Plovdiv

Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив, pronounced [ˈpɫɔvdif]) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria and the most populous city in the Bulgarian part of the historic region of Thrace, located 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It is considered the oldest European continually inhabited city, having been inhabited since c. 6,000 BCE. It had a population of 329,489 as of 2024 and 540,000 in its greater metropolitan area. An important economic, transport, cultural, and educational hub of Bulgaria, Plovdiv was the European Capital of Culture in 2019, and joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016. Plovdiv is in a fertile region of south-central Bulgaria on the two banks of the Maritsa River. The city has historically developed on seven syenite hills, some of which are 250 metres (820 feet) high. Because of these hills, Plovdiv is often referred to in Bulgaria as "The City of the Seven Hills". There is evidence of habitation in the area dating back to the 6th millennium BC, when the first Neolithic settlements were established. The city was subsequently a Thracian settlement named Pulpudeva, later being conquered and ruled also by Persians, Ancient Macedonians, Celts, Romans, Byzantines, Goths, Huns, Bulgarians, Thraco-Romans, Bulgars, Slavic tribes, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks. Philippopolis (Greek: Φιλιππούπολις) was founded as a polis by the father of Alexander the Great, Philip the Great (r. 359–336 BC), the king of ancient Macedonia, settling there both Thracians and 2,000 Macedonians (Greeks) in 342 BC. Control of the city alternated between the Macedonian kingdom and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom during the Hellenistic period; the Macedonian king Philip V (r. 221–179 BC) reoccupied the city in 183 BC and his successor Perseus (r. 179–168 BC) held the city with the Odrysians until the Roman Republic conquered the Macedonian kingdom in 168 BC. Philippopolis...