Tulcea

Tulcea (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈtult͡ʃe̯a]; Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian: Тулча, Tulcha; Greek: Αιγισσός, Aegyssus; Turkish: Hora-Tepé or Tolçu) is a city in Dobrogea, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea county, and had a population of 73,707 as of 2011. One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.

History

Tulcea was founded in the 7th century B.C. under the name of Aegyssus, mentioned in the documents of Diodorus of Sicily (3rd century BC). In his Ex Ponto, Ovid recorded a local tradition that ascribed its name to a mythical founder, Aegisos the Caspian.

After the fights from 12-15 A.D. the Romans conquered the town. They rebuilt it after their plans, their technique and architectural vision, reorganizing it. The fortified town was mentioned as late as the 10th century, in documents such as Notitia Episcopatuum or De Thematibus.

Under Byzantine rule beginning with the 5th century A.D. the town was abandoned by the first half of the 7th century due to the Barbarian invasions. The former settlement's territory fell under the rule of the Bulgarian Empire (681-c.1000; 1185-14th century). Inhabitation was restored in the second half of the 10th century, as the Byzantines built a fortress on the spot after reconquering the region. The fortress was soon destroyed in 1064 by an attack of the Uzes, however some inhabitation continued. A settlement, larger than the one in the 11th century, is archaeologically attested beginning with the 14th century. The Ottoman rule was imposed around 1420, and would last for the following four centuries.