Marcianopolis, the Roman Provincial Capital at Devnya
Marcianopolis was a Roman city and provincial capital whose ruins lie at today’s Devnya, in north-eastern Bulgaria, about 25 km from Varna. It has been partly excavated, and visitors can see an amphitheatre, stretches of ancient street and rich mosaics, some still in place. It is an easy detour for anyone exploring the Black Sea hinterland.
For a few years in the 360s a Roman emperor ran a war from this town, once the largest city in Thrace. Today it lies under the modern town of Devnya, near Varna.
The history of Marcianopolis
The emperor Trajan founded the city after the Second Dacian War, which ended in 106, and named it after his sister, Ulpia Marciana. Roman inscriptions sometimes add his family name and call it Marcianopolis Ulpia. English Wikipedia says the site was earlier known as Parthenopolis, while German Wikipedia calls that identification mistaken, so the point is left open here. Roads from the Danube crossed here and led on to Constantinople and the Black Sea, which made it a key strategic centre. From 187 to 193 it was part of the province of Thrace, and afterwards of Moesia Inferior.
Under the Severan dynasty the city prospered. It was granted the right to mint its own coins under Commodus, and it struck them for decades. That prosperity ended with a Gothic raid in 248–249, when the defenders drove the attackers off, and with further invasions from the north. Later Gothic attacks, in the 260s, were also repulsed. Under Diocletian the city became the centre of the province of Moesia Secunda and was rebuilt thoroughly in the late third and early fourth century.
In the fourth century Marcianopolis grew in importance at the expense of its neighbour Odessos, today’s Varna. It was an important episcopal centre, and its bishop took part in the Council of Serdica, with a basilica from that period excavated in the twentieth century. During the war of Emperor Valens against the Goths in the late 360s, the city served as a temporary capital and winter residence of the empire, and an ancient source calls it the largest city of Thrace. The Notitia Dignitatum records an imperial arms factory here.
In 447 the Huns under Attila destroyed the city, immediately after the bloody battle of the Utus river. Justinian I restored and fortified it, and the historian Procopius reports repairs to the city wall in his reign. In 587 the Avars took Marcianopolis, but the Byzantines retook it at once, and in 596 the Byzantine army was quartered there before crossing the Danube to attack the Avars. An Avar raid in 614–615 finally destroyed the city, although it still appeared on maps much later.
When Slavs settled in the Balkans in the seventh century, they called the ruins Devina, the root of the modern name Devnya. Around 678 the region passed to the Bulgarians. Of the city’s Christian buildings, the remains of four churches are known, among them a presumed episcopal cathedral on a rise at the southern edge of the city, built as a single-nave church in the late fourth century and enlarged into a three-aisled one in the sixth.
Curious facts about Marcianopolis
- The city was named after Trajan’s sister, Ulpia Marciana, and its full Roman name could include the emperor’s own family name.
- In 1929 a hoard of more than 80,000 Roman silver coins was found at Devnya, known as the Marcianopolis treasure.
- The mosaics of the House of Antiope, a Roman villa of the late third or early fourth century, are exhibited in the Museum of Mosaics, and some remain in place.
- The late Roman Notitia Dignitatum mentions an imperial arms factory in the city.
- The Slavs who settled here in the seventh century gave the ruins the name Devina, from which modern Devnya takes its name.
- The city won the right to mint its own coins under the emperor Commodus, and later coins showed temples and a triumphal arch.
Tours near Marcianopolis
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Marcianopolis: what to expect
- The visible remains include the Roman amphitheatre, stretches of ancient streets and the mosaics of the House of Antiope.
- The mosaics are shown in the Museum of Mosaics in Devnya, with some in situ; check the current opening hours before you go.
- Part of the ancient city still lies under the modern town and has not been excavated, so expect only fragments.
- The site is about 25 km from Varna, so it combines easily with a day in the Varna region.
- Other sights nearby include Solnitsata, about 14 km away, the Varna Necropolis, about 23 km, and the Roman Thermae in Varna, about 27 km.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Marcianopolis is
Photos of Marcianopolis
Questions
What was Marcianopolis?
Marcianopolis was a Roman city, provincial capital and later an important bishopric in Moesia. Its site lies at the modern town of Devnya in north-eastern Bulgaria.
Where is Marcianopolis and how far is it from Varna?
It lies in Devnya, on the west bank of Lake Beloslav, about 25 km from Varna and the Black Sea coast.
Who founded Marcianopolis?
The emperor Trajan founded it after the Second Dacian War, which ended in 106, and named it after his sister, Ulpia Marciana.
What can you see at Marcianopolis today?
The remains include a Roman amphitheatre, parts of ancient streets and many mosaics from the House of Antiope. The mosaics are shown in the Museum of Mosaics, some of them in situ.
What happened to Marcianopolis?
It was destroyed by the Huns in 447, restored under Justinian I and finally destroyed by an Avar raid in 614–615. Slavs later called the ruins Devina.
What else is worth seeing near Marcianopolis?
Solnitsata lies about 14 km away, the Varna Necropolis about 23 km and the Roman Thermae in Varna about 27 km.
Also nearby
Museum of Mosaics, Devnya
Devnya · Roman villa with Medusa and mythological mosaics
50 m away
Solnitsata
Provadia · walled salt-makers' town, over 6,000 years old
14 km away
Varna Necropolis
Varna · Copper Age cemetery with the “oldest gold in the world”
23 km away
Roman Thermae in Varna
Varna · the Balkans' largest Roman baths, later a prison
27 km away