The city is a commercial centre for woven textiles, silks, carpets and agricultural products and has a growing tourism industry. It is the seat ofEdirne Province andEdirne District.[5] Its population is 180,002 (2022).[1]
In the local elections on 31 March 2024, lawyer Filiz Gencan Akin was elected as the new mayor of the city of Edirne, succeedingRecep Gürkan, who had been mayor for 10 years and did not stand for re-election.
The city was founded and named after the Roman emperorHadrian asHadrianopolis (Adrianople in English,/ˌeɪdriəˈnoʊpəl/;Ἁδριανούπολις inGreek) on the site of the Greek city ofOrestias, which was itself founded on an earlierThracian settlement namedUskudama.[6] The Ottoman nameEdrine (ادرنه) is derived from the Greek name. The nameAdrianople was used in English until the Turkish adoption of the Latin alphabet in 1928, after whichEdirne became the internationally recognised name. InBulgarian the city is known as Одрин (Odrin).
Selimiye Mosque exterior.Architect Sinan called theŞehzade Mosque in Istanbul his apprentice work, theSüleymaniye his journeyman work, and the Selimiye his masterpiece. He was 85 when he finished it.
The area around Edirne has been the site ofnumerous major battles and sieges starting from the days of theRoman Empire. The vagaries of the border region between Asia and Europe gave rise to Edirne's claim to be the most frequently contested spot on earth.[7]
The city was reestablished by the Roman EmperorHadrian on the site ofOrestias (named after its mythological founderOrestes), which was itself built on a previousThracian settlement known asUskadama,Uskudama,Uskodama orUscudama.[6] Hadrian developed it, adorned it with monuments, and changed its name toHadrianopolis (Anglicised asAdrianople).Licinius wasdefeated here byConstantine I in 324, and EmperorValens was killed by theGoths here during theBattle of Adrianople in 378.
The remains of Roman fortifications next to the so-called "Macedonian tower".
The city remained the seat of Ottoman power until 1453, when Mehmed II tookConstantinople (present-dayIstanbul) and moved the capital there. The importance of Edirne to the early Ottomans explains the plethora of early Ottoman mosques,medreses and other monuments that have survived until today although the Eski Sarayı (Old Palace) was largely destroyed, leaving only relatively slight remains. Also, there is evidence of ascriptorium in the Ottoman's Edirne palace during this period.[10]
Uzunköprü Bridge, the world's longest medieval stone bridge, connectsAnatolia with theBalkans on the Ergene River and was erected between 1426 and 1443 by the primary architect,Müslihiddin, during the reign of Ottoman SultanMurat II.[11]
That Adrianople/Edirne continued to hold an important place in Ottoman hearts is reflected in the fact that SultanMehmed IV left theTopkapı Palace inConstantinople to die here in 1693.
The wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, spent six weeks in Edirne (then Adrianople) in the spring of 1717 and left an account of her experiences there in herThe Turkish Embassy Letters. Wearing Turkish dress, Montagu witnessed the passage ofSultan Ahmed III to the mosque, visited the young wife-to-be of his vizier,Damad Ibrahim Pasha and was shown around the Selimiye Mosque.[12]
Selimiye Mosque in Edirne in the first quarter of the 20th century.Zappeion Greek Girls' Central School of Adrianople, the Greek Girls' School in Edirne (1884).
Adrianople was briefly occupied by imperial Russian troops in 1829 during theGreek War of Independence and in 1878 during theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The city suffered a fire in 1905. At that time it had about 80,000 inhabitants, of whom 30,000 were Turks; 22,000 Greeks; 10,000 Bulgarians; 4,000 Armenians; 12,000 Jews; and 2,000 more citizens of unclassified ethnic/religious backgrounds.[citation needed]
Adalet Tower part ofEdirne Palace Complex.Macedonia Tower after its transformation into the Edirne Clock Tower in the first quarter of the 20th century.
Adrianople was a vital fortress defendingConstantinople andEastern Thrace during theBalkan Wars of 1912–13. It was briefly occupied by the Bulgarians in 1913, following theSiege of Adrianople. The Great Powers – Britain, Italy, France and Russia – attempted to coerce the Ottoman Empire into ceding Adrianople toBulgaria during the temporary winter truce of theFirst Balkan War. The belief that the government was willing to give up the city created a scandal for the Ottoman government in Constantinople (as Adrianople was a former capital of the Empire), leading to the1913 Ottoman coup d'état led by theCommittee of Union and Progress (CUP) underEnver Pasha. Although it was victorious in the coup, the CUP was unable to stop the Bulgarians from capturing the city after fighting resumed in the spring. Despite relentless pressure from the Great Powers, the Ottoman empire never officially ceded the city to Bulgaria.
Edirne was swiftly reconquered by the Ottomans during theSecond Balkan War under the leadership ofEnver Pasha (who proclaimed himself the "second conqueror of Adrianople" afterMurad I) following the collapse of the Bulgarian army in the region.
The entire Armenian population of the city was deported to Syria and Mesopotamia during theArmenian genocide on 27–28 October 1915 and 17–18 February 1916. Their homes and businesses were sold at low prices to Turkish Muslims.[13]
Adrianople was asanjak centre during the Ottoman period and was bound to, successively, theRumeli Eyalet andSilistre Eyalet before becoming a provincial capital of the Eyalet of Edirne at the beginning of the 19th century; until 1878, the Eyalet of Adrianople comprised thesanjaks of Edirne,Tekfurdağı,Gelibolu,Filibe, andİslimye. After land reforms in 1867, the Eyalet of Adrianople became theVilayet of Adrianople.
Adrianople/Edirne was ceded to Greece by theTreaty of Sèvres in 1920, but recaptured and annexed by Turkey after the Greek defeat at the end of theGreco-Turkish War, also known as the Western Front of the largerTurkish War of Independence, in 1922. Under the Greek administration, Edirne (officially known as Adrianople) was the capital of theAdrianople Prefecture.
From 1934 onwards Edirne was the seat of theSecond Inspectorate General, in which an Inspector General governed the provinces ofEdirne,Çanakkale,Tekirdaĝ andKırklareli.[15] The Inspectorate Generals governmental posts were abandoned in 1948,[16] but the legal framework for them was only abolished in 1952 during the government of theDemocrat Party.[17]
Adrianople (modern-day Edirne,Turkey) historically served as a religious center for multiple Christian communities. The city was the seat of a Greek Orthodox metropolitan and an Armenian bishop. It was also the center of a Bulgarian diocese, though this was not officially recognized and the diocese was deprived of a bishop. Small communities of Protestants and Latin Catholics—mainly foreigners—were present as well. The Latin Catholics were under the authority of the vicariate-apostolic of Constantinople.
Within the city, the parish ofSt. Anthony of Padua, run by the Minor Conventuals, operated alongside a girls’ school conducted by theSisters of Charity of Agram. In the suburb of Karaağaç, there was a Minor Conventual church, a boys’ school managed by the Assumptionists, and a girls’ school run by the Oblates of the Assumption. Mission stations in Tekirdağ and Alexandroupoli maintained schools run by the Minor Conventuals, and Gallipoli had a school managed by theAssumptionists.
Around 1850, from the perspective of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Adrianople was the residence of a Bulgarian vicar-apostolic, overseeing approximately 4,600 Eastern Catholics in theOttoman province (vilayet) of Thrace, and after 1878, in the Principality of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Eastern Catholics maintained eighteen parishes or missions, with twenty churches or chapels, thirty-one priests—including six Assumptionists and sixResurrectionists—and eleven schools serving 670 students. In Adrianople proper, only a few United Bulgarians were present, including those served by the Episcopal church of St. Elias and the churches of St. Demetrius and Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the latter served by the Resurrectionists, who also operated a college with ninety students. In Karaağaç, the Assumptionists ran a parish and a seminary with fifty pupils.
Additionally, the statistics for Eastern Catholics included Greek Catholic missions in Malgara (now Malkara) and Daoudili (now Davuteli village inMalkara), with four priests and about 200 faithful, as these missions were administratively part of theBulgarian Vicariate.
The Roman Catholic diocese of Adrianople was later discontinued and exists today only as a titular metropolitan archbishopric, officially namedHadrianopolis in Haemimonto, to distinguish it from other sees named Hadrianopolis.
In 2018, archaeologists discovered the remains of aByzantine church in Edirne. Built around 500 AD, it represents an early Byzantine period structure.
TheSelimiye Mosque, built in 1575 and designed by Turkey's greatest architect,Mimar Sinan (c. 1489/1490–1588), is the most important monument in the city and became a UNESCO world heritage site in 2011.[23] It used to have the highestminarets in Turkey, at 70.90 m (232.6 ft) before the completion of theÇamlıca Mosque in 2019 which features minarets standing at 107.1 m (351 ft) tall. Sinan himself believed the dome to be higher than that ofHagia Sophia, the formerByzantine Orthodox Cathedral inIstanbul, but modern measuring methods seem to suggest otherwise. Named after SultanSelim II (r. 1566–1574) who commissioned it but did not live to see its completion, the mosque is decorated with Turkish marble and magnificent İznik tiles. It is the centre of a considerable complex of contemporary buildings.[24]
Work started on the Eski Cami (Old Mosque) in 1403 but was not completed until 1422. It was designed in what is usually thought of as theBursa style. Even finer is theÜç Şerefli Mosque (Three-Balconied Mosque) which was built between 1437 and 1447 for Sultan Murad II. It was the largest mosque built in the Ottoman provinces before theconquest of Constantinople. Both these mosques are in the centre of Edirne.[25]
Further away from the centre, thecomplex of Sultan Beyazid II, built between 1484 and 1488, and has a lovely semi-rural location. It is the most complete surviving mosque complex in Edirne, consisting of animaret (soup kitchen),darüşşifa (hospital),timarhane (asylum), hospice,tıp medrese (medical school),tabhane (accommodation for dervishes) bakery and assorted depots. Some parts of the complex now house a museum to the history of Islamic medicine.[26]
Edirne Palace (Ottoman Turkish:Saray-ı Cedid-i Amire for "New Imperial Palace") in the Sarayiçi quarter, was built in the reign ofMurad II (r. 1421–1444) but was destroyed in 1877, during the Russo-Turkish War. The palace gate and kitchen have since been restored. TheKasr-ı Adalet ("Justice Castle"), originally built as part of the palace complex, stands intact next to the smallFatih Bridge over theTunca river.[27] The splendid appearance of the palace in the late 1460s when it glistened with gold, silver and marble was described by Kritovoulos of İmbros in hisHistory of Mehmed the Conqueror.
Dating back to 1909, theGrand Synagogue of Edirne was restored and re-opened in March 2015.[28][29][30] A Roman Catholic and two Bulgarian Orthodox churches are also to be found in the city.
Edirne has three historic coveredbazaars: the Kavaflar Arastası (Cobblers Arcade), next to the Selimiye Mosque and constructed to bring in an income to support thekülliye; the Bedesten next to the Eski Cami which was supported by the income from the shops; and the Semiz Ali Paşa Çarşısı (Ali Pasha Bazaar, AKA Kapalı Çarşı), another work ofSinan dating back to 1568.[31] The Kavaflar Arastası is the place to come to buy miniature versions of the handmade brooms with mirrors set into them that used to play a part in marriage ceremonies as well as to buy soap in the shape of fruits.
Of the original Roman Hadrianopolis only slight remains of the fortifications survive near the so-called Macedonian Tower,[32] itself probably a part of the defences although much patched-up and altered over the ensuing centuries.
Edirne Museum (Edirne Müzesi) contains collections of local archaeology and ethnography. In the grounds outside can be seen an example of the sort of dolmen to be seen at nearby Lalapaşa.
In the town centre stand theRüstem Pasha Caravanserai (1560–61) andEkmekcioğlu Caravanserai (1609–10), designed to accommodate travellers – in the case of the Rüstem Pasha by Mimar Sinan – in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai now serves as the Kervansaray Hotel.
TheBalkan Wars Memorial Cemetery is located close to the ruins of the Edirne Palace, with an Unknown Soldier monument featuring an Ottoman soldier in front of its entrance.[33]
TheMeriç andTunca rivers, which flow around west and south of the city, are crossed by elegantarched bridges dating back to early Ottoman times.
The town is famous in Turkey for the Edirne fried liver.[35]Ciğer tava (breaded anddeep-friedliver) is often served with a side ofcacık, a dish of dilutedstrained yogurt with chopped cucumber.
Bocuk Gecesi is a festival of Balkan origin celebrated in mid-January on what is expected to be the coldest day of the year. It is a sort of Turkish take on Halloween.[38]
Edirne's economy largely depends on agriculture. 73% of the working population work in agriculture, fishing, forests and hunting. The lowlands are productive. Corn, sugar beets and sunflowers are the leading crops. Melons, watermelons, rice, tomatoes, eggplants and viniculture are important. Textiles, cross-border trade, and education, with Thracian University, are also significant contributors to the city's vibrant and developing economy.[39]
80th Year of Republic Anatolian High School (80. Yıl Cumhuriyet Anadolu Lisesi in Turkish)
Edirne Anatolian Teacher Training High School (Edirne Anadolu Öğretmen Lisesi in Turkish: It has been transformed into Edirne Social Sciences High School)
Edirne Anatolian Technical High School (Edirne Anadolu Teknik Lisesi in Turkish)
Stefanos Koumanoudis (1818–1899), Greek archaeologist, university teacher, writer and translator
Charles XII, Swedish king who stayed in the city for most of 1713[40] during his exile in the Ottoman Empire
Baháʼu'lláh, founder of theBaháʼí Faith, lived in Edirne from 1863 to 1868. He was exiled here by the Ottoman Empire before being banished to the Ottoman penal colony inAkka. Referred to Adrianople in his writings as the "Land of Mystery".[41]
Contemporary
Cem Adrian (born 1980), Turkish singer-songwriter, author, producer and film director
^İslâm Ansiklopedisi: "It is disputed when the Ottomans conquered this place; Various dates have been put forward in this regard, such as 1361, 1362, 1367 and 1369. Among these, the opinion that Edirne was captured in 1361 as a result of a systematic conquest policy by Murad and Lala Şahin, while Orhan Gazi was still alive, gains prominence. However, it has also been stated that the date of conquest may have occurred after 1366 (1369), based on an elegy showing that the city metropolitan Polykarpos was in Edirne in this capacity until 1366.[4]
^Hupchick, Dennis (2017).The Bulgarian-Byzantine Wars for Early Medieval Balkan Hegemony: silver-lined skulls and blinded armies. US: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 107.ISBN9783319562056.
^Saint-Guillain, G. (1216)Identities and Allegiances in the Eastern Mediterranean after 1204, Routledge, p. 66
^Cagaptay, Soner (2006).Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey; Who is a Turk. Routledge. p. 47.
^Bayir, Derya (22 April 2016).Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law. Routledge. p. 141.ISBN978-1-317-09579-8.
^Bozarslan, Hamit (17 April 2008). Fleet, Kate; Faroqhi, Suraiya; Kasaba, Reşat; Kunt, I. Metin (eds.).The Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge University Press. p. 343.ISBN978-0-521-62096-3.
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