Enez
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Enez is a town and a district of
Edirne Province Edirne Province ( tr, ) is a Turkish province located in East Thrace. Part of European Turkey, it is one of only three provinces located entirely within continental Europe. Edirne Province is bordered by Tekirdağ Province and Kırklareli Pro ...
, in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. The ancient name of the town was Ainos ( el, Αίνος), Latinised as Aenus. The mayor is Özkan Günenç ( CHP). The population is 10,886 as of 2018. Enez consists of an old town centre, backing on to the Meriç/Evros river forming the border with neighbouring
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
; the harbour and Pırlanta Beach, 3 km southwest across the lagoon; and Altınkum Sahili (Golden Sands Beach), another 2 km south, which has been developed as a resort strip mainly catering for domestic tourists. Despite Enez's proximity to the Greek border there is no crossing point by land here. To cross the border into Greece it is necessary to travel north to
İpsala İpsala (, ) is a town and district of Edirne Province in northwestern Turkey. It is the location of one of the main border checkpoints between Greece and Turkey. (The Greek town opposite İpsala is Kipoi.) The population is 8,332 (the city) an ...
.


Location

The town is located on the left (eastern) bank of the river Meriç (
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Evros, historically the Hebrus) where its
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
broadens to flow into the
Gulf of Saros Saros Bay or Gulf of Saros ( tr, Saros Körfezi; el, κόλπος του Σάρρου) is a gulf in the Dardanelles, Turkey. Ancient Greeks called it the Gulf of Melas (), before it was renamed. The bay is long and wide. Far from industrial ...
(the ancient Melas Gulf) and so into the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
. Enez occupies a ridge of rock surrounded by broad marshes. In ancient Greek times it lay on a land route for trade from 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, Roma ...
to the Aegean and was a port for transporting the corn, wood and fruit produced in eastern and central Thrace. Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow (editors), ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary 2012''
, "Aenus"


History


Antiquity

The mythical and eponymous founder of the ancient Greek city of Ainos/Aenus was said to be Aeneus, a son of the god
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and father of
Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...
. Another mythical ruler, named
Poltys :'' Poltys'' is also a genus of spiders In Greek mythology, Poltys (Ancient Greek: Πόλτυς) is a mythical king and eponym of the Thracian city of Poltyobria (or ''Poltymbria''; also called Aenus), featured in Apollodorus's account of the st ...
, son of
Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
, entertained
Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
when he came to Aenus. On that occasion, Heracles slew Poltys' insolent brother
Sarpedon Sarpedon (; grc, Σαρπηδών) is the name of several figures in Greek mythology * Sarpedon, a son of Zeus, who fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War. Although in the ''Iliad'', he was the son of Zeus and Laodamia, the daughter of Bel ...
on the beach of Aenus. According to Strabo, Sarpedon is the name of the coastline near Aenus, so both Poltys and Sarpedon would appear to be eponyms. The
Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...
suggests that the first settlers were Greeks from the
Alopeconnesus Alopeconnesus or Alopekonnesos ( grc, Ἀλωπεκόννησος, "fox island") was an ancient Greek city located on the western coast of ancient Thrace, located in the region of the Thracian Chersonesus. It was an Aeolian colony, and was belie ...
and later more settlers came from
Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...
and Kyme which agrees with what
Harpocration __NOTOC__ Valerius Harpocration ( grc-gre, Οὐαλέριος or , ''gen''. Ἁρποκρατίωνος) was a Greek grammarian of Alexandria, probably working in the 2nd century AD. He is possibly the Harpocration mentioned by Julius Capitolinus ...
had written. Presumably because of the similarity of the names,
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
had
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
founding the city after the destruction of
Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
. A surer sign of its antiquity comes from the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'', where
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
mentions that
Peirous In Greek mythology, Peirous or Peiroos (Ancient Greek: Πείροος) was a Thracian war leader from the city of Aenus and an ally of King Priam during the Trojan War. Peirous was the son of Imbrasus and father of Rhygmus (who fought at Troy al ...
, who led Troy's
Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
allies, came from Aenus.
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
(7.58) and
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
Thucydides, ''Peloponnesian War'', 7.57 say Aenus was an Aeolian colony.
Pseudo-Scymnus Pseudo-Scymnus is the name given by Augustus Meineke to the unknown author of a work on geography written in Classical Greek, the ''Periodos to Nicomedes''. It is an account of the world ('' periegesis'') in 'comic' iambic trimeters which is dedi ...
and
Scymnus Chius Scymnus of Chios ( grc-gre, Σκύμνος ὁ Xῖος; fl. c. 185 BC) was a Greek geographer. It was thought he was the author of the ''Periodos to Nicomedes'', a work on geography written in Classical Greek. It is an account of the world ( ...
(696) say that the colonists came from
Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...
on
Lesbos Island Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...
, while Stephanus Byzantius says they came (also?) from
Cumae Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...
.William Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' (1854), "Aenus"
/ref> According to Strabo (p. 319), a more ancient name for the place was Poltyobria while Stephanus says it was also called Apsinthus. As a subject ally of Athens, Aenus provided
peltast A ''peltast'' ( grc-gre, πελταστής ) was a type of light infantryman, originating in Thrace and Paeonia, and named after the kind of shield he carried. Thucydides mentions the Thracian peltasts, while Xenophon in the Anabasis distin ...
s at the
Battle of Sphacteria The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of ...
in 425 BC and sent forces to the
Sicilian Expedition The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devas ...
in 415. During the Hellenistic period Ainos changed hands multiple times. After a spell of Macedonian rule, the city passed to
Lysimachos Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus was ...
of Thrace after the death of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
, and was subsequently taken by the
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 ...
after his defeat and death at the
Battle of Corupedium The Battle of Corupedium, also called Koroupedion, Corupedion or Curupedion ( grc, Κύρου πεδίον or Κόρου πεδίον, "the plain of Kyros or Koros") was the last battle between the Diadochi, the rival successors to Alexander the Gr ...
in 281 BC. It then became a possession of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, when it was captured as a result of the
Third Syrian War The Syrian Wars were a series of six wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, successor states to Alexander the Great's empire, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC over the region then called Coele-Syria, one of th ...
around 246 BC, it was subsequently captured by
Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...
in 200 BC, and later by
Antiochus the Great Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...
, who lost it to the Romans in 185 BC, whereupon the Romans declared Aenus a free city. It was still a free city in the time of
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
.


Byzantine period

The city is mentioned first among the cities of the province of
Rhodope Rhodope may refer to: * Rhodope (mythology), a figure of Greek mythology * Rhodope Mountains, in Bulgaria and Greece * Rhodope (regional unit) Rhodope ( el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodópi'' ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the reg ...
in the 6th-century '' Synecdemus'' of Hierocles. Under
Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(r. 527–565), the city wall was heightened and the previously unprotected shore fortified. In the middle Byzantine period, the city was part of the
Theme of Thrace The Theme of Thrace ( el, ) was a province (''thema'' or theme) of the Byzantine Empire located in the south-eastern Balkans, comprising varying parts of the eponymous geographic region during its history. History Traditionally, it has been ...
. In 1091, in the nearby hamlet of Lebounion, Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
(r. 1081–1118) and his
Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...
allies dealt a crushing defeat on 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 1189, the town was plundered by soldiers of the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
under Duke Frederick of Swabia, with the inhabitants fleeing by ship. In the ''
Partitio Romaniae The ''Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae'' (Latin for "Partition of the lands of the empire of ''Romania'' .e., the Byzantine Empire, or ''Partitio regni Graeci'' ("Partition of the kingdom of the Greeks"), was a treaty signed among the crusader ...
'' of 1204, the city is attested as a distinct district ('' catepanikium de Eno''). Under
Latin rule {{Knights Templar The Latin Rule was a document with 72 clauses attributed to Bernard de Clairvaux and Hugues de Payens. It is also known as the "Specific Behavior for the Templar Order". It outlines the ideal behavior of a knight. The rule borrow ...
, it was the seat of a Catholic bishop (a suffragan of Trajanopolis), while in a document of 1219 the Crusader barons Balduin de Aino and Goffred de Mairi are mentioned as lords of the city. In 1237 a Cuman raid reached the city, and in 1294 it was besieged 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
Constantine Tikh Konstantin Tih ( bg, Константин Тих Асен) or Constantine I Tikh (Константин I), was the tsar of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277, he was offered the throne from Mitso Asen of Bulgaria, Mitso Asen. He led the Second Bulgarian E ...
and his
Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
allies until the Byzantines released Sultan Kaykawus II. In June 1265 Emperor
Michael VIII Palaiologos Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...
granted the Venetians the right to settle and trade in the city. In 1347, John Palaiologos, Marquess of Montferrat, planned to take over the city. In 1351,
John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...
demanded possession of Ainos from the senior emperor John VI Kantakouzeno. In the ensuing
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Palaiologos signed a treaty with Venice here on 10 October 1352, securing financial assistance in exchange for ceding the island of
Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of it is the third l ...
as collateral. After Palaiologos' Serbian and Bulgarian allies were defeated by Kantakouzenos' Ottoman allies, Ainos was captured by Kantakouzenos loyalists and was placed under the rule of the exiled ruler of Epirus,
Nikephoros II Orsini Nikephoros II Orsini - Doukas (Greek: Νικηφόρος Β΄ Δούκας, ''Nikēphoros II Doukas''), was the ruler of Epirus from 1335 to 1338 and from 1356 until his death in 1359. Life Nikephoros was the son of John Orsini of Epirus and ...
. Following the death of the Serbian emperor Stephen Dushan and his governor of
Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
,
Preljub Preljub ( sr-Cyrl, Прељуб; c. 1312–1356) was a Serbian magnate who served Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55) as '' vojvoda'' (general). He participated in the southern conquests and held Thessaly with the rank of ''caesar'' (''kesar'') i ...
, in 1355, however, Nikephoros abandoned the city and sailed to Thessaly to claim his ancestral inheritance. His admiral Limpidarios took over control of the city in his absence, despite the opposition of Nikephoros' wife Maria Kantakouzene (daughter of John VI). Maria locked herself in the city's citadel and continued to resist for a while, before agreeing to depart.


Ottoman period

With the gradual Ottoman conquest of
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 ...
in the 1360s and '70s, the city became a haven for the Greek population. From ca. 1384 on the city came under the rule of the Genoese
Gattilusio The House of Gattilusio was a powerful Genoese family who controlled a number of possessions in the northern Aegean from 1355 until the mid 15th century. Anthony Luttrell has pointed out that this family had developed close connections to the Byz ...
family, beginning with Niccolo Gattilusio. The Gattilusi maintained their possession by exploiting the city's wealth, chiefly derived from salt pans and fisheries, and sending an annual tribute to the Ottomans. In 1408/9 Niccolo Gattilusio was deposed by his son Palamede, who ruled until his death in 1454. His younger son, Dorino II, squabbled with Helena Notaras, the widow of Niccolo's elder son Giorgio Gattilusio, and ruled for only two years. Helena Notaras appealed to the Ottoman
Sultan Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
who attacked the city from land and sea and forced it to surrender in January 1456. In 1463 Ainos was given by Mehmed II to the deposed
Despot of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...
,
Demetrios Palaiologos Demetrios Palaiologos or Demetrius Palaeologus ( el, Δημήτριος Παλαιολόγος, Dēmētrios Palaiologos; 1407–1470) was Despot of the Morea together with his brother Thomas from 1449 until the fall of the despotate in 1460. Deme ...
, as an
appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
(along with parts of
Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate re ...
and
Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...
). He remained in possession of the town until 1467, when he fell into disgrace. The Venetians briefly captured the city in 1469.


Modern period

The town gave its name to the Enos-Midia line, which briefly marked the border of the Ottoman Empire in Europe in the disastrous aftermath of the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
. The border was shifted further northwest after the Turks made some limited gains in the
Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
, recapturing the city of
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, ...
. Enez had a large Greek population, and was affected from the 19th century onwards by ethnic conflicts and nationalistic aspirations. After the
Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
(1919-23), the Treaty of Lausanne drew the current borders of Turkey and required Greek communities to leave Turkey while Turkish communities left Greece and Bulgaria. Overnight Enez became a provincial backwater, a dead-end, up against an unfriendly border. It was a garrison town and military zone, off-limits to foreigners, right into the 21st century. Although foreigners are now allowed to visit, modern Enez makes a living largely from local tourism. Improved highways bring many weekenders from Istanbul. - the original town has a steady population while that of the beach strip soars in summer and drops to near zero in winter. Enez remains the westernmost Turkish town on the European continent (excluding
Imbros Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...
which is an island). The town of
Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It h ...
(Dedeağaç) lies just across the border with Greece but the two towns are separated by a swampland reserve and the Evros/Meriç River delta so that what should be a short journey actually takes about 1.5 hours. In the late 2010s and early 2020s the became especially sensitive since it separates Turkey from the European Union. The tense situation around the border has tended to limit development in the area which has been a boon for the delta wildlife.


Attractions

Enez was the site of a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
Church of Hagia Sophia built in the 12th century (although some sources suggest the sixth century) but converted into a mosque during the reign of
Sultan Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
. The mosque was repaired several times in the 18th century but was left in ruins after an earthquake in 1965. Work began on a new restoration in 2016 and the mosque reopened for worship in 2021. The mosque stands inside the remains of Enez Castle ( Turkish: ''Enez Kalesi'') which probably dates back to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and was probably built as a defence against raids from the Balkans. The Has Yunus Bey Türbesi is a historic mosque and graveyard 300 m south of the castle which started life as a Byzantine chapel. Has Yunus Bey was the commander who captured Enez for the Ottomans and who was buried here. The only historic monument in the resort area of Enez is the Sahil KervansarayI, the shell of an Ottoman caravanserai, which might have functioned as a customs office. It's believed to date back to the 16th century, when it probably stood on the coastline, now 500 m away. Local accounts suggest that it served a military function during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and it's therefore known as the İngiliz Kışlası ("English barracks").


Ecclesiastical history

The city was already an episcopal see in the 4th century under bishop Olympius who was driven from the see by the
Arians Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
in the reign of
Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germani ...
. At first it was 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 ...
of Trajanopolis, the capital and
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 the
Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of
Rhodope Rhodope may refer to: * Rhodope (mythology), a figure of Greek mythology * Rhodope Mountains, in Bulgaria and Greece * Rhodope (regional unit) Rhodope ( el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodópi'' ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the reg ...
, but by the time of the ''
Notitia 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 Pseudo-Epiphanius (c. 640), it was an
autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...
archbishopric and rose to become a separate metropolitan see (without suffragans) at the end of the 11th century. Macarius took part in the
Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bith ...
(451), Paul in the
Second Council of Constantinople The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and rec ...
(553), George in the
Trullan Council The Quinisext Council (Latin: ''Concilium Quinisextum''; Koine Greek: , ''Penthékti Sýnodos''), i.e. the Fifth-Sixth Council, often called the Council ''in Trullo'', Trullan Council, or the Penthekte Synod, was a church council held in 692 at ...
of 692, and John in the Photian
Council of Constantinople (879) The Fourth Council of Constantinople was held in 879–880. It confirmed the reinstatement of Photius I as patriarch of Constantinople. The result of this council is accepted by some Eastern Orthodox as having the authority of an ecumenical co ...
. Another John took part in the Council of 1030/38, and Michael in the councils of 1092 and 1094. Between 1285 and 1315, the see was awarded to the Metropolitan of
Antioch in Pisidia Antioch in Pisidia – alternatively Antiochia in Pisidia or Pisidian Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας) and in Roman Empire, Latin: ''Antiochia Caesareia'' or ''Antiochia Colonia Caesarea'' – was a city in th ...
. In 1361 the see was awarded to the Metropolitan of Makre, two years later to the Metropolitan of Sougdaia and in 1369 to the Bishop of
Athyra ''Athyra'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the sixth book in his Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. Originally published in 1993, by Ace Books, it was reprinted in 2003 along with ''Orca'' in the om ...
. It remained a residential see of the
Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...
until the 1923
population exchange between Greece and Turkey 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 ...
. No longer a residential bishopric, Aenus is now listed by 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 ...
as 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 archbis ...
.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 888


Notable people

*
Python of Aenus Python of Aenus (; el, Πύθων Αἴνιος; fl. 4th-century BCE) was a Greek philosopher and a former student of Plato. Around 360 BC, he and his brother Heraclides assassinated Cotys I, the ruler of Thrace. Based on Demosthenes Demos ...
, a Greek philosopher *
Heraclides of Aenus Heraclides of Aenus ( el, Ἡρακλείδης Αἴνιος) was one of Plato's students. Around 360 BC, he and his brother Python assassinated Cotys I, the ruler of Thrace.Aristotle, ''Politics'', v. 10, 1311b20-2; Plutarch Plutarch (; g ...
, a Greek philosopher


See also

* List of ancient Greek cities


References


Sources

*


External links


Official website of the District of EnezWebsite of the Municipality of EnezPetit, L. Typicon du monastère de la Kosmosotira près d'Aenos (1152. - Izvestija Russkogo arheologicheskogo instituta v Konstantinopole, T. XIII (1908), pp. 17-77
{{Authority control Aegean Sea port cities and towns in Turkey Populated places in Edirne Province Fishing communities in Turkey Districts of Edirne Province Catholic titular sees in Europe Greek colonies in the Thracian Chersonese