Marcianopolis or Marcianople ( Greek: Μαρκιανούπολις), also known as Parthenopolis was an ancient Greek, then Roman capital city and archbishopric in

Moesia Inferior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

. It is located at the site of modern-day Devnya, Bulgaria. The ancient city has been partially excavated and is renowned for its museum collection of ancient mosaic floors from villas in the city.

History

Roman Emperor Trajan renamed the ancient city of ''Parthenopolis'' after the Second Dacian War, which ended in 106. The city was renamed after Trajan's sister, Ulpia Marciana. An important strategic centre, the city was part of Roman Thrace until 187–193, and then belonged to

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

inferior. Marcianopolis's prosperity under the Severan Dynasty was ended by a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

raid in 248–249 and subsequent barbarian invasions from the north. The Romans repulsed another Gothic attack to this town in 267 (or 268), during the reign of Gallienus. Under Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

Marcianopolis became the centre of the province

Moesia Secunda Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

of the Diocese of Thrace, and was rebuilt thoroughly in the late 3rd and early 4th century. It grew in importance at the expense of neighbouring Odessos (Varna) in the 4th century. The city was an important episcopal centre and a basilica from the period was excavated in the 20th century. During Emperor Valens' conflict with the Goths (366–369), Marcianopolis was a temporary capital of the empire and the largest city of Thrace according to a source from the period. In 447, it was destroyed by the Huns under

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

, immediately after the bloody battle of the Utus river. Emperor Justinian I restored and fortified it. In 587, it was sacked by the Avars but at once retaken by the Byzantines. The Byzantine army was quartered there in 596 before crossing the Danube to assault the Avars. Despite the regular barbarian attacks, Marcianopolis remained an important centre until an Avar raid finally destroyed it in 614–615, although it still continued to be mentioned on maps until much later. As the

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

settled in the Balkans in the 7th century, they called the ruins of the ancient city ''Devina''.

Sights

Remains of the Roman city include the amphitheatre, some streets and many exquisite mosaics of the House of Antiope, a Roman villa of the late 3rd or early 4th century AD which are exhibited in the Museum of Mosaics, some ''in situ''.

References

{{Coord, 43, 13, 30, N, 27, 35, 6, E, type:city_region:BG, display=title Roman towns and cities in Bulgaria Geography of Varna Province Former populated places in Bulgaria Moesia Inferior