CALLATIS

           Callatis (now Mangalia in Romania) is the oldest town in Romania and the most southern on the Black Sea coast. It was originally settled 2,500 years ago by Greek mariners who called it Callatis (in Greek Callatis means the beautiful), situated on a fertile land close to the sea and to a sweet water lake, which is now called the Mangalia Lake. The economic, social and political development of the Citadel of Callatis occurred during the 4th century B.C. as shown by written sources and archaeological discoveries. In the first half of the 1st century A.D. the Greek towns were conquered by the Romans. Later the Pontic citadels endured the attacks of migratory tribes. Callatis had its fortifications entirely rebuilt after one of these invasions. Under the reign of Diocletian and Constantine the Great and under Anastasius and Justinian the peace brought positive changes in the Dobrogea region, allowing Callatis to become an important town again. But eventually after the Slav Avar attacks and the downfall of the Danube frontier, the town faced abandonment.

 

DIONYSOPOLIS

           According to Herodotus the town of Crunoy (now Balchik, in Bulgaria) was established in the 6th century B.C. during the reign of king Astiag, an ancient ruler of present day Asia Minor. As the legends in the old chronicles tell, the native population together with the merchant seafarers from the Ionian Hellenic town of Millet organized the life in the new town named Cruny. If we trust this extract from an ancient chronicle ("... during a violent storm the sea cast ashore a statue of Dionysos..."), it becomes evident that the change in the name of the town (3rd century B.C.) was an act of paying honor to the God Dionysos.
           In 72 B.C. the town fell for a short time under Roman rule, but soon after that it was conquered by the Ghets. At the beginning of the 1st century A.D. the town fell again under Roman rule. After the reforms of Emperor Diocletian, Dionysopolis fell in the region of the smallest Roman province of Small Skitia, in the life of which it played an important role. At the beginning of the 7th century the town was destroyed.

ISTRUS

           Histria (from the name of the river Danube in Greek, Istros) was prosperous and developed for 8 centuries. The settlement had a strong defence wall, collected water by aqueducts 20 km long, had its streets covered with stone, and had sport institutions (gymnasion) and cultural ones (museion) with strong activities.
           Between the 1st and 3rd centuries A.C. the Romans took over the region (today Dobrogea). In this period, temples of the Roman gods were built, as well as public baths and beautiful houses for the wealthy citizens.
          The Halmyris bay, where the city was, began to be blocked by sand and slowly the access to the Black Sea was cut off. Even so the sea trade continued until the 6th century. The invasion of the Avars destroyed the fortress almost entirely, and the people were forced to go to safer places. The name and the city disappeared.

 

MARCIANOPOLIS

           Marcianopolis (now Devnya, in Bulgaria) was founded on earlier Thracian ruins by Trajan (98-117 A.D.), who named it after his sister, Marciana, and was previously known as Parthenopolis. Emperor Claudius II repeatedly repulsed the Goths near this town. Valens made it his winter quarters in 368 and succeeding years. In 587 it was sacked by the king of the Avars, and right after retaken by the Romans. The Roman army quartered there in 596 before crossing the Danube to assault the Avars. Marcianopolis was the home of many saints or martyrs, e.g. St. Meletina, whose feast is kept on 15 Sept., and whose remains were carried to Lemnos; St. Alexander, martyred under Maximianus, and whose feast is kept on 2 Febr. Saints Maximus, Theodotus, Asclepiodotus, martyred at Adrianople under Maximianus, and whose feast is kept on 15 Sept., were born in Marcianopolis.

 

NICOPOLIS AD ISTRUM

           Nicopolis ad Istrum (now Nikyup in Bulgaria) is a Roman town established by Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.), after the victory over the Dacis tribe. It was settled by Thracs and migrants from Asia Minor (Bitynia, Nikaea, Pontos), who were concerned with trading and crafts. The official language was Greek.
           Nicopolis ad Istrum enjoyed its vigorous growth under the reign of the emperors Constantine the Great and Justinian I. Archaeological excavations uncovered the fortified walls, main streets, many public buildings and dwellings of common people, thermae, the agora etc.

 

ODESSUS

             According to an early written record Odessus (now Varna in Bulgaria) was established by migrants from the Asia Minor town of Miletos at the time when Mydia was reigned by czar Astiag, the second quarter of the 6th century B.C. Archaeological excavations confirm the record. This is the period of the Great Greek Colonization.
             The name of the town (Odessus – a settlement on water, "Watery") is not Greek but of an earlier linguistic origin which suggests the presence of an older village on the same site. The development of the town was typical for the classical polis, an independently governed town-state. In almost no time Odessus became one of the most important port and trade centers at the Black Sea. The Thracian tribes of Krobizi populated the vicinity of the town. The imported ceramic vessels found on the territory of the ancient town suggest the most important trade relations. During the first decades they were mainly with the mother country, the town of Milet and the nearby territories on the western coast of Asia Minor, but from the early 5th century B.C. priority was taken by the trade import from Athens.
           In 29-28 B.C. Odessus was conquered by the Romans. At the beginning of the 7th century it was conquered by the Slavs. It was then that the town was renamed to Varna.

TOMIS

           Originally settled by Greek merchants from Miletos in the 6th century B.C. under the name Tomis (now Constanta in Romania), it was later developed by the Romans. The poet Ovid was exiled there by Emperor Octavian Augustus in A.D. 8 until his death in A.D. 17. Ancient Tomis has been associated with the legend of Jason and the Argonauts who embarked on a long voyage from Greece to the Asian country of Colchis on the Black Sea Coast in search of the Golden Fleece. On their way back, they laid anchor where the town of Tomis was to be later built. Under the Roman rule, Tomis became a prosperous city, graced with statues, temples and monumental architecture. With Constantinople as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Tomis was rebuilt by Constantine the Great, who changed its name to Constantiana (from which the present name of the city comes), in honour of his sister.