Cabyle or Kabile (), also known as Calybe or Kalibe (Καλύβη), is a town in the interior of

ancient Thrace The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

, west of Develtus, on the river

Tonsus The Tundzha ( ; ; ''Tonsus'' in antiquity) is a river in southeastern Bulgaria and northwesternmost Turkey, a left tributary of the Maritsa. With a length of 390 km, of which 350 km are in Bulgaria, it is Maritsa's longest tributary, ...

. The town later bore the names of Diospolis (Διὸς Πόλις), and Goloë (Γολόη).

Name

The acropolis of the ancient city was located in the most eastern part of Zaichi peak. Its entrance in the south was a gate cut into the rocks and on one of these rocks there's a carved relief image of

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

, the Great Mother of the Gods. Considering that this is the Phrygian name of the goddess, according to Prof. Velizar Velkov, it can be assumed that the pronunciation of the name in the ancient Thracian language was Cabyle.

History

Cabyle used to be one of the most important centers of south-eastern Thrace. It was established around 2000 BC on the Zaychi Vrah Heights. In 341 BC Cabyle was conquered by the army of

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

and was later included in the Empire of Alexander of Macedon. It was colonised by Philip with rebellious Macedonians. In the 3rd century BC it was governed again by the

Thracians The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

. The town was a major trade and military center between the 3rd and the 2nd centuries BC. The town is noted by numerous ancient authors including

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, and

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

. In 71 BC the city was conquered by the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

by the troops of

Marcus Lucullus Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus (116 – soon after 56 BC), younger brother of the more famous Lucius Licinius Lucullus, was a supporter of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and consul of ancient Rome in 73 BC. As proconsul of Macedonia in 72 BC, he defeat ...

and after 45 BC it was included in the Roman

client state A client state in the context of international relations is a State (polity), state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, ...

of the Sapaean Thracian kingdom, and after 46 AD in the province of

Thracia Thracia or Thrace () is the ancient name given to the southeastern Balkans, Balkan region, the land inhabited by the Thracians. Thrace was ruled by the Odrysian kingdom during the Classical Greece, Classical and Hellenistic period, Hellenis ...

. Cabyle was one of the most important cities of Thrace following the reforms of 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 ...

in 4th century AD. In late 4th century Cabyle was seized by the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

. It was finally destroyed by the Avars and never settled again. During the Middle Ages there was a small settlement located in the territory of the

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

city.

Archaeology

Its site is located near the modern city of

Kabile Kabile () or Cabyle is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of the Tundzha municipality, Yambol Province. The Cabyle, ancient Thracian city of Kabile was one of the most important and largest towns in Thrace and its Architecture, architectu ...

, less than away from

Yambol Yambol ( ) is a city in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''. Yambol is the administrative cente ...

, south-eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. It was proclaimed part of the

100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria is a Bulgarian national Social movement, movement established in 1966 to promote tourism among Bulgaria's most significant cultural, historic, and natural landmarks. As part of this program, sites of cultural and his ...

. The territory of the city and the surrounding area was proclaimed a territory of national importance in 1965 and converted to an archaeological reserve. The area of the reserve is around 65 km². Many of the findings are housed in the onsite museum which also includes an exhibition tracking the excavation history of the site.

Titular see

Under the name of Diospolis in Thracia, it remains 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 archbi ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

References

{{DGRG, title=Cabyle Populated places in ancient Thrace Thracian sites Thracian archaeological sites in Bulgaria Archaeological sites in Bulgaria Roman towns and cities in Bulgaria Geography of Yambol Province Former populated places in Bulgaria Protected areas of Bulgaria Tourist attractions in Yambol Province Buildings and structures in Yambol Province History of Yambol Province Museums in Bulgaria Destroyed populated places