THESSALONIKI CIVITAS

Thessaloniki has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with the direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

Thessaloniki is one of the most ancient cities of the history of European integration, signed in great part by Christianity. It was founded in 315 B.C. by Macedonians people on the Thermaic gulf in the Aegean Sea, developing its commercial spirit of a city-state (πόλις) named as the sister of the king Alexander 'said the Great', the conquerer of the Persian Empire by leading all Greeks people. Thessaloniki became famous for democracy, arts, education, philosophy and trading, such important that highly influenced the European continent, particularly in ancient Rome, and still today regarded as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of Christianity. Always an autonome and important city of the Macedonian Kingdom, the Civitas Thessaloniki was conquered by Romans in the II century B.C. together with all Greece and became part of the Roman Res Public.

Within the reform of Augustus (see Roman Empire), Thessaloniki was elevated capital of the Macedonia province, as fundamental trade hub on to way to the rest of Balcanic peninsula along the Graeca way, reaching the other ancient and christian civitas of Corinth and Athens ending in Apulum in Dacia province, and on the Egnatia way, starting from Constantinople to end in Durres. With the reform of Constantine I (see Christian Empire), Thessaloniki became the capital of the Macedonia Diocesis cause of its ancient christian community founded by Saint Paul. The Caesar Galerius had commissioned in the city an imperial palace, the hippodrome, a triumphal arch and a mausoleum, while in 381 A.D., after the lost Battle of Hadrianopolis, the emperor Theodosius I issued the 'nicean Creed' with the Thessaloniki Edict for Christianity as "unique religion of Empire". After the sacks of Visigoths, Avars and Slavs, between V and VI centuries A.D., Thessaloniki was elevated capital of the byzantine Thessalonike theme and followed the political events and the resurrection of the Byzantine Empire, passing through the Crusader's sack of 1204 A.D. that captured Thessaloniki to the Catholics Church within the Imperium Latinum Thessaloniki ruled by the western dinasties until 1224 A.D., when it was reconquered by the byzantine imperial dinasty of Doukas and elevated capital, before to be defeated and submitted in 1359 A.D. by the Regnum Serbia that was definitely conquered by Ottomans in 1479 A.D..

From XVI to XX century A.D. Thessaloniki was the only Jewish majority city in Europe, with nearly 20,000 Sephardic immigrated to Greece from the Iberian Peninsula following their expulsion from Spain in 1492 A.D., tradespeople and shipping owner for the manufacturing traditional products exported everywhere in the Mediterranean sea. Once became a muslim city, Thessaloniki population grew up with Turks, as well as Albanians and Bulgars immigrates, joined to Pomaks and Greek Muslim and the Roma since always living in Balcanic area. But in XVIII century A.D. circa, the Muslim population of Thessaloniki became majority within the Ottomans Sultanat, so the city became capital of the Sanjak of Selanik until 1826 A.D. and subsequently capital of Selanik Eyalet/Vilayet until the Greek War of Independence of 1830 A.D., when Thessaloniki was bombed cause of a Janissary stronghold and rebuilt by the Greek Kingdom under the rule of the Oldenburg dinasty and connected to Constantinople/Istanbul and Belgrade through the new railwais open at the end of XIX century A.D.. From Thessaloniki started the revolution of the 'Young Turks' that expired the Ottoman Empire in 1923 A.D. and led by K.Atatuk, who was born in the city. During that period the greek and jewish muslim escaped to Turkey, while Greece was involved in the Second World Wars receiving lots of damage and stolen arts heritage by Britains and Nazis. After the war, Thessaloniki was rebuilt with large-scale development of new infrastructure and industry throughout the decades and many of its architectural treasures still remainand, so that the city has been celebrated as European Capital of Culture in 1997 A.D..

In Thessaloniki there is still a church dedicated to Saint Demetrius, patron of the city (a young greek soldier martyrized during the persecutions of III century A.D.), Hagios Demetrios built in the V century A.D. is enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage together with many others byzantine churchs and 'Ano Poli', the ancient city centre. What's today name of Thessaloniki? In greek language it is called 'Saloniki' and nowadays is the second biggest city of Greece, located in the center-north and capital of the 'internal' Macedonia region, while its Aristotle Thessaloniki University is the main of the country.

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