Europus (or Europos; grc, Εὐρωπός) was a town in Bottiaea (later named

Emathia Emathia ( gr, Ἠμαθία) was the name of the plain opposite the Thermaic Gulf when the kingdom of Macedon was formed. The name was used to define the area between the rivers Aliakmon and Loudias, which, because it was the center of the kingdom ...

ancient Macedonia Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

. It was located between

Idomenae Idomenae or Idomenai ( grc, Ἰδομεναί, possibly from Ἰδομενεύς - ''Idomeneues''), also known as Idomene (Ἰδομένη), or Eidomenae or Eidomenai, or Idomenia, was a town of ancient Macedonia. The ''Tabula Peutingeriana'' plac ...

and the plains of

Cyrrhus Cyrrhus (; el, Κύρρος ''Kyrrhos'') is a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Coricium, Corice, Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri ( ar, نبي هوري), and Khoros ...

and Pella, situated on the right bank of the Axius below Idomene, where modern

Evropos Evropos ( el, Ευρωπός), known before 1925 as Ashiklar ( el, Ασικλάρ) is a village and a former municipality in the former Paionia Province, Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the munici ...

lies. Not far above the entrance of the great maritime plain, the site of Europus has been recognised by that strength of position which enabled it to resist

Sitalces Sitalces (Sitalkes) (; Ancient Greek: Σιτάλκης, reigned 431–424 BC) was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state. The Suda called him Sitalcus (Σίταλκος). He was the son of Teres I, and on the sudden death o ...

and the

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...

. We have the concurring testimony of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

and Pliny that this town of Emathia was different from Europus of Almopia. Europos was the birthplace of

Seleucus I Nikator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

, and two cities in

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

were named Europos. There is also reported a Delphic ''

proxenos Proxeny or ( grc-gre, προξενία) in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called (; plural: o ...

'' Machatas from Europos in the late 4th century BCE. The site of Europos is near the modern

References

* '' The Classical Gazetteer'', 1851, p. 152 * ''An inventory of archaic and classical poleis'', 2004, p. 802 * ''Seleukos Nikator'' by John D. Grainger, 2013, p. 4 Bottiaea Cities in ancient Macedonia Populated places in ancient Macedonia Former populated places in Greece {{AncientMacedonia-geo-stub