History
East Thrace was the setting for several important historical events.
- The Greek myth of Hero and Leander takes place in the ancient city of Sestus.
- Aeneas founded the city of Aenus while trying to find new lands during his mythological conquests.
- After the death of Alexander the Great, in the period called the Diadochi, Alexander's general Lysimachus (360-281 BC) became king of Thrace and established his capital in Lysimachia.
- Çimpe Castle was the first European territory held by the Ottoman Empire.
- Edirne was the second capital of the Ottoman Empire after Bursa.
- The Gallipoli Campaign, one of the most important of the First World War, was fought near the city of Gelibolu.
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Hero and Leander
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Coin of Lysimachus
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Selimiye Mosque, Edirne
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Beach Hellas, in the Gallipoli Campaign
Prior to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the distribution of nationalities in the local Sanjacks was as follows:
| Ottoman Official Statistics, 1910 | |||||||
| Sanjack | Turks | Greeks | Bulgarians | Others | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edirne | 128,000 | 113,500 | 31,500 | 14,700 | 287,700 | ||
| Kirk Kilisse | 53,000 | 77,000 | 28,500 | 1,150 | 159,650 | ||
| Tekirdağ | 63,500 | 56,000 | 3,000 | 21,800 | 144,300 | ||
| Gallipoli | 31,500 | 70,500 | 2,000 | 3,200 | 107,200 | ||
| Çatalca | 18,000 | 48,500 | 2,340 | 68,840 | |||
| Istanbul | 450,000 | 260,000 | 6,000 | 130,000 | 846,000 | ||
| Total % |
744,000 46,11% |
625,500 38,76% |
71,000 4,40% |
173,190 10,74% |
1,613,690 | ||
| Ecumenical Patriarchate Statistics, 1912 | |||||||
| Total % |
604,500 36,20% |
655,600 39,27% |
71,800 4,30% |
337,600 20,22% |
1,669,500 | ||
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