Plotinopolis ( el, Πλωτινούπολις) is an ancient city founded 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 ...

by the Roman emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presid ...

and named after his wife,

Pompeia Plotina Pompeia Plotina (died 121/122) was Roman empress from 98 to 117 as the wife of Trajan. She was renowned for her interest in philosophy, and her virtue, dignity and simplicity. She was particularly devoted to the Epicurean philosophical school in ...

. In the 6th/7th centuries, it was replaced by the nearby city of

Didymoteichon Didymoteicho ( el, Διδυμότειχο, Didymóteicho ) is a city located on the eastern edge of the Evros regional unit of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in northeastern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The to ...

History

In the early 2nd century, the Roman emperor

created a new city on the banks of the

Maritsa River Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,Uzunköprü Uzunköprü is a town in Edirne Province in Turkey. It is named after a historical stone bridge, claimed to be the world's longest, on the Ergene River. It is a strategically important border town, located on the routes connecting Turkey to the ...

and much older Greek

Didymoteicho Didymoteicho ( el, Διδυμότειχο, Didymóteicho ) is a city located on the eastern edge of the Evros regional unit of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in northeastern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town ...

(Demotika), and named it Plotinopolis, after his wife

. A solid gold bust of Emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succ ...

found on the site of Plotinopolis in 1965 is now in the museum at

Komotini Komotini ( el, Κομοτηνή, tr, Gümülcine, bg, Комотини) is a city in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope-Evros super-pr ...

. The city would later be one of the most important towns in Thrace, having its own assembly, part of the late

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 ...

Haemimontus Haemimontus ( el, ) 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 ...

, and had an episcopal see (

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 jurisdiction ...

of the

Metropolis of Adrianople A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

). The first bishop of the city, Hierophilus, is mentioned in the 430s. In the 6th century, Emperor

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 ...

improved the fortifications of Plotinopolis. It was probably at that time that the nearby rocky and more defensible hill was also fortified. It seems that already in the 7th century, the latter had become the core of the settlement, which was thereafter named

("twin wall"). The name "Plotinopolis" survived in the ecclesiastical registers until the 9th century, before there too it was replaced by Didymoteichon.

Catholic titular diocese

The diocese of Plotinopolis was established 1933 as a Latin Catholic

titular bishopric 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 ...

. It only had a single incumbent: Pavlo Vasylyk (1991.01.16 – 1993.04.20), while auxiliary bishop of

Ivano-Frankivsk of the Ukrainians The Archparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk (or Ivano-Frankivsk of the Ukrainians) is an Archeparchy ( Eastern Catholic Archdiocese) of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' (Byzantine rite in Ukrainian language) in Ukraine. It depends on the ...

References

{{reflist Catholic titular sees in Europe Roman towns and cities in Greece Former populated places in Greece Roman Thrace 2nd-century establishments in the Roman Empire