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{{Infobox Greek Dimos
 |name = Farsala
 |name_local = Φάρσαλος
|type = municipality
|image_map = 2011 Dimos Farsalon.png
 |periph = [[Thessaly]]
|periphunit         =  [[Larissa (regional unit)|Larissa]]
|pop_municipality   = 16341
|area_municipality  = 739.7
|pop_municunit   = 9520
|area_municunit   = 121.433
|pop_community   = 9027
|area_community   = 57.928
 |population_as_of = 2021
 |elevation = 160
 |coordinates        = {{coord|39|18|N|22|23|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 |postal_code = 403 00
 |area_code = 24910
 |licence = ΡΙ
 |mayor = 
 |website = [http://www.farsala.gr/ www.farsala.gr]
 |image_skyline      = View of the Thessalian plain from the acropolis of ancient Pharsalos.jpg
 |caption_skyline    = View of Farsala from the Ancient Pharsalus Acropolis 
 |city_flag          = 
 |city_seal          =
 |districts          = 
 |party              = 
 |since              = 
 |elevation_min      = 
 |elevation_max      = 
}}

[[File:Plateia Laou Farsala.jpg|thumb|People's square]]
[[File:Πλατεία Δημαρχείου.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Achilles]] in the main square]]

'''Farsala''' ({{langx|el|Φάρσαλα}}), known in Antiquity as '''Pharsalos''' ({{langx|grc|Φάρσαλος}}, {{langx|la|Pharsālus}}), is a town in southern [[Thessaly]], in [[Greece]]. Farsala is located in the southern part of [[Larissa (regional unit)|Larissa]] regional unit, and is one of its largest settlements. Farsala is an economic and agricultural centre of the region. [[Cotton]] and [[livestock]] are the main agricultural products, and many inhabitants are employed in the production of textile. The area is mostly famous for being the birthplace of the mythical ancient Greek hero [[Achilles]], and the site of a [[Battle of Pharsalus|major battle]] between Roman generals [[Gaius Julius Caesar]] and [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] in 48 BC.

==Geography==

Farsala lies at the southern edge of the [[Thessalian Plain]], 4&nbsp;km south of the river [[Enipeas (Thessaly)|Enipeas]]. The [[Greek National Road 3]] ([[Larissa]] - [[Lamia (city)|Lamia]]) and the [[Greek National Road 30]] ([[Karditsa]] - [[Volos]]) pass through the town. The [[Palaiofarsalos railway station]] (litt. "''Ancient Pharsalus''"), on the [[Piraeus–Platy railway|line from Athens to Thessaloniki]] and head of the [[Palaiofarsalos-Kalambaka railway|branch line to Kalambaka]], is located in the village of [[Stavros, Larissa|Stavros]], 12&nbsp;km to the west. Farsala is located 38&nbsp;km south of Larissa, 41&nbsp;km east of [[Karditsa]], 44&nbsp;km north of [[Lamia (city)|Lamia]] and 49&nbsp;km west of [[Volos]].

The municipality Farsala has an area of 739.74&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, the municipal unit Farsala has an area of 121.433&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, and the community Farsala has an area of 57.928&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name=stat01>{{cite web |url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece |title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation) |language=el |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212047/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-21 }}</ref>

==History==
===Ancient Pharsalos===
{{Coin image box 1 double
| header =
| image = Image:AR hemidrachm of Pharsalos.jpg
| caption_left = '''[[Obverse and reverse|O:]]''' helmeted head of [[Athena]]
| caption_right = '''[[Obverse and reverse|R:]]''' head of [[horse]]
Φ A / P Σ 
| width = 275
| footer = [[silver]] [[Dram (unit)|hemidrachm]] struck in Pharsalos 450-400 BC.
| position = left
| margin = 4
}}

====Proto-historic era====

The Homeric [[Phthia]] of the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] period, capital of the Kingdom of the [[Myrmidons]] and of [[Peleus]], father of [[Achilles]], has sometimes been identified with the later city of Pharsalos (Greek: Φάρσαλος), now Farsala. A [[Cyclopean masonry|Cyclopean Wall]] which protected a city still exists today near modern Farsala, as does a vaulted tomb from that period.

There is a theory that claimed the existence of an earlier Pharsalos in the form of a locality identified as [[Palaepharsalus]]. This is supported by excavated remains of a fortified site called Xylades near [[Enipeas (Thessaly)|Enipeus]], which is located in the easternmost part of the Pharsalian territory.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Cave of the Nymphs at Pharsalus: Studies on a Thessalian Country Shrine|last=Wagman|first=Robert|publisher=BRILL|year=2015|isbn=9789004297616|location=Boston|pages=10}}</ref> This ancient site was also associated by accounts of ancient writers with a holy place dedicated to [[Thetis]] called [[Thetidium]].<ref name=":0" /> For instance, Euripides used this as a setting for ''[[Andromache (play)|Andromache]]''.

====Archaic era====
The Pharsalos of the historic era was built over a hillside of the [[Narthacius Mons|Narthacius mountains]] at an elevation of some 160 m, where modern Farsala stands. It was one of the main cities in [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessaly]] and was the capital of the [[Phthia]]n [[Thessalian tetrarchy|tetrarch]].{{dubious|date=May 2018}}<!-- one would think that [[Phthia]] was the capital of the Phthian tetrarch, and Pharsalos was the capital of [[Thessaliotis]]

Perhaps the term tetrach is incorrect or its link to Phthian. There was a Thessalian tetrarchy composed of (Phthiotis, Thessaliotis, Histiaeotis, Pelasgiotis) but these were ruled by one person, the Tagus. --> It was also a [[polis]] (city-state).<ref name=Poleis>{{cite book|author= Mogens Herman Hansen & Thomas Heine Nielsen |title= An inventory of archaic and classical poleis|url= https://archive.org/details/inventoryarchaic00hans |url-access= limited |year= 2004|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]|location=New York|isbn= 0-19-814099-1|chapter= Thessaly and Adjacent Regions|pages= [https://archive.org/details/inventoryarchaic00hans/page/n718 702]–704}}</ref>

====Classical era====
In the [[Persian Wars]] it sided with the Athenians. A distinctive tribe of the city was that of Echecratidon. In 455&nbsp;BC Pharsalos was besieged by the [[ancient Athens|Athenian]] commander [[Myronides]], after his victory in [[ancient Boeotia|Boeotia]], but without success.<ref>{{Cite Thucydides|1.111}}</ref> At the commencement of the [[Peloponnesian War]], Pharsalus was one of the Thessalian towns that sent succour to the Athenians.<ref>{{Cite Thucydides|2.22}}</ref> [[Medius of Larissa]] took Pharsalus by force, about 395&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite Diodorus|14.82}}</ref> Pharsalus, under the conduct of [[Polydamas of Pharsalus|Polydamas]], resisted [[Jason of Pherae]] for a time, but subsequently formed an alliance with him.<ref>{{Cite Hellenica|6.1. 2, ''et seq.''}}</ref>

In the early 4th century BC, the city was a part of the Thessalian Commons. Later, it joined the [[Macedon|Macedonian Kingdom]] under [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]]. The area became a theatre of war where the [[Aetolian League|Aetolians]] and the Thessalians clashed with the Macedonians, especially during the [[Second Macedonian War|Second]] and the [[Third Macedonian War]]s.

The city during the classical period was influential as demonstrated in the influence wielded by the tetrarch Daochos, who ruled from Pharsalos.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Classical Bronzes: The Art and Craft of Greek and Roman Statuary|last=Mattusch|first=Carol|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1996|isbn=0801431824|location=Ithaca, NY|pages=[https://archive.org/details/classicalbronzes00matt_0/page/73 73]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/classicalbronzes00matt_0/page/73}}</ref> He was part of the Council of [[Amphictyonic League]], administered the [[Temple of Apollo (Delphi)|Temple of Apollo]] at Delphi, and conducted the [[Pythian Games]]. Daochos built several monuments at Pharsalos dedicated to members of his family. Parts of the eight portraits that survived showed classical style, depicting subjects in their youthful vigor.<ref name=":1" />

====Hellenistic era====
In the war between [[Antiochus III]] and the [[ancient Rome|Romans]], Pharsalus was for a time in the possession of the Syrian monarch; but on the retreat of the latter, it surrendered to the consul [[Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC)|Acilius Glabrio]] in 191&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite Livy|36.14}}</ref>

====Roman era====
After the defeat of the Macedonian Kingdom, Pharsalos and the whole area became a part of the [[Roman Republic]].

The whole area suffered great destruction during the [[Roman Civil War]]. The [[Battle of Pharsalus]], where [[Julius Caesar]] defeated [[Pompey]] and changed the course of the [[Roman Republic]] forever, took place in 48 BC in the fields of the Pharsalian Plain.

The geographer [[Strabo]] speaks of two towns, Old Pharsalos, Παλαιοφάρσαλος (Palaeopharsalos) and Pharsalos, existing in historical times. His statement (9.5.6) that the Thetideion, the temple to [[Thetis]] south of [[Scotussa]], was “near both the Pharsaloi, the Old and the New”, seems to imply that Palaeopharsalos was not itself close by Pharsalos. Although the battle of 48 BC is called after Pharsalos, four ancient writers – the author of the ''Bellum Alexandrinum'' (48.1), [[Frontinus]] (''Strategemata'' 2.3.22), [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]] (20), and [[Orosius]] (6.15.27) – place it specifically at ''Palaeo''pharsalos. In 198 BC [[Philip V of Macedon|Philip V]] had sacked Palaeopharsalos ([[Livy]] 32.13.9). If that town had been close to Pharsalos he would have sacked both, and Livy would have written “Pharsalus” instead of “Palaeopharsalus”. The British scholar [[F. L. Lucas]] demonstrated (''Annual of the British School at Athens'', No. XXIV, 1919–21) that the battle of 48 BC must have been fought ''north'' of the Enipeus, near modern-day Krini. It has been suggested<ref>John D. Morgan in “Palae-pharsalus – the Battle and the Town”, ''The American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 87, No. 1, Jan. 1983</ref> that Krini was built on the site of Palaeopharsalos, where the old road south from Larissa emerged from the hills on to the Pharsalian Plain.

In the time of [[Pliny the Elder]], Pharsalus was a free state.<ref>{{Cite Pliny|4.8.15}}</ref> It is also mentioned by [[Hierocles (author of Synecdemus)|Hierocles]] in the sixth century.<ref>{{Cite Hierocles|642}}</ref>

===Modern Farsala===
[[File:Pharsalus, according to a sketch by Daniel - Wordsworth Christopher - 1882.jpg|thumb|right|Farsala in the 19th century]]
[[File:Battle_of_Farsala_battle_by_Roilos.jpg|thumb|''The Battle of Farsala'' by [[Georgios Roilos]] (1867–1928).]]
Farsala was known as ''Çatalca'' during Ottoman rule.

Following the [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]] the city became part of the [[Kingdom of the Hellenes|Hellenic Kingdom]] together with the rest of [[Thessaly]] in 1881. During the [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)|First Greco-Turkish War]] (1897), a {{Interlanguage link multi|major battle|el|3=Μάχη των Φαρσάλων (1897)}} took place in the vicinity of Farsala.

The contemporary town has no historical or medieval buildings left as a result of a [[World War II]] bombardment and [[1954 Sofades earthquake|a catastrophic earthquake that struck the area in 1954]]. Small scale urbanization processes attracted population from surrounding villages during the 80's and 90's creating an urban landscape typical of Greek cities with small apartment buildings in nearby plots of land.

==Municipality== 
The municipality Farsala was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:<ref name=Kallikratis>{{Cite web|url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL8-SrPzKAEPjjtIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIukI0UzcPsWCK0LpLhpa7rhiWB4R5ntTnoWw7U8E1Amg.|title=ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text|language=el|publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]}}</ref>
*[[Enippeas]] 
*Farsala 
*[[Narthaki]]
*[[Polydamantas]]

==Province==
The province of Farsala ({{langx|el|Επαρχία Φαρσάλων}}) was one of the [[provinces of Greece|provinces]] of the Larissa Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality.<ref name=census91>{{cite web|url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00086.pdf |title=Detailed census results 1991 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183824/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00086.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-03 }}&nbsp;{{small|(39&nbsp;MB)}} {{in lang|el|fr}}</ref> It was abolished in 2006.

==Historical population==
{| class=wikitable
! Year !! Town !! Municipal unit !! Municipality 
|-
| 1981 || 7,211 || - || -  
|-
| 1991 || 8,457 || 9,464 || -  
|-
| 2001 || 9,801 || 10,812 || -  
|-
| 2011 || 9,337 || 9,982 || 18,545
|-
| 2021 || 9,027 || 9,520 || 16,341
|}

==See also==
* [[Battle of Pharsalus | Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC)]] 
* [[Battle of Pharsalus (1277)]]
* [[Battle of Pharsalus (1897)]]
* [[List of settlements in the Larissa regional unit]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Pharsalus}}
*[http://www.farsala.gr/ The official site of Farsala.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824095949/http://www.farsala.gr/ |date=2013-08-24 }} {{in lang|el}}
*[https://www.livius.org/articles/place/pharsalus/ Livius.org: Pharsalus] (in antiquity)

{{Kallikratis-Thessaly}}
{{Farsala div}}
{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in Larissa (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Thessaly]]
[[Category:Farsala| ]]
[[Category:Aromanian settlements in Greece]]
[[Category:Provinces of Greece]]