Ephraim medieval fortress

Overview

In 1206, Geoffroy de Villardouin, a historian of the Latin Empire and marshal of Champagne and Romania, reported in his chronicle that the Crusaders, after following Kaloyan for five days, "set up camp in a beautiful place, in a castle. which is called Fraim (Ephraim) ". The Crusaders stayed in Freim for three days, after which they decided to ride forward to the fortress Mnyak (most likely located near the village of Darets, Kardzhali region). According to the Byzantine chronicler George the Acropolis in the autumn of 1254 (during the reign of Tsar Michael Assen) Bulgarian troops entered the Rhodopes and without encountering resistance, captured a number of fortresses, including the fortress of Ephraim (Ephraim). Here is what the Acropolis wrote in his "History": , Krivus and Ephraim near Adrianople ". Of all the fortresses listed, the fortress of Ephraim (Ephraim) is really located closest to Adrianople (today's Edirne). As for the rapid capture of the fortresses in the eastern Rhodope region of Ahrid, the Acropolis itself states the reason: "The inhabitants, who were Bulgarians, sided with their fellow tribesmen and shook off the yoke of foreigners." Anastas Razboynikov in his article "On the fortress of Ephraim (Ephraim)" argues that the medieval fortress of Ephraim was located near the present-day village of Ephraim. The Ephraim fortress is also mentioned by the Acropolis and that the name of the village of Ephraim is found in Turkish documents from the 16th century. The historian VN Zlatarski also mentions the medieval fortress of Ephraim, writing that Michael II Assen conquered "Ephraim near Edirne ".

Most likely, the medieval fortress of Ephraim (Ephraim) was located on the top of "St. Marina", where the remains of a fortress were found. Of course, future archeological excavations will finally identify the site of the fortress.