Architectural reserve Thracian and ancient city of Kabile - Yambol

Overview

According to ancient sources, Kabile was a center of special importance for Southeastern Thrace. The city was founded around 2000 BC. and was located on the top of the hill Zaichi peak, which is the only hill in the area, near the bend of the river Tonzos (Tundzha), from where the river goes south to flow into the river Maritsa near Edirne (Edirne). In antiquity and in antiquity, the bend of the river was near Zaychi peak, where the river formed wide spills, convenient for piers. Today, the river has shifted its bed 2.5 km to the north.

In the second half of the first millennium BC. Kabile is one of the main urban centers of the Odrysian kingdom, which in a short time managed to unite most of the Thracian tribes on the Balkan Peninsula and waged successful wars with the Macedonians, Peons and Illyrians. In the 3rd century BC. it is now part of the territory ruled by the Thracian Odrysians and part of the territory controlled by them. The city was built according to all the rules of the Hellenic cities. He had an agora, a square around which life in the city was concentrated. On the square there was a temple of Apollo and a larger temple of the goddess Artemis - Hecate, which housed many of the inscriptions carved on stone stelae concerning the city.

In 341 BC. the city was conquered by the army of Philip of Macedon, and later became part of the empire of Alexander the Great. The city is mentioned in the works of 14 ancient authors, the earliest of whom describes the conquest of the city by Philip of Macedon.

The Greek author Lampsack in the II century describes the city as a chorion, ie. a fortified city located in the middle of Thrace by the Tundzha River. At the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century BC, Kabile was one of the residences of the Odrysian rulers Sparotok and Skostock and practically functioned as a city-state. Sparotok mints coins with its image in the first quarter of the 3rd century BC.

Around the time of the Celtic invasion, royal power in Kabylia was replaced by city government. In the III - II century BC. the city mints coins with the image of the cult statue of Artemis Phosphoros. It is mentioned by Theopompus, Polybius and Anaximenes. During this era, the city was a major economic and commercial center and maintained extensive ties with Asia Minor, the cities along the Thracian coast and the Aegean world. (About 500 amphorae from some centers in the Eastern Mediterranean were found on the territory of Kabile.

In 71 BC. the city became part of the Roman Empire after being conquered by the army of Mark Lucullus and after 45 years was part of the Roman province of Thrace. The city was a major military and commercial center in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. The city is the most important Roman military camp in the province of Thrace in the II - III century AD, which housed the cohort of lucenses. Baths, public buildings, barracks, sanctuaries, fortress walls are built in it. Kabyle is one of the main cities in its province after the reforms of Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century. It is located at the crossroads between the roads Augusta Trayana - Adrianople and Augusta Trayana - Anhialo. Building inscriptions from the Roman emperors Hadrian, Anthony Pius, Caracalla, Alexander the Great, Aurelian, Galerius have been preserved.

In the 4th century, the city appeared to be an episcopal center, as the local bishop of the North was mentioned as a participant in the Council of Serdica, and some authors identified the diocese with Diospolis, known from other sources. The monumental three-nave basilica with the mosaic floors, some of which are exhibited in the museum at Architectural reserve Thracian and ancient city of Kabile dates from this period.

At the end of the IV century it was conquered by the Goths. The end of the city comes after the invasion of the Avars in 583, when it was destroyed and then never rebuilt. It continued to exist as an ordinary settlement until the Ottoman invasion of the Bulgarian lands in the 14th century. In the Middle Ages, a small settlement was built on the site of the ancient city. It preserves its old name, which with regular changes, according to the phonetics of the Old Bulgarian language is preserved until the beginning of the XIX century - Kovel. At the northern end of the village of Kabile was excavated a church from the XI century, built into a Thracian mound, apparently connected with this settlement from the late Middle Ages.

At 7 km. from Yambol is the only large Thracian city preserved in Bulgaria - the ancient Kabile. It has a unique chance to be preserved to this day. It is fully explored and easily accessible to tourists. The architectural remains of "Kabile" are impressive, most have been restored. The architectural reserve is on the list of the 100 national tourist sites, under number 99.

The characteristic of the site is that it gives a unique opportunity for a kind of time travel with stops: Prehistory; Thracian era; Hellenistic period, Roman era, early Middle Ages and others.

The architectural remains of Kabyle are very impressive. These include basilicas, churches, public buildings and fortress walls. Most of them have been preserved and restored. The finds from the excavations can be seen in the museum of the reserve. And if you walk to the altar of "Rabbit Peak", on one of the rocks you will see the preserved to this day sculpted image of Artemis.

In the ancient city of Kabile on an area of ​​1000 sq.m. extends the newly built “Castellum / Castra Cabile. The attraction is an earthen wooden camp with three wooden towers, a battle path, gates, shaped streets, a fenced yard of the military unit (Principia), a temporary tent for headquarters (Praetorium) and tents for soldiers and officers (Contuberniq and Centurio). It is a natural setting for reconstructions of historical events.

Visitors to the site can enjoy a film about the history of Kabyle, 3D reconstructions of four of the exhibited sites, walk around the reserve with an audio guide system or order a special talk for astronomical and biometric observations related to the Thracian rock sanctuary "Zaichi Vruh" - an ancient solar observatory.