Town in northern Bulgaria
City in Pleven, Bulgaria
Capitulation of Nikopol fortress, July 4, 1877
The medieval
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
in Nikopol
View of the Danube at Nikopol in winter
Entrance gate to the Nikopol Fortress
Nikopol
(
Bulgarian
:
Никопол
[ni?k?po?]
; historically
Greek
:
Νικ?πολι?, Nikopolis
,
Latin
:
Nicopolis
,
Turkish
:
Ni?bolu
) is a town in northern
Bulgaria
, the administrative center of
Nikopol Municipality
, part of
Pleven Province
, on the right bank of the
Danube
river, 4 kilometres (2 miles) downstream from the Danube’s confluence with the
Osam
river. It spreads at the foot of steep chalk cliffs along the Danube and up a narrow valley.
History
[
edit
]
Plan of fort
The
Roman
fort
("Shsihmanova" or "Kaleto Fortress") is located on the western hill of Nikopol overlooking the town. It was initially built probably in the 1st c. AD as part of the
Limes Moesiae
frontier defense system along the
Danube
, part of the Danubian
limes
. The garrison before 49 AD was
Ala I Scubulorum
, a cavalry regiment.
[1]
The Roman town grew up outside the fort.
[2]
Two other Roman forts on the Danube were nearby to the west:
Securisca
(3 km) and
Ansamus
(5 km).
[3]
A garrison of one of these was
ala Bosporanorum milliaria
, a nominally 1000-strong cavalry regiment stationed there before the time of
Claudius
(r. 41 to 54).
[4]
Anasamus is included in the
Notitia Dignitatum
with the garrison of the military unit
milites praeventores
[5]
dating to 378 AD, and where there was also a
mansio
included on the
Tabula Peutingeriana
dating from the 3rd c. AD. These
milites praeventores
are the only unit of this type recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum, and was a special regiment for active defense, including surprise actions, of the border sector.
When the border and the Roman Empire in the Lower Danubian lands were strongly threatened by unceasing
Hunnic
raids in 447, the inhabitants of Ansamus showed unexpected high spirit and enviable military skills, by which they not only repelled an enemy siege, but demanded conditions from
Attila
himself, according to
Priscus
.
[6]
"They did not defend themselves from their walls, but fought battles outside the walls against countless troops and famous Scythian generals. Because of this, the Huns despaired and retreated from the town. The inhabitants of the town made raids far from their fortifications when their scouts informed them that enemies were passing, laden with Roman booty. They attacked them unexpectedly and took their booty. Although they were far fewer than the enemy, they exceeded them in courage and strength."
After the decline of the
Roman Empire
, the town turned out to be located at the northern border of the
Byzantine Empire
. In 1059, it was named
Nicopolis
,
Greek
for "City of Victory". During most of the Middle Ages, it was part of the
Bulgarian Empire
from its foundation in 681. After the
fall of Tarnovo
in 1393, the last Bulgarian Tsar
Ivan Shishman
defended what remained of the Empire from the fortress of Nikopol, where he was captured after the town was conquered by the Ottomans in 1395. Nikopol is therefore sometimes considered the capital of Bulgaria during these two years.
[7]
It was the site of the
Battle of Nicopolis
, the last large-scale
crusade
of the Middle Ages, in 1396. At the fortress of Nicopolis, the united armies of Christian Europe headed by
Hungarian
king
Sigismund
and various
French
knights were defeated by the Ottomans under
Bayezid I
and his
Serbian
vassal
Stefan Lazarevi?
.
Under
Ottoman rule
, Nikopol developed into an important military and administrative centre as a
sanjak
, with a strong fortress and a flourishing economic, spiritual and political life, until it went into decline during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the centre of a district (
kaza
), but it was overtaken by
Pleven
as the regional centre of that part of the Bulgarian lands. Nikopol was captured by the Russians in the
Battle of Nikopol
in 1877.
Modern times
[
edit
]
It is the seat of Nikopol municipality and provides services to the local villages. Nikopol was partially flooded by the Danube during the
2006 European floods
, and is currently working on new town infrastructure to manage fluctuations in the Danube River.
Overhead view of Nikopol, northern Bulgaria. - Панорамен изглед от Нико?пол.
The completion of a
car ferry
in 2010 has linked the town to
Turnu M?gurele
across the Danube in Romania, spurring local development, including the opening of new restaurants and the town's first hotel. Nikopol also serves as a port for tourist boats where visitors stop and have the opportunity to take a bus into the nearby city of
Pleven
, or spend the afternoon in Nikopol.
The fifth-largest nature park in Bulgaria,
Persina Natural Park
, lies partially in Nikopol. Persina Natural Park is the only Bulgarian natural park on the Danube River, and contains marshlands, over 200 species of birds, 475 species of plants, and 1,100 species of animals. Based on the importance and uniqueness, Persina Natural Park has been declared a
Ramsar site
.
Tourist attractions in Nikopol include the ruins of the medieval fortress, the richly decorated 13th- or 14th-century
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
, the rock-hewn Church of Saint Stephen, the
Bulgarian National Revival
Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God from 1840, the Elia water fountain with an immured
Ancient Roman
gravestone featuring an
epitaph
, and the
Vasil Levski
museum house.
[8]
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
edit
]
Nikopol is
twinned
with:
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria
, the last emperor of the
Second Bulgarian Empire
, beheaded at Nikopol in 1395
- Jean de Vienne
, French general and knight (1341 – 1396), died at Nikopol
- Jean de Carrouges
, French knight (1330s – 1396), died at Nikopol
- Eve Frank
, born at Nikopol (1754?1816), successor of her father, the
Jewish Messiah claimant
Jacob Frank
, founder of
Frankism
.
- Joseph Karo
, lived in Nikopol from 1523 to 1536
Honour
[
edit
]
Nikopol Point
on
Livingston Island
in the
South Shetland Islands
,
Antarctica
, is named after Nikopol.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Nikopol
.
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- city status after the census of 01.02.2011:
Ignatievo, Kran
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