Edirne is a city in the northwest of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria, and its history stretches back to ancient times. A Thracian settlement existed on the site, and in the second century the Roman emperor Hadrian rebuilt it and gave it the name Hadrianopolis, from which the modern name derives. The city lay at a crossroads of routes between Europe and Asia and was fought over by Romans, Goths, Byzantines and Bulgarians. In the fourteenth century it fell to the Ottomans, who made it their capital until the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The Selimiye Mosque, designed by the architect Sinan, is its best-known monument.
Before and after
- 2nd centuryRise of Montanism
- 26 April 121 CEBirth of Marcus Aurelius
- 122 CEConstruction of Hadrian's Wall
- 122 CEConstruction of Hadrian's Wall begins
- c. 125 CEOrigins of Edirne
- 2nd centuryConstruction of Pantheon
- September 129 CEBirth of Galen
- from 132 CE to 136 CEBar Kokhba revolt
- 132 CEZhang Heng builds the first seismoscope
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 31st century BCE to 14th century BCEConstruction of Stonehenge
- 13th century BCEAncient Celts
- 600 BCEFounding of Milan
- 80 CEThe Colosseum is inaugurated
- from 285 CE to 1453Byzantine Empire
- 25 March 421 CEFounding of Venice
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 2nd century.