Edirne, historically known as Adrianople is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated 7 km (4.3 mi) from the Greek and 20 km (12 mi) from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1360s to 1453, before Constantinople became its capital.
Eastern Rumelia was an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of 32,978 km2 (12,733 sq mi), which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin and de facto ceased to exist in 1885, when it was united with the Principality of Bulgaria, also under nominal Ottoman suzerainty. It continued to be an Ottoman province de jure until 1908, when Bulgaria declared independence. Ethnic Bulgarians formed a majority of the population in Eastern Rumelia, but there were significant Turkish and Greek minorities. Its capital was Plovdiv. The official languages of Eastern Rumelia were Bulgarian, Greek and Ottoman Turkish.
Rumelia was the name of a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and vassals in Europe. These would later be geopolitically classified as "the Balkans", although Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia are often excluded. During the period of its existence, Rumelia was more often known in English as Turkey in Europe.
Edirne Province is a Turkish province located in East Thrace. Part of European Turkey, it is one of only three provinces located entirely within continental Europe. Its area is 6,145 km2, and its population is 414,714 (2022). Edirne Province is bordered by Tekirdağ Province and Kırklareli Province to the east, and the Gallipoli peninsula of Çanakkale Province to the south-east. It shares international borders with Bulgaria to the north and Greece to the west. Edirne is the capital of the province, and the largest city. It is the only province of Turkey that borders Greece.
Kırklareli is a city in the European part of Turkey. It is the seat of Kırklareli Province and Kırklareli District. Its population is 85,493 (2022).
The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, beginning in the late 14th century, with the Ottoman conquest of smaller kingdoms from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire. In the late 19th century, Bulgaria was liberated from the Ottoman Empire, and by the early 20th century it was declared independent.
Lüleburgaz, Bergoule or Arcadiopolis is the largest city of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Lüleburgaz District. Its population is 125,404 (2022). Located near the border with Bulgaria and Greece within the historic region of East Thrace in Rumelia, the city is home to many Balkan Turks from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and ex-Yugoslavia who immigrated to Turkey since the 19th century.
Babaeski is a town in Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Babaeski District. Its population is 29,215 (2022).
The Vilayet of Adrianople or Vilayet of Edirne was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire.
Northern Thrace or North Thrace, also called Bulgarian Thrace, constitutes the northern and largest part of the historical region of Thrace. It is located in Southern Bulgaria and includes the territory south of the Balkan Mountains and east of the Mesta River, bordering Western Thrace and East Thrace in the south, and the Black Sea in the east. It encompasses Sredna Gora, the Upper Thracian Plain, and 90% of the Rhodopes.
The Provisional Government of Western Thrace later Independent Government of Western Thrace, was a small, short-lived unrecognized republic established in Western Thrace from August 31 to October 25, 1913. It encompassed the area surrounded by the rivers Maritsa (Evros) in the east, Mesta (Nestos) in the west, the Rhodope Mountains in the north and the Aegean Sea in the south. Its total territory was approximately 8600 km².
The Destruction of the Thracian Bulgarians in 1913 is a book published by the Bulgarian academic Lyubomir Miletich in 1918, which describes the mass extermination and ethnic cleansing of the Bulgarian population in Eastern Thrace during the Second Balkan War and in a short period after it. On the other hand, Bulgarian Turks, Pomaks and Muslim Roma from Northern Thrace in Bulgaria, were expelled and settled in the whole Eastern Thrace in 1913.
The Vilayet of Salonica was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire from 1867 to 1913. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of 12,950 square miles (33,500 km2).
Trakya University is a public university in Edirne, Turkey. It was established on July 20, 1982. The university is located in Edirne, in Eastern Thrace. Trakya University is a regional university with branches and campuses spread over the Thrace region. Trakya University runs scientific activities related to regional development and has international relationships especially within the Balkan Universities Network including more than 40 Universities from Balkan countries and the University Loerrach in Germany. Erhan Tabakoglu was elected and confirmed as new Rector of the university in July 2016.
The Romani people in Turkey or Turks of Romani background are Turkish citizens and the biggest subgroup of the Turkish Roma. They are Sunni Muslims mostly of Sufi orientation, who speak Turkish as their first language, in their own accent, and have adopted Turkish culture. Many have denied their Romani background over the centuries in order to establish a Turkish identity, to become more accepted by the host population.
Bulgarians in Turkey form a minority of Turkey. They are Bulgarian expatriates in Turkey or Turkish citizens who were born there of full or partially Bulgarian descent. People of Bulgarian ancestry include a large number from the Pomak and a very small number of Orthodox of ethnic Bulgarian origin. Bulgarian Christians are officially recognized as a minority by the Turkey-Bulgaria Friendship Treaty of 18 October 1925.
The Treaty of Constantinople was a treaty between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria signed on 29 September 1913 after the Second Balkan War at the Ottoman capital Constantinople, modern İstanbul.
North Macedonia was part of the Ottoman Empire for over 500 years, from the late 14th century until the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913. Before its conquest, this area was divided between various Serbian feudal principalities. Later, it became part of the Ottoman province or Eyalet of Rumelia. The name Rumelia means "Land of the Romans" in Turkish, referring to the lands conquered by the Ottoman Turks from the Byzantine Empire.
The Eyalet of Adrianople or Edirne or Çirmen was constituted from parts of the eyalets of Silistra and Rumelia in 1826.
The Sanjak of Gelibolu or Gallipoli was a second-level Ottoman province encompassing the Gallipoli Peninsula and a portion of southern Thrace. Gelibolu was the first Ottoman province in Europe, and for over a century the main base of the Ottoman Navy. Thereafter, and until the 18th century, it served as the seat of the Kapudan Pasha and capital of the Eyalet of the Archipelago.
