Hayrabolu, formerly Charioupolis ( el, Χαριούπολις), is a town and district of
Tekirdağ Province
Tekirdağ Province ( tr, Tekirdağ ili , ) is a province of Turkey. It is located in the East Thrace region of the country, also known as European Turkey, one of only three provinces entirely within continental Europe. Tekirdağ Province is border ...
in the
Marmara region of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. As of 2013 the mayor is Hasan İrtem of the (
Democrat Party).
History
Byzantine period
Nothing is known about this city during antiquity.
Chariopolis is first mentioned with the presence of Theophylact,
Bishop of Chariopolis Chariopolis or Charioupolis ( gr, Χαριούπολις), modern Hayrabolu in European Turkey, was a residential bishopric of the Patriarchate of Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire (8th–14th centuries). Only a few of its bishops are know ...
(ἐπίσκοπος Χαριουπόλεως), at the
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, and ...
in 787, and of Bishop Kosmas at the
Fourth Council of Constantinople in 879.
Nevertheless, it first appears in the ''
Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church.
In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...
'' of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
only in the early 10th century, as a
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
the
metropolitan see
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a t ...
of
Heraclea. Byzantine emperor and founder of the
Macedonian dynasty
The Macedonian dynasty (Greek: Μακεδονική Δυναστεία) ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Muslim conquests, ...
,
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...
, was born to a peasant family in Chariopolis, possibly in 811.
In the 11th century, a bishop Michael is known through his seal; from the decoration it appears that he may have previously been a member of the clergy of the
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. The town is mentioned in the later 11th century as the site of military operations against invading nomadic tribes: the general
Nikephoros Bryennios campaigned against the
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
in 1051; in 1087 the town itself was sacked by a host of Pechenegs,
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
, and
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
; and in 1090 the Pechenegs defeated a Byzantine force in its vicinity.
On 15/16 April 1205
Geoffrey of Villehardouin
Geoffrey of Villehardouin (c. 1150 – c. 1213) was a French knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade. He is considered one of the most important historians of the time period,Smalley, p. 131 best known for wr ...
spent the night there, after the disastrous
Battle of Adrianople
The Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378), sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic Ala ...
.
[ In the aftermath of the battle, Chariopolis and other nearby towns were conquered by the ]Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...
under Tsar Kaloyan
Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ioannitsa or Johannitsa ( bg, Калоян, Йоаница; 1170 – October 1207), was emperor or tsar of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Peter II of Bulgari ...
; a large part of the population was forcibly deported and resettled along the Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
.
In 1305 or 1306, an unnamed bishop of Chariopolis attended a synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
called by Patriarch Athanasius I of Constantinople
Athanasius I (1230 – 28 October 1310) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two terms, from 1289 to 1293 and 1303 to 1309. He was born in Adrianople and died in Constantinople. Chosen by the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus
, ...
to condemn John Drimys John Drimys ( gr, Ἰωάννης Δριμὺς) was a Byzantine priest who led a failed conspiracy against Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos in 1305.
He came from the "west" (most likely Epirus or Thessaly) to Constantinople. Claiming that he was ...
. A priest named Garianos settled in the town shortly after, fleeing from the Bogomils
Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar P ...
in northern Thrace. In 1316 he was himself accused of Bogomilism, but was acquitted by a synod under Patriarch John XIII of Constantinople
John XIII, (? – after 1320) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople ( Istanbul ...
. In 1322, Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos
, image = Andronikos_III_Palaiologos.jpg
, caption = 14th-century miniature. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek.
, succession = Byzantine emperor
, reign = 24 May 1328 – 15 June 1341
, coronation = ...
led his army to the town, where he dismissed up to a thousand of his men. In 1344, Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under An ...
briefly took up residence in the town. In 1347, the subordination of the bishopric of Chariopolis to Heraclea was formally renewed by imperial ''prostagma A ''prostagma'' ( el, πρόσταγμα) or ''prostaxis'' (πρόσταξις), both meaning "order, command", were documents issued by the Byzantine imperial chancery bearing an imperial decision or command, usually on administrative matters.
''P ...
''. In December 1349, Kantakouzenos awarded a ''metochion
A ''metochion'' or ''metochi'' ( gr, μετόχιον, metóchion or gr, μετόχι, metóchi; russian: подворье, podvorie) is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is usually from one autocephalous or ...
'' in the town to the Vatopedi Monastery
The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi ( el, Βατοπέδι, ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18th an ...
on Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
. In 1351, the local bishop, whose name is not recorded, participated in a synod against Barlaam of Calabria under Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople
Kallistos I ( grc-x-medieval, Κάλλιστος Α'; ? – August 1363) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two periods from June 1350 to 1353 and from 1354 to 1363. Kallistos I was an Athonite monk and supporter of Gregory Pala ...
.
Ottoman period
In the later 1350s, the Ottoman expansion into Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
began, under the prince Süleyman Pasha. After Kantakouzenos' abdication in 1354, Süleyman conquered many cities "up to Chariopolis", establishing the first Ottoman province on European soil. If Chariopolis was not conquered in this first wave, then it definitely fell to Süleyman between 1359 and 1362. As a result of the Ottoman conquest, by the end of the 14th century, the bishopric became a titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
, and vanishes completely in the 15th century. The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
still lists Chariopolis as a titular see,[''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 859] with eight incumbents between 1713 and 1970.
The traveller Evliya Çelebi
Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...
visited the town in the mid-17th century, describing it as prosperous, a "little Edirne
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
", with much water and beautiful gardens. According to Evliya it was a favoured residence of Ottoman aristocrats. He also reports that the town was a centre of extensive animal husbandry, with large flocks, including camels.
A Greek community, 3,476 strong in 1922, survived in the town until the Greco-Turkish population exchange
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...
.
Modern period
Today Hayrabolu is a small market town serving the countryside around it.
Monuments
No Byzantine-era structures survive, but in the early 20th century a local church, dedicated to St. Basil, may have been built on the site of a Byzantine predecessor, and a Byzantine capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
was incorporated into the Local Pasha Mosque. At the entrance to the settlement is a 16th-century Ottoman bridge.
References
Sources
*
External links
District municipality's official website
{{Districts of Turkey, provname=Tekirdağ, image=Tekirdag
Towns in Turkey
Populated places in Tekirdağ Province
Populated places of the Byzantine Empire
Districts of Tekirdağ Province
Pomak communities in Turkey