Lüleburgaz

Sister cities

• Silistra

History

The city used to be the capital of the Roman province of Europa, established by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in 294. The city's ancient name was Bergula but Emperor Theodosius I changed it to Arcadiopolis in honour of his son and successor Arcadius. The city of Arcadiopolis fell to Attila the Hun during his campaign against the Eastern Roman Empire in 443 AD. In 823, Thomas the Slav was besieged in Arcadiopolis as his revolt against Michael II fell apart. After more than five months of confinement, Thomas's exhausted and starving troops gave up their leader in exchange for an imperial pardon. Thomas was led out of the city gates on a donkey and handed over to Michael for torture and execution. The Battle of Arcadiopolis of 970 saw the Byzantine forces defeat an invading Kievan-Pecheneg-Magyar force who were aiming to capture Constantinople, to the east. As the capital of the Roman province of Europa, Acradiopolis had its own bishop, who was recorded as attending a number of important church councils; it was noted as an autocephalous archbishopric by the seventh century. It is no longer a residential bishopric, although the Diocese of Arcadiopolis survives as a Roman Catholic titular see. Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of Saint Pius X, was one of its titular bishops. Lüleburgaz came under Ottoman control during the early period of the Ottoman Empire's enlargement to the Balkans. The Battle of Lüleburgaz was fought between 28 October and 2 November 1912 during the First Balkan War. The city was occupied by the Greek army between 1920 and 1922, before becoming part of the Modern Turkish Republic.