Traiana, maintenance of the road mail in the district, and serving guard at the road fortifications (burgi).

Through Augusta Traiana passed the major provincial road Philippopolis – Cabyle (near Yambol) – Aquae Calidae (the Burgas baths) and Anchialos (Pomorie). A road across the Balkan Range connected the city with Nicopolis ad Istrum, and at Cabyle there was a branch road to Hadrianopolis (Edirne).

Beroe bishop becomes Patriarch of the Eastern Empire With the establishment of Christianity, Beroe – Augusta Traiana became a principal religious center in Thrace. A local bishop took part in the Serdica Council and stood against the Philippopolis conspirators. In 355 the Roman Pope Liberius was temporarily exiled to Beroe. Several years later, Bishop Demophil climbed to the highest rank in the capital city of Constantinople – he became Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In the late 4th century in this Christian city there is evidence of the existence of a nunnery. In the space of the large thermae at the western gate was put up a small church. East of the city walls a martyrium was explored, which had later grown into a tomb church istanbul tourism conference. In one of the tombs, with dark-red murals, an Ancient Greek inscription contains a psalm from the Old Testament: “Let this be my eternal place of rest. Here I want to live, as I desired. Lord, have mercy on us. God is with us.”

Nessebar

The Thracian ruler Melsa Nicholas of Damascus and Stephan of Byzantine mention that long before them Strabo was the first to write about the city of Mesambria on the Pontic (Black) Sea. The name was derived from two words – Melsa, the name of the Thracian ruler of these lands, and “bria” which in the local language meant “city”. Perhaps initially the settlement was called Melsambria (the City of Melsa), and later the Greeks altered it to Mesambria. The Thracian city was built on the present-day Nessebar peninsula and occupied an area of 40 hectares. In the course of time, more than 10 ha have been engulfed by the sea. Remnants from this ancient settlement are located in the northern and northwestern part of the peninsula.

The Hellenic colony here was founded around 510 BC. The first settlers were Dorians, mainly from the cities of Megara, Chalcedon and Byzantion. They were in search of new lands because the Persian King Darius 1 marched with a huge army and conquered the Asia Minor city-colonies, then crossed the western coast of Ponta and headed for the Scythians’ lands to the north. Over the years, the city-colony marked ever greater economic prosperity. Since the middle of the 5th century BC silver and bronze coins were minted here. Later, when the city was under Roman control, it again minted its own coins in the period between the reign of the Emperors Hadrian (117-138) and Philip the Arab (244- 249).

Ancient Greek was the written language here, as shown by the numerous inscriptions with various contents that have been found. During the Hellenistic era the city was probably affected by the incursions of Philip If of Macedon. Later the Mesambrians were on the side of the polis Callatis (Mangalia) against Lisimah. The Dorian colony set up its market-places in the area – near Obzor and Bizone. Mesambria served as a mediation zone between the Hellenic world and the Thracians in the interior. The city sided with Mithridat VI against Rome. In 72-71 BC, however, the legions of Marcus LucuIIus conquered the Greek poleis on the western Black Sea coast. Before long Mesambria was within the bounds of the Roman province of Macedonia (tem-porarily), then of Moesia, and since the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211) – within Thrace.

Today the Nessebar peninsula is an open city-museum, which immerses us in the time when it was inhabited by Thracians and Greeks, Romans and Byzantines, Bulgarians and Turks. In the middle of the 4th century BC the Mesambrians erected a strong stonewall, which surrounded the entire peninsula. The only gate was on the west, where the peninsula was linked to the mainland. The fortification system was frequently repaired and reconstructed by Greeks, Romans and Byzantines. In the central area, on the highest terrace was the city square (agora). Here stood the temples of the chief Greek god Zeus and the chief deity – patron of the city – Apollo.

How the river Rhombos became Hebros

Love and hate, or how the river Rhombos became Hebros

Once, long ago, today’s Maritsa river was called Rhombos. It was wide, navigable and at places it swirled in steep rapids. Cassander, the ruler of the land, had a wife who gave birth to a son Hebros. But pretty soon the ruler’s love for his wife faded and he brought to the palace the young and cunning Damasipe. To his misfortune, she fell in love with the handsome youth Hebros at first sight. Hebros, however, put her off and retreated into the mountain hunting. Then Damasipe complained to Cassander that his son tried to rape her. The jealous king rushed with his suite to punish him cruelly. The youth ran but when he reached Rhombos he saw his way was cut from all sides. So, he jumped into the turbulent river, which was henceforth called after him.

Present-day Plovdiv is the center of the Thracian valley, and the Maritsa-Hebros flows across it. In times gone by, the river provided good irrigation to the land and plenty of fish for the people. The climate here was always mild, and the soil fertile and rich for the farmers. People procured pure drinking water from the nearby Rhodope Mountains, as well as stone, timber, ore and game. It is no chance that man found sustenance in these lands since hoary antiquity (the Neolithic, the Bronze and Iron Ages). Once there were seven hills here, as in the Eternal City, three of them being rocky and taller than the others (Nebettepe, Djambaztepe and Taximtepe).

The city with many names

The ancient Thracian settlement (on Nebettepe) is believed to have been called Eumolpia. Plinius Senior describes a Thracian settlement near the Rhodopes and refers to it as Poneropolis. In 341 BC, Philip II of Macedon came here and expanded the place, turning it into a municipal center. A garrison was temporarily stationed here. The ruler called the city by his own name, Philippopolis – the City of Philip. Among the local population this sounded like Pulpudeva and they called it so. A strong wall encircled the top of the hill. Shortly before Thrace became a Roman province, on the hill stood the residence of the Thracian dynast Roimetalkas II, a faithful friend

of Rome. He even helped to suppress the unrests in the mountainous regions in 21 and 26, and the Romans were very grateful to him. Under Claudius (41-54) the Roman administration called the city Trimontium – The Three Hills. This new name, however, did not gain wide circulation. The city was generally known as Philippopolis and preserved this name until the Middle Ages.

About coins and gods

The numismatic material found in the city and its environs gives us valuable information about life in this land. The region of present- day Plovdiv was indirectly involved in the Peloponnese War between Athens and Sparta in the distant 5th century BC (431-404). From here originate electronic staters from the city of Kyzikos in Asia Minor What happened then? During the military operations, Athens was not able to buy grain from Euboea and Sicily. Therefore, it turned north to Thrace. The coins discovered here are evidence that grain was purchased from the region of Plovdiv and transported down the navigable Maritsa river to the Athenians.

The tetradrachmas of Thasos and Athens indicate live communications between this region and other centers on the Balkans. In the time of the Roman presence, the city of Philippopolis-Trimontium was given the right to mint its own coins mihrimah mosque, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (81-96). From their effigies we judge about the socio-economic life here, of the urban development and religion. Due respect was given to the river Hebros, personified as a young seminude bearded god, recumbent on an amphora, from which water is pouring out. In one hand he holds attributes of fertility – an ear of wheat, a plant sprig, a flower. Other coins depict boats and river ships, indicative of the intensive trade along the river and in the valley. From Plovdiv comes a very curious bronze coin. It represents three girls. One is reaping, the middle one is cradling sand from the river for gold, the third one is digging out ore from a pit, doubtlessly in the Rhodopes. The mountain is also depicted on a coin with Orpheus, sitting on a rock playing his lyre.

It represents the time when the magic singer had lost his beloved Eurydice and withdrawn to the mountains. From the coins we learn about the government and status of the largest city in Thrace. Philippopolis received two important honorary distinctions. It was a metropolis, i.e. chief city. The administrative capital of Roman Thrace was Perinthos on the Sea of Marmora, but undoubtedly the city on the river Hebros was the most prosperous and imposing. Philippopolis was also granted the right to be neocoria – protector of the imperial cult. A special college of priests was elected to perform the duties to the supreme ruler of the Empire in a newly built or existing stately temple. The city had a demos (people’s assembly) and a bule (municipal council). Another type of coins represent hilltop statues of Apollo, Heracles and Hermes.