Europa (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Ευρώπη) 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

province within the

Diocese of Thrace The Diocese of Thrace (, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the eastern Balkan Peninsula (comprising territories in modern south-eastern Romania, central and eastern Bulgaria, and Greek and Turkish Thrace) ...

History

Established by Roman Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

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

European Turkey East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

. The province's capital was initially Arcadiopolis and subsequently

Perinthus Perinthus or Perinthos () was a great and flourishing town of ancient Thrace, situated on the Propontis. According to John Tzetzes, it bore at an early period the name of Mygdonia (Μυγδονία). It lay west of Selymbria and west of Byzanti ...

(later known as Heraclea; modern

Marmara Ereğlisi Marmara Ereğlisi (; ), also spelled Marmaraereğlisi, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Tekirdağ Province, Turkey. Its area is 175 km2, and its population is 29,549 (2022). Facts Ereğli is 30 km east of the to ...

). Bordering only the provinces of

Rhodope Rhodope may refer to: * Rhodope (mythology), several figures of Greek mythology * Rhodope Mountains, in Bulgaria and Greece * Rhodope (regional unit), of Greece * Rhodope (province), a Roman and Byzantine province * 166 Rhodope, an asteroid * Rhodop ...

and

Haemimontus Haemimontus () was a late Roman and early Byzantine province, situated in northeastern Thrace. It was subordinate to the Diocese of Thrace and to the praetorian prefecture of the East. Its capital was Adrianople, and it was headed by a '' pra ...

to the west and northwest, Europa was a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

and was surrounded by water on three sides: the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

to the northeast, the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

to the east, and the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

and

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

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

Salmydessus Salmydessus or Salmydessos (), also Halmydessus or Halmydissos (Ἁλμυδισσός), was a town on the Euxine Sea in ancient Thrace, about northwest of the entrance of the Bosporus, near present day Kıyıköy in European Turkey. The eastern ...

. Along the coast of the Sea of Marmara were the cities of Perinthus (the capital; later known as Heraclea),

Selymbria Selymbria (),Demosthenes, '' de Rhod. lib.'', p. 198, ed. Reiske. or Selybria (Σηλυβρία), or Selybrie (Σηλυβρίη), was a town of ancient Thrace on the Propontis, 22 Roman miles east from Perinthus, and 44 Roman miles west from Cons ...

, 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) Enez is a town in Edirne Province, in East Thrace, Turkey. The ancient name of the town was Ainos (), Latinised as Aenus. It is the seat of Enez District.

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