Many may think that the oldest civilization in Europe is in Greece, with so much ancient history, or even Italy, the birthplace of the Roman Empire. But there is one city that predates the settlements in these two countries by as much as 3,000 years – and he is in Bulgaria, writes the Daily Express.
Plovdiv is a remarkable city more than 8,000 years old, the publication states. Plovdiv, in Bulgaria, is the oldest city in Europe by a wide margin, dating back to at least 6,000 BC. The settlement starts from Nebet Tepe, one of the hills of Plovdiv.
It is considered to be the most important early settlement of the period between the Stone Age and the Neolithic, which began around 4300 BC. Nebet Tepe remains inhabited today and the city eventually grew around it, being fortified by the Thracians during the Iron Age from around 1200 BC.
They lived mostly in today's Bulgaria, Romania, Northern Greece and Northwestern Turkey. After being fortified, the city was later renamed Eumolpia after King Eumolpus, who ruled around 1200 BC.
From 342 BC, during the Golden Age of Athens, Eumolpia was conquered by Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, and renamed Philippopolis. Philip II expanded and further fortified the city and made it the most important city of the time. The wider area of Plovdiv grew as a result of trade and its strategic military position. By comparison, the oldest city in Greece and the second oldest city in Europe is Athens, but it only dates back to 3000 BC.
Modern Plovdiv is an important city and the second largest in Bulgaria, located 150 kilometers southeast of the capital Sofia. Plovdiv remains the cultural center of Bulgaria and was the European Capital of Culture in 1999 and 2019. It is also an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center and is located in a very fertile region.