Europa was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

province within the

Diocese of Thrace The Diocese of Thrace ( la, Dioecesis Thraciae, el, Διοίκησις Θρᾴκης) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the eastern Balkan Peninsula (comprising territories in modern south-eastern Romania, c ...

History

Established by Roman 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 ...

(284–305), the province largely corresponds to what is modern day

European Turkey East Thrace or Eastern Thrace ( tr, Doğu Trakya or simply ''Trakya''; el, Ανατολική Θράκη, ''Anatoliki Thraki''; bg, Източна Тракия, ''Iztochna Trakiya''), also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the pa ...

. The province's capital was initially Arcadiopolis and subsequently Perinthus (later known as Heraclea; modern

Marmara Ereğlisi Marmara Ereğlisi (also spelled Marmaraereğlisi) () is a town, located in a district bearing the same name, in Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The mayor, , is Hikmet Ata ( DSP). Facts Ereğli is 30 km east of the to ...

). Bordering only the provinces of Rhodope and Haemimontus to the west and northwest, Europa was a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

and was surrounded by water on three sides: the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

to the northeast, the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

to the east, and the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...

and

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

to the south and southeast. The largest city along the Black Sea was

Salmydessus Salmydessus or Salmydessos ( grc, Σαλμυδησσός), also Halmydessus or Halmydessos (Ἁλμυδισσός), was a coast-town of ancient Thrace, on the Euxine, about northwest of the entrance of the Bosporus. The eastern offshoots of the Ha ...

. Along the coast of the Sea of Marmara were the cities of Perinthus (the capital; later known as Heraclea), Selymbria, Raidestus, and Callipolis. On the coast of the Aegean and at the mouth of the Hebrus river in the Melas Gulf was the city of Aenus (Thrace).

References

Sources

* {{coord, 41.2500, N, 27.8667, E, source:wikidata, display=title Late Roman provinces Provinces of the Byzantine Empire Praetorian prefecture of the East 314 establishments States and territories established in the 310s 640s disestablishments States and territories disestablished in the 7th century