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Plovdiv - History

Plovdiv - History: Encyclopedia II - Plovdiv - History

Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities of Europe, being older than Rome, Athens and Constantinople. The first traces of civilization at the place date from the Mycenaean period. Known at the time as a Thracian fortified settlement named Eumolpia, in 342 BCE it was conquered by Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, who renamed it Philippopolis. It was later independent under the Greeks, until it was incorporated into the Roman Empire, under which it was called Trimontium (City of Three Hills) and served ...

Plovdiv: Encyclopedia II - Plovdiv - History

Plovdiv - History

Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities of Europe, being older than Rome, Athens and Constantinople. The first traces of civilization at the place date from the Mycenaean period.

Known at the time as a Thracian fortified settlement named Eumolpia, in 342 BCE it was conquered by Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, who renamed it Philippopolis. It was later independent under the Greeks, until it was incorporated into the Roman Empire, under which it was called Trimontium (City of Three Hills) and served as capital of the province of Thrace. Thrimontium was an important crossroad for the Roman Empire. "Via Militaris", the biggest military path in the Balkan Peninsula, passed through. It was one of the most glorious moments in the history of the city. It spread beyond the three hills, and numerous public buildings, shrines,public bathrooms,theatres. Many ruins from Roman times can still be seen in the city.

Although Slavs settled in the area around the middle of the 6th century, it became part of the Bulgarian state for the first time in 815. In the following centuries, control of the settlement changed from Bulgarian to Byzantine numerous times, before it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1364. The name Plovdiv first appears in the 15th century and is derived from one of the city's ancient names, Pulpudeva, known to the Slavs first as Puldin (Пълдин).

Under Ottoman rule, Plovdiv was a center of the Bulgarian national movement in Eastern Rumelia. While the city was liberated from the Ottomans during the Battle of Plovdiv in 1878, it was not originally part of the newly established Principality of Bulgaria. Instead it was the capital of the semi-independent Region of Eastern Rumelia, until that area finally joined Bulgaria in 1885 after the Unification of Bulgaria.

Under communist rule since the end of World War II, Plovdiv was the center of that country's democracy movement, which finally overthrew the pro-Soviet regime in 1989.

Plovdiv hosted specialized exhibitions of the World's Fair three times (1981, 1985, and 1991).