View source for Vize

{{Distinguish|Vize Island}}
{{Infobox Turkey place
| type                 = municipality
| name                 = Vize
| other_name           = 
| image_skyline        = Vize view - P1020883.JPG
| image_caption        = 
| image_shield         = 
| coordinates          = {{coord|41|34|25|N|27|45|55|E|region:TR|display=inline,title}}
| province             = Kırklareli
| district             = Vize
| leader_party         = CHP
| leader_name          = Ercan Özalp
| area_footnotes       = 
| area_total_km2       = 
| elevation_m          = 168
| population_footnotes = <ref name=tuik/>
| population_total     = 15116
| population_as_of     = 2022
| postal_code          = 39400
| area_code            = 0288
| website              = {{URL|https://www.vize.bel.tr/}}
}}
'''Vize''' ({{IPA|tr|ˈvize|lang}}; {{langx|el|Βιζύη}}; {{langx|bg|Виза}}) is a town in [[Kırklareli Province]] in the [[Marmara Region, Turkey|Marmara]] region of [[Turkey]]. It is the seat of [[Vize District]].<ref name=ilce>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx İlçe Belediyesi], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023.</ref> Its population is 15,116 (2022).<ref name=tuik>{{Cite web |title=Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports|url=https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=95&locale=en |access-date=13 March 2023|publisher=[[TÜİK]]|language=en|format=XLS}}</ref> The mayor is Ercan Özalp ([[Republican People's Party|CHP]]). The town's distance to the provincial centre is {{convert|56|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Vize is situated on [[State road D.020 (Turkey)|state road D.020]], which runs from [[Istanbul]] to [[Edirne]] via Kırklareli. In 2012 Vize was designated a [[Cittaslow]] (Slow City).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vize {{!}} Cittaslow International |url=https://www.cittaslow.org/network/vize |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=www.cittaslow.org |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Antiquity ===
Under the ancient name of '''Bizya''' or '''Bizye''' ({{langx|grc|Βιζύη}}) Vize served as a capital for the ancient [[Thracians|Thracian]] tribe of the [[Asti (Thracian tribe)|Asti]], and was mentioned by several ancient authors.<ref>{{Cite Pliny|4.18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''s.v.'' Βιζύη}}</ref>

From inscriptions it seems that during the late 1st century [[Common Era|BCE]] Bizye was under local rule of the [[Sapians]] rather than under direct Roman control.<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|73}}

The martyrs [[August_23_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics)#Saints|Memnon and Severos]] were killed in Bizye as part of the [[Diocletianic Persecution]] beginning in 303.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} In 353 CE, the exiled [[Eustathius of Antioch]] chose to settle in Bizye, where he later died.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} The city is documented as the seat of an [[archbishop]], as a suffragan of Heraclea, as early as the 5th century.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}}

=== Middle Ages ===
Beginning in the 6th century, water was piped from Bizye to Constantinople, and some of the pipes are still visible.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} In 773 or 774, the emperor [[Constantine V]] had a bridge built here.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}}

Bizye is described as a city ([[polis]]) in the province of [[Europe]] in the ''[[Synecdemus]]'' of [[Hierocles (author of Synecdemus)|Hierocles]], as well as later in the ''[[De Thematibus]]'' of [[Constantine Porphyrogenitus]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}}

The city appears to be identical with the "Uzusa" ({{langx|el|Οὔζουσα}}) mentioned by the [[council in Trullo]] in 692, which was signed by one Geōrgios ''elachistos episkopos Uzusēs tēs Thrakōn chōras''.<ref name="TIB">{{cite book |last1=Külzer |first1=Andreas |last2=Koder |first2=Johannes |title=Tabula Imperii Byzantini Bd. 12. Ostthrakien (Eurōpē) |date=2008 |publisher=Börsedruck Ges.m.b.H. |location=Wien |isbn=978-3-7001-3945-4 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262811655_Ostthrakien_Europe_Tabula_Imperii_Byzantini_12_Osterreichische_Akademie_der_Wissenschaften_phil-hist_Kl_Denkschriften_369_Wien_2008 |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> Since there is no signature for a representative of Bizye in the document, it is assumed that they are the same place.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|690}}

[[Proto-Bulgarian]] inscriptions indicate that Khan [[Krum]] captured and probably destroyed Bizye.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} During the 9th and 10th centuries the town served as the head of a [[tourmarches]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} In the aftermath of [[Thomas the Slav]]'s rebellion in 823, his stepson Anastasios attempted to take refuge in Bizye but was handed over by the city's residents to the emperor.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} The folk saint [[Mary the Younger]] lived in Bizye after her marriage in 896 to Nikephoros, who was tourmarches here.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} After her death in 903, she was venerated as a saint, and her cult became very popular in Bizye and the surrounding regions.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}}

The Bulgarian emperor [[Simeon I of Bulgaria|Simeon I]] captured Bizye in c. 925 after a five-year-long siege; the city's walls were destroyed, and most of its population fled to nearby [[Kıyıköy|Medea]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} Whether Bizye was later targeted during [[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter I]]'s campaign in eastern Thrace in 927 is uncertain.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}}

In the 12th century, the Arab geographer [[al-Idrisi]] described Bizye as a large and well-fortified city in a fertile valley, with thriving commerce and industry.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}} When [[Cuman]] invaders came and looted eastern Thrace in 1199, a Byzantine army was dispatched from Bizye to repel them.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}} They were at first successful, but their initial victory was squandered because the Byzantine troops got greedy.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|289}}

After the [[sack of Constantinople]] in April 1204, Bizye became part of the new [[Latin Empire]] as per the [[Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}} The city did not submit to the Latins at first, and it wasn't until March 1205 that it was brought to heel, along with the similarly rebellious cities of [[Arcadiopolis]] (modern [[Lüleburgaz]]) and [[Tzurulon]] (modern [[Çorlu]]).<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|290}} Just one month later, though, the Latin army was defeated by a combined force of Bulgars and Cumans led by Tsar [[Kaloyan]], who then launched a series of invasions throughout eastern Thrace.<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|290}} Bizye was one of the few cities in the region that remained unaffected by these incursions.<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|290}} Toward the end of 1205, the nobleman [[Anseau de Cayeux]] was sent to garrison the city along with 120 knights.<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|290}} Later in June 1206, the emperor [[Henry of Flanders]] set up camp at Bizye, which was honored as ''"mult ere bone et forz"''.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}}

Sometime after 1225, an [[Despotate of Epirus|Epirote]] force under [[Theodore Komnenos Doukas]] advanced on Bizye, but they were unable to take possession of the city.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}} In 1237, the Cumans again invaded Thrace, and many of Bizye's residents were captured and sold as slaves.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}} In August 1246, the Latin emperor [[Baldwin II of Constantinople|Baldwin II]] negotiated a deal with the [[Order of Santiago|Order of Saint James]] which would have ceded Bizye and Medea to the order along with possessions in Constantinople. However the treaty was never put into effect.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}} In 1147, Bizye (along with Tzurulon, Medea, and [[Derkos]]) came under the control of [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]], who had allied with the Bulgarians.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}}

Either at the end of 1255 or the beginning of 1256, the emperor [[Theodore II Laskaris]] defeated a combined Bulgarian and Cuman force somewhere between Bizye and [[Bulgarophygon]] (modern [[Babaeski|Babeski]]).<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}} He then concluded a peace treaty that fixed a new border in the upper [[Maritsa]] valley.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}}

From 1286 to 1355, Bizye was the centre of one of three known military districts called [[megala allagia]] (the other two were [[Thessaloniki]] and [[Serres]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}} This district covered the entire area stretching roughly from [[Mesembria]] in the north to Arcadiopolis in the west and the suburbs of Constantinople in the east.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|290}}

In 1304, a large Byzantine army was assembled at Bizye, commanded by emperor [[Michael IX]] and [[Michael Doukas Glabas Tarchaneiotes]] in an attempt to stop an incursion under [[Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} The Byzantines had already been defeated at [[Skaphidas]] and at Bizye they were defeated again.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}}

In 1307, over the protests of the ''megas tzausios'' Humbertopoulos, the local population attempted to fight a [[Catalans|Catalan]] force with [[Turkish people|Turkish]] auxiliaries under the command of [[Ferran Ximenes de Arenos]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} They were defeated, and the Catalans looted the city.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} The city was again looted in 1313, this time by a Turkish force led by Ḫalil; the Turks were later defeated in battle at [[Xerogypsos]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}}

In the winter of 1322, [[Syrgiannes Palaiologos]] captured Bizye along with [[Raidestos]] (modern [[Tekirdağ]]) and [[Sergentzion]], but almost immediately lost the city to the forces of [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} Andronikos himself stayed in Bizye for several days during the summer of 1324 due to an illness.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} That September, Bizye's annual donation to the [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]] was set at 100 [[hyperpera]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} Andronikos returned to Bizye with an army in 1328, in anticipation of an attack by his former ally [[Michael Shishman]] that never came.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} In the summer of 1332, the theologian [[Matthaios of Ephesos]] stopped in Bizye en route to [[Brysis]], where he had been appointed to office; he only stayed briefly, but he wrote that there were numerous [[holy well]]s or ''hagiasmata'' ([[Turkish language|Turkish:]] ''ayazma'') in the area, which were consecrated to the Blessed Mother.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} The area around Bizye was described as unsafe due to the presence of robbers<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}}

In 1344, Bizye was captured by [[John VI Kantakouzenos]], who installed his general [[Manuel Komnenos Raul Asen]] as governor of the city.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} A few years later, in the late 1340s, a force of 1,200 Turkish horsemen penetrated Byzantine territory as far as Bizye.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} After [[Matthew Kantakouzenos]] was forced to abdicate the imperial throne, Bizye remained under his effective control, and he stayed here several times in 1356.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}}

As part of a synodal act in August 1355, which ratified an alliance between the emperor [[John V Palaiologos]] and [[Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria]], the metropolitanate of Bizye was given the archdiocese of Derkos as an ''[[epidosis]]'' for about two years.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}} A similar thing happened with the diocese of [[Stauropolis (diocese)|Stauropolis]] in July 1361.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291}}

The inhabitants of Bizye were possibly resettled in 1357 or 58, perhaps because of Turkish brigands taking advantage of the fact that the city's garrison had been depleted by the fighting between John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|291–2}}

In the autumn of 1358, [[Manuel Asanes]], Matthew's uncle-turned-enemy, asked John V to make him governor of Bizye.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|292}}

In 1368, Bizye came under the control of the Gazi Turks along with other areas in the southern [[Istranca Mountains|Istranca mountains]].<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|292}}<ref name=bakal>{{cite journal|work=[[Byzantinische Zeitschrift]]|title=Les limites de l'empire byzantin depuis la fin du XIVe siècle jusqu'à sa chute (1453)|last=Bakalopoulos|first=A.|year=1962|pages=56–65|volume=55|doi=10.1515/byzs.1962.55.1.56}}</ref>{{rp|59}} The metropolitan of Bizye was reassigned to Mesembria and [[Pomorie|Anchialos]] to compensate for the loss of Bizye.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|292}}<ref name=bakal/>{{rp|59}} During the [[Ottoman Interregnum|Ottoman civil war]], Bizye was ceded by the Ottoman emir [[Süleyman Çelebi]] to [[Manuel II Palaiologos]] in 1403 and then reconquered by the Ottomans under [[Musa Çelebi]] in 1410 or 1411.{{rp|292}}<ref name=bakal/>{{rp|59–61}} After the elimination of Musa, Sultan [[Mehmed I]] restored the town to [[Manuel II Palaiologos]] in 1413.<ref name="TIB"/>{{rp|292}}<ref name=bakal/>{{rp|61}}

=== Ottoman period ===
Bizye finally came under definitive Turkish control at the beginning of 1453, possibly under [[Karaca Paşa]].<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|292}}<ref name=bakal/>{{rp|64}}

The Turkish traveler [[Evliya Çelebi]] visited Vize in 1661, during his sixth journey.<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|292}} He described it as the seat of a [[sanjak-bey]], inhabited by a mixture of Turks, Bulgarians, and Greeks, and famous for its [[leek]]s.<ref name="TIB" />{{rp|292}}

According to the [[1914 population statistics for the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman population statistics of 1914]], the [[kaza]] of Vize had a total population of 14,109, consisting of 10,020 Muslims and 4,089 [[Ottoman Greeks|Greeks]].<ref>[[Kemal Karpat]] (1985), [https://kupdf.net/downloadFile/59e4a7b908bbc56144e653d7 Ottoman Population, 1830-1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics], [[The University of Wisconsin Press]], p. 170-171</ref>

==Places of interest==
[[File:Vize Hagia Sophia - P1020915.JPG|thumb|200px|Little Hagia Sophia of Vize (now, Gazi Süleyman Paşa Cami )]]
The [[acropolis]] area on the hill above the town has a commanding position overlooking the surrounding area and still retains some ancient remains;<ref>[https://archive.today/20120729063750/http://www.dainst.org/index_42610f71bb1f14a167050017f0000011_en.html Byzantine Church - Ottoman Mosque - Endangered Architectural Monument: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey of the Hagia Sophia at Vize]</ref>  the remains of the ancient theatre were discovered on the slope of the acropolis in the 1990s. Many burial mounds constructed for the rulers of Thracian Kingdom are scattered cross the plains around the town.

'''Little Hagia Sophia Church (Gazi Süleyman Pasha Mosque)''' ({{langx|tr|Küçük Ayasofya Kilisesi (Gazi Süleyman Paşa Camii)}}) is a former [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] era [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] church built during the reign of Emperor [[Justinian I]] (reigned 527–565). It converted into a mosque in the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] era. Designed on a [[basilica#Basilicas in Eastern Orthodoxy|basilican]] plan, the church was constructed over the foundations of A Temple of [[Apollo]] with masonry stone and brick. The [[cruciform]]-shaped church consisted of a [[nave]] with two rows of columns with three columns each, two [[aisle]]s and an [[apse]]. Its original wooden roof was replaced in the 12th and 13th centuries by a high dome. The building is vaulted around the dome in a style that is not normally seen in [[Byzantine architecture]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vize.com.tr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23 |publisher=vize.com |title=Küçük Ayasofya Kilisesi (Süleyman Paşa Camii) |date=2006-04-05 |language=tr |access-date=2011-12-18 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hagia Sophia in Bizye |url=https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/hagia-sophia-bizye |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=The Byzantine Legacy |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Vize city wall - P1020887.JPG|thumb|200px|Remains of the city wall]]
'''Vize Fortress''' ({{langx|tr|Vize Kalesi}}) is a [[fortification]] constructed in the [[Ancient Roman]] era at the northwest of the town. The fortress is believed to have been built originally in 72-76 B.C., and was revived during the reign of [[Justinian I]]. It is constructed of clear cut stones and [[rubble masonry]] on foundations with stone blocks of {{convert|50|x|80|cm|in|abbr=on}} and {{convert|100|x|150|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The bluish colour of the stones of the north wall indicates that this section was rebuilt in the [[Byzantium under the Palaiologoi|Late Byzantine era]] during the [[Palaiologos|Palaeologian dynasty]]. The fortress consists of two nested walls. The western and southern walls are intact. An inscription in Greek letters found at the fortress, says "Here were watchtowers built under the administration of Firmus, the son of Aulus Pores, along with Aulus Kenthes, the son of Rytes the son of Kenthes, and Rabdus, the son of Hyakinthus." It is exhibited in [[Kırklareli Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vize.com.tr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28 |publisher=vize.com |title=Vize Kalesi |date=2006-04-05 |language=tr |access-date=2011-12-18 }}</ref>

[[File:Vize amphitheater - P1020857.JPG|thumb|200px|Roman theatre]]
'''The Theatre''' ({{langx|tr|antik tiyatro}}) was built in the 2nd century during the [[Late Roman Empire|Late Roman era]] and is the only one known in [[Thrace]]. It was discovered in 1998 during archaeological excavations carried out on the Çömlektepe tumulus. Parts of the [[cavea]] (spectators' seats) still exist with aisles between the seats as do parts of the [[scaenae]] (stage) and orchestra. Reliefs from the [[scaenae frons]], the stage backdrop, are exhibited in [[Kırklareli Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vize.com.tr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24 |publisher=vize.com |title=Antik Tiyatro (Odeon) |date=2006-04-05 |language=tr |access-date=2011-12-18 }}</ref>

The town also has some [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] structures, in addition to an ancient [[synagogue]].

==Image gallery==
<gallery>
File:Vize - Hasan Bey Mosque - P1020925.JPG|Hasan Bey Mosque
File:Vize city wall - P1020897.JPG|A watchtower on the city walls
File:Kırklareli Vize.jpg|alt=|A lake near Vize
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Vize}}
* {{Official website|http://www.vize.bel.tr|Municipality's official website}}
* [http://www.thracian.info Information on ancient Thrace]

{{Vize District}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places of the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Kırklareli Province]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Turkey]]
[[Category:Populated places in Vize District]]
[[Category:District municipalities in Turkey]]
[[Category:Cittaslow]]