Edirne

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EDIRNE

Turkish province in Europe and city on the Bulgarian border, 209 kilometers (130 miles) northwest of Istanbul.

The city of Edirne (in English, Adrianople) was founded by the Roman emperor Hadrian in 125 c.e.. It was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the fourteenth century and served as their capital between 1361 and 1453. Between 1829 and 1923, the city was occupied by foreign forces several times: by Russia in 1829 and 1879; by Bulgarian forces in 1913; and by Greece from 1919 to 1922. The modern city is a manufacturing center and a commercial center for western Thrace (European Turkey). It has notable tourist sites, including ruins of its ancient and medieval walls, and three mosques and a covered bazaar that date from the fifteenth century. According to the 2000 census, the population of Edirne city was 230,908; that of Edirne province was 402,606.


Bibliography


Shaw, Stanford. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. New York and Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1976–1977.

eric hooglund

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