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HADRIANOPOLIS

The ancient city referred to as “Paphlagonian Hadrianopolis” is today located within the borders of Karabük Province, approximately 3 km west of the district center of Eskipazar, in an area known as “Viranşehir,” extending across the surrounding lands of the villages of Budaklar, Büyükyaylalar, Çaylı, and Beytarla. The ancient city of Hadrianopolis lies at the intersection of the regions of Paphlagonia, Bithynia, and Galatia, northeast of Krateia.

Archaeological surveys and excavations carried out from 2003 to the present indicate that Hadrianopolis, situated on important trade routes of the Paphlagonia region, functioned as a significant marketplace during the Roman period in the context of regional commerce. This helps explain why the city was continuously inhabited throughout history.

Hadrianopolis was connected to the province of Galatia in 5 BCE under the name “Kaisareis Proseilemmentiai.” From the 2nd century CE onward, the city’s name was changed to “Kaisareis Hadrianopoleitai.” Although it is not definitively known whether the name was changed directly by Emperor Hadrian, the presence of the imperial cult in the city is confirmed by an inscription. This inscription includes the phrases: Hadrian, son of a god; Trajan, grandson of a god; and Nerva, great-grandson of a god. Based on the existing remains, the ancient city appears to have gained particular importance during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. During the Byzantine era, the administrative territory of Hadrianopolis was quite extensive, reaching as far as present-day Karabük.

Inscriptions discovered at the site further indicate that Hadrianopolis functioned as a marketplace located along major trade routes. At an unknown date, a city named Sora was established and separated from the territory of Hadrianopolis. In the Early Byzantine period, the city was initially attached to the province of Paphlagonia. During the reign of Theodosius I (379–395), it was incorporated into the newly established province of Honorias. In 535, following changes in the Byzantine political structure, the city was administratively reassigned to the province of Paphlagonia, while remaining ecclesiastically connected to Honorias and subject to the Church of Honorias.

Saint Alypius, who arrived in Hadrianopolis at the age of 32 and lived for approximately fifty years on a column in the city’s old necropolis, holds particular significance in the city’s history. It is said that a women’s monastery dedicated to Saint Euphemia was established near this column. In the 720s CE, the neighboring city of Gangra was subjected to Umayyad raids, which negatively affected Hadrianopolis and contributed to its gradual abandonment.

Excavations and surveys conducted in the city have yielded limited data dating to the period after the 8th century CE. Subsequently, the city came under the control of the Oghuz Turks, the Anatolian Seljuk State, the Candaroğulları Beylik, and finally the Ottoman State.