Edessa, Greece
Encyclopedia
Edessa is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia
region of Greece
. It was also the capital of the defunct province
of the same name.
name Édessa was commemorated by Seleucus I Nicator
in refounding an ancient city
in northern Mesopotamia
. It has been associated by modern scholars with the Phrygian
vedi (βέδυ - "water"). Vedi is linguistically connected to the Greek words "hydor" , "water", "bidra" , Otter, "idros" , sweat and "idrosa", sweated. Similarly, it was ascribed an Illyrian
origin by Ulrich Wilcken
in his biography of Alexander the Great, the "town of the waters", due to its renowned waterfall
and generally abundant water resources. These views gain some support if the later Slavic
-derived name Vodena is considered. The modern Bulgarian
and Macedonian Slavic name of the city is Voden (Воден). In Turkish
, the city is known as Vodina, and in Aromanian
the city is known as either Edessa, Vudena or Vodina.
have been unearthed so far. A colonnade with inscription in Greek dates from Roman times
. The city achieved certain prominence in the first centuries AD, being located on the Via Egnatia
. From 27 BC to 249 AD it had its own mint. St. Vassa and her three children were put to death in the 3rd Century AD.
Very little is known about the fate of the city after 500 AD. Its bishop Issidoros participated in the Ecumenical Council
of 692. After the Slavic settling in the 6th-7th century, the name of "Edessa" disappears and what remains of the city (a fortress in the acropolis of the ancient city) is named "Vodena" (from Slavic 'Voda', "water"), recalled by 11th century Byzantine historian John Skylitzes
. It is mentioned as both Edessa and Vodena by Emperor and historian John VI Kantakouzenos
who came to the city with intention of conquering it in 1350 after It was conquered by the Serb Emperor Dushan the Mighty earlier in 1341, 1342 or 1343. In the memoirs of Kantakouzenos, Edessa had a Serbian army of 500+ garrisoned when he approached the city. It fell to the Ottomans along with the rest of Macedonia around 1390.
During the Ottoman rule, the Turkish component of the town steadily increased. From the 1860s onwards, the town was a flashpoint for clashes between Greeks
and Bulgarians
.
After more than 500 years of Ottoman rule, Edessa passed to Greek rule during the Balkan Wars
on 18 October 1912. At that time, it was already well on its way to becoming a major industrial center in Macedonia. Four large textile factories were in operation by 1914, employing the abundant waterfalls as a source of energy. Prior to World War I
, in addition to Greeks, the region of Edessa was also populated by Turks
, Bulgarians and Vlachs
, but during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
most of the Turks living in Edessa were transferred to Turkey
. Large numbers of Greek refugees from Asia Minor
were settled in the area in 1923. The population swelled from 9,441 to 13,115 in the 1920s. A large segment of the population specialized in silk
production, allowing Edessa to enjoy a high standard of living in the interwar period (1922–1940).
The town suffered during the last days of German occupation in 1944. As a retaliation for the shooting of one soldier by resistance fighters, the Nazis set Edessa on fire. Half of the city, including the Cathedral and the First Primary School, was destroyed and thousands of people were left homeless.
For most of the Greek Civil War
Edessa was under the control of the communist
. The Slavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front, later simply the National Liberation Front or NOF was heavily established in the area. By 1946, eleven Slav Macedonian
partisan units were operating in the Edessa area. The NOF had a regional committee based in Edessa, but the city continued to be ruled by the national government. When the NOF merged with the Democratic Army of Greece
(DSE), many Slav Macedonians in the region enlisted as volunteers in the DSE. After the end of war in 1949, many pro-communists were evacuated or fled to Yugoslavia and the Eastern Bloc.
In the post-war period Edessa gradually lost its competitive advantage in industry and declined economically and in population. Currently there are no major industry at the town. At the beginning of the 21st century, it is a city based on services (mostly linked to its function as capital of the Pella Prefecture) and tourism
due to the waterfalls and winter sports.
Central Macedonia
Central Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the region of Macedonia. With a population of over 1.8 million, it is the second most populous in Greece after Attica.- Administration :...
region of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It was also the capital of the defunct province
Provinces of Greece
The provinces of Greece were sub-divisions of some the country's prefectures. From 1887, the provinces were abolished as actual administrative units, but were retained for some state services, especially finance services and education, as well as for electoral purposes...
of the same name.
Name
The ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
name Édessa was commemorated by Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire...
in refounding an ancient city
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Edessa is the Greek name of an Aramaic town in northern Mesopotamia, as refounded by Seleucus I Nicator. For the modern history of the city, see Şanlıurfa.-Names:...
in northern Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
. It has been associated by modern scholars with the Phrygian
Phrygian language
The Phrygian language was the Indo-European language of the Phrygians, spoken in Asia Minor during Classical Antiquity .Phrygian is considered to have been closely related to Greek....
vedi (βέδυ - "water"). Vedi is linguistically connected to the Greek words "hydor" , "water", "bidra" , Otter, "idros" , sweat and "idrosa", sweated. Similarly, it was ascribed an Illyrian
Illyrian languages
The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Ardiaei, Delmatae, Pannonii, Autariates, Taulanti...
origin by Ulrich Wilcken
Ulrich Wilcken
Ulrich Wilcken was a German historian and papyrologist who was a native of Stettin.Wilcken studied ancient history and Oriental studies in Leipzig, Tübingen and Berlin. He was a disciple of historian Theodor Mommsen, who encouraged Wilcken to take a position as cataloguer of papyri following...
in his biography of Alexander the Great, the "town of the waters", due to its renowned waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
and generally abundant water resources. These views gain some support if the later Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
-derived name Vodena is considered. The modern Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
and Macedonian Slavic name of the city is Voden (Воден). In Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, the city is known as Vodina, and in Aromanian
Aromanian language
Aromanian , also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach is an Eastern Romance language spoken in Southeastern Europe...
the city is known as either Edessa, Vudena or Vodina.
Municipality
The municipality Edessa was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:- Edessa
- VegoritidaVegoritidaVegoritida is a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Edessa, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,180 . The seat of the municipality was in Arnissa....
History
Archaeological remains have been discovered on the site of ancient Edessa, just below the modern city. The walls and the agoraAgora
The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the Agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where...
have been unearthed so far. A colonnade with inscription in Greek dates from Roman times
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. The city achieved certain prominence in the first centuries AD, being located on the Via Egnatia
Via Egnatia
The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed the Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey.Starting at Dyrrachium on the...
. From 27 BC to 249 AD it had its own mint. St. Vassa and her three children were put to death in the 3rd Century AD.
Very little is known about the fate of the city after 500 AD. Its bishop Issidoros participated in the Ecumenical Council
Quinisext Council
The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. It is often known as the Council in Trullo, because it was held in the same domed hall where the Sixth Ecumenical Council had met...
of 692. After the Slavic settling in the 6th-7th century, the name of "Edessa" disappears and what remains of the city (a fortress in the acropolis of the ancient city) is named "Vodena" (from Slavic 'Voda', "water"), recalled by 11th century Byzantine historian John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes, latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes was a Greek historian of the late 11th century. He was born in the beginning of 1040's and died after 1101.- Life :Very little is known about his life...
. It is mentioned as both Edessa and Vodena by Emperor and historian John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
who came to the city with intention of conquering it in 1350 after It was conquered by the Serb Emperor Dushan the Mighty earlier in 1341, 1342 or 1343. In the memoirs of Kantakouzenos, Edessa had a Serbian army of 500+ garrisoned when he approached the city. It fell to the Ottomans along with the rest of Macedonia around 1390.
During the Ottoman rule, the Turkish component of the town steadily increased. From the 1860s onwards, the town was a flashpoint for clashes between Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
.
After more than 500 years of Ottoman rule, Edessa passed to Greek rule during the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
on 18 October 1912. At that time, it was already well on its way to becoming a major industrial center in Macedonia. Four large textile factories were in operation by 1914, employing the abundant waterfalls as a source of energy. Prior to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in addition to Greeks, the region of Edessa was also populated by Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, Bulgarians and Vlachs
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
, but during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
most of the Turks living in Edessa were transferred to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Large numbers of Greek refugees from Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
were settled in the area in 1923. The population swelled from 9,441 to 13,115 in the 1920s. A large segment of the population specialized in silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
production, allowing Edessa to enjoy a high standard of living in the interwar period (1922–1940).
The town suffered during the last days of German occupation in 1944. As a retaliation for the shooting of one soldier by resistance fighters, the Nazis set Edessa on fire. Half of the city, including the Cathedral and the First Primary School, was destroyed and thousands of people were left homeless.
For most of the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
Edessa was under the control of the communist
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
. The Slavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front, later simply the National Liberation Front or NOF was heavily established in the area. By 1946, eleven Slav Macedonian
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
partisan units were operating in the Edessa area. The NOF had a regional committee based in Edessa, but the city continued to be ruled by the national government. When the NOF merged with the Democratic Army of Greece
Democratic Army of Greece
This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
(DSE), many Slav Macedonians in the region enlisted as volunteers in the DSE. After the end of war in 1949, many pro-communists were evacuated or fled to Yugoslavia and the Eastern Bloc.
In the post-war period Edessa gradually lost its competitive advantage in industry and declined economically and in population. Currently there are no major industry at the town. At the beginning of the 21st century, it is a city based on services (mostly linked to its function as capital of the Pella Prefecture) and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
due to the waterfalls and winter sports.
Demographics
| Historical populations | ||
| (Statistics, 1913-2001) | ||
| Year | Town population | Municipality population |
| 1913 | 8,846 | |
| 1920 | 9,441 | |
| 1928 | 13,115 | |
| 1940 | 12,000 | |
| 1951 | 14,940 | |
| 1961 | 15,534 | |
| 1971 | 13,967 | |
| 1981 | 16,642 | |
| 1991 | 17,659 | 25,051 |
| 2001 | 18,253 | 25,619 |
Notable people
- Aggelis GatsosAggelis GatsosAggelis Gatsos was a Slavophone Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence. He was born in the village of Sarakinovo, today known as Sarakini , in the Moglena region....
(1771–1839), fighter in the Greek War of IndependenceGreek War of IndependenceThe Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between... - Minas Minoidis, Greek scholar
- Vangel Ajanovski-Oče (1909–1996) - secretary of SNOF
- Marietta ChrousalaMarietta ChrousalaMarietta Chrousala also spelled Marieta Chrousala, Marieta Hrousala, born 1983 in Rizari, Edessa, is a Greek fashion model and television presenter.-Career:...
(1983 - ) - fashion model and television presenter - Georgi AjanovskiGeorgi AjanovskiGeorgi Ajanovski , is a prominent Aegean Macedonian journalist. He was evacuated from Greece as a child as one of the many political refugees of the Greek Civil War.-Biography:...
(1940 - ) - Ethnic Macedonian journalist
Further reading
- F. Papazoglou, Les villes de Macédoine romaine (The Cities of Roman Macedonia), BCH Suppl. 16, 1988, 127-131.
- Walter BauerWalter BauerWalter Bauer was a German theologian and scholar of the development of the early Christian churches.-Life:...
, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity, 1934, (in English 1971) (On-line text)