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History & Culture

A Brief History of Thessaloniki: From Ancient Greece to Today

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Few European cities reveal their history as openly as Thessaloniki.

Roman ruins appear beneath busy streets. Byzantine churches stand among modern apartment buildings. Ottoman baths and markets survive beside twentieth-century squares, while the city’s Jewish heritage remains essential to understanding its identity.

The history of Thessaloniki stretches across more than 2,300 years. Founded during the ancient Macedonian period, the city became an important Roman port, one of the Byzantine Empire’s greatest urban centres and a multicultural Ottoman metropolis. It endured sieges, occupations, fires, population movements, war and reconstruction, yet it never lost its importance as a gateway between the Mediterranean and the Balkans.

Modern Thessaloniki is often described through its waterfront, food and lively atmosphere. Beneath that contemporary surface lies a city shaped by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Venetians, Ottomans, Sephardic Jews, refugees and many other communities.

This brief history of Thessaloniki follows the city from its ancient foundation to the present day.

The History of Thessaloniki at a Glance

Thessaloniki’s long history can be divided into several major periods:

  • 316/315 BC: Foundation during the Kingdom of Macedonia
  • 168 BC onward: Roman rule
  • Late antiquity: Growth as an important Christian centre
  • Byzantine period: Development as the empire’s second major city
  • 1430: Ottoman conquest
  • Late fifteenth century onward: Arrival of large numbers of Sephardic Jews
  • 1912: Incorporation into the Greek state
  • 1917: Great Fire destroys much of the historic centre
  • 1920s: Arrival of Greek Orthodox refugees from Asia Minor
  • 1941–1944: German occupation and destruction of the Jewish community
  • Post-war period: Rapid urbanisation and expansion
  • Today: Greece’s second-largest urban centre and a major cultural, educational and commercial city

Thessaloniki was founded in 316/315 BC and quickly benefited from its strategic location and natural harbour. Its role as a major port and commercial centre has continued in different forms for more than two millennia.

Before Thessaloniki: Earlier Settlements Around the Thermaic Gulf

The city of Thessaloniki did not emerge in an empty landscape.

Long before its foundation, communities lived around the Thermaic Gulf. The wider region belonged to ancient Macedonia and contained settlements connected through agriculture, fishing, local trade and maritime routes.

One of the most important earlier settlements was Therme, whose precise location remains debated but was probably situated near the gulf. The name Thermaic Gulf preserves the memory of this earlier place.

When the new city was created during the late fourth century BC, inhabitants from several nearby communities were reportedly brought together within a single urban centre. This process was common in the ancient Greek world and is known as synoecism, the unification of smaller settlements into a larger city.

Thessaloniki therefore began as both a new foundation and the continuation of older communities already established around the gulf.

The Foundation of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki was founded in approximately 316 or 315 BC by Cassander, one of the successors who competed for control of Alexander the Great’s empire.

Cassander named the city after his wife, Thessalonike. She was the daughter of King Philip II of Macedonia and the half-sister of Alexander the Great.

The name itself reflected the prestige of the Macedonian royal family. According to the traditional explanation, Thessalonike’s name commemorated a Macedonian victory in Thessaly.

The new city occupied a highly favourable location. It had access to the Thermaic Gulf, fertile land, inland routes through Macedonia and connections towards the Balkans.

These advantages allowed Thessaloniki to grow rapidly into an important harbour and commercial centre. Its position would remain the main reason for the city’s importance under every empire that followed.

Thessaloniki and the Ancient Macedonian Kingdom

During the Macedonian period, Thessaloniki developed within the political world created by Philip II, Alexander the Great and their successors.

It was not the original royal capital of Macedonia. Aigai, near modern Vergina, had served as the early royal centre, while Pella later became the kingdom’s principal capital.

Thessaloniki’s strength was different. Its harbour and location made it a natural centre for trade, transport and communication.

After Alexander’s death in 323 BC, his vast empire fragmented as rival generals and dynasties fought for territory. Macedonia experienced political instability, but Thessaloniki continued to grow.

Its value did not depend entirely on one ruler or dynasty. The same port and road connections that made it useful to the Macedonians would later make it indispensable to Rome.

Thessaloniki Becomes a Roman City

Rome defeated the Kingdom of Macedonia in the second century BC. After the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC, Macedonia was divided, and it later became a Roman province.

Thessaloniki adapted successfully to Roman rule.

The city stood on the Via Egnatia, one of the most important roads of the Roman world. This route crossed the Balkans and connected the Adriatic region with Macedonia, Thrace and Byzantium.

Thessaloniki’s port allowed goods, soldiers, officials and travellers to move between sea and land routes. The city became the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and developed into a major administrative and commercial centre.

Unlike cities that declined after Roman conquest, Thessaloniki strengthened its regional position. Roman rule expanded the networks that had already supported its growth.

Remains of Roman Thessaloniki survive across the modern centre, often several metres below present street level.

The Roman Forum

The Roman Forum, sometimes called the Ancient Agora, was the centre of public life in Roman Thessaloniki.

The complex included administrative buildings, public spaces, arcades, baths and entertainment facilities. Citizens came here for commerce, official business, social activity and public events.

The archaeological remains now lie below the surrounding streets near modern Aristotelous Square and the Church of Agios Dimitrios.

Its position demonstrates how the modern city was built directly over the ancient one. The Roman Forum was not located at the edge of Thessaloniki; it stood at the heart of the urban centre.

Today, visitors can view columns, paved surfaces and the remains of large public structures surrounded by contemporary buildings.

The Galerian Palace Complex

One of Roman Thessaloniki’s most important periods came during the reign of Emperor Galerius.

At the beginning of the fourth century AD, Galerius used Thessaloniki as an imperial residence and constructed a large palace complex in the eastern part of the city.

The surviving monuments include:

  • The Palace of Galerius
  • The Arch of Galerius
  • The Rotunda
  • Parts of a monumental road connecting the structures

The Arch of Galerius celebrated military victories, while the Rotunda may originally have been planned as a temple, imperial monument or mausoleum. It was later converted into a Christian church.

These buildings show that Thessaloniki was not merely a provincial port. For a time, it was one of the centres from which a Roman emperor governed.

The Arrival of Christianity

Christianity reached Thessaloniki during the Roman period.

According to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul visited the city during the first century AD. His letters to the Thessalonians are among the earliest Christian texts.

The city gradually developed a significant Christian community despite periods of Roman persecution.

Thessaloniki’s most important local saint is Demetrios, traditionally believed to have been martyred during the early fourth century. The Church of Agios Dimitrios stands near the area associated with his imprisonment and death.

After Christianity gained legal recognition within the Roman Empire, churches began appearing across the city. Several of Thessaloniki’s surviving monuments preserve exceptional Early Christian mosaics and architecture.

The city’s Christian importance would become even greater during the Byzantine period.

From Roman Empire to Byzantine Thessaloniki

The term “Byzantine Empire” is used by modern historians to describe the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire.

Its inhabitants continued to think of themselves as Romans, and Thessaloniki remained part of this eastern Roman world for most of the medieval period.

Constantinople became the imperial capital, but Thessaloniki developed into one of the empire’s most important cities. Its port, markets, fortifications and location made it a centre of trade, administration, religion and military defence.

The city is often described as the Byzantine Empire’s second city after Constantinople. Although its exact political importance changed over time, it remained one of the empire’s leading urban centres.

The walls, churches and mosaics surviving today make Byzantine Thessaloniki one of the most visible historical layers of the modern city. UNESCO recognises a group of Thessaloniki’s Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments for their architecture and outstanding mosaics.

The Byzantine Walls

Thessaloniki’s defensive walls protected the city across Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

They once extended around the lower city, followed the slopes of Ano Poli and continued along the waterfront. Towers, gates and fortified positions controlled movement into the city.

Large parts of the lowland and coastal walls were removed during the nineteenth century, but important sections survive in Ano Poli.

The walls reveal Thessaloniki’s strategic vulnerability. Its wealth and location made it attractive to merchants and settlers, but also to armies.

From the surviving fortifications in the Upper Town, visitors can still see why controlling Thessaloniki meant controlling a major route between the Balkans and the Aegean.

The city walls form part of Thessaloniki’s UNESCO-listed collection of Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments.

Byzantine Churches and Mosaics

Thessaloniki contains one of Europe’s most important collections of Early Christian and Byzantine churches.

Among the best-known monuments are:

  • The Rotunda
  • Agios Dimitrios
  • Agia Sofia
  • Acheiropoietos
  • Hosios David
  • Panagia Chalkeon
  • Agioi Apostoloi
  • Agios Nikolaos Orfanos

These buildings date from different centuries and demonstrate changes in Byzantine architecture, worship and artistic style.

Their mosaics and frescoes are especially important. UNESCO describes the mosaics of the Rotunda, Agios Dimitrios and Hosios David as masterpieces of Early Christian art. Thessaloniki’s churches also influenced the development of religious architecture and monumental art elsewhere in the Byzantine and Serbian worlds.

Unlike monuments preserved only as archaeological ruins, many of these churches continue to function as places of worship.

Saints Cyril and Methodius

Thessaloniki is traditionally associated with the brothers Cyril and Methodius, important missionaries in the history of the Slavic world.

Born in the ninth century, they grew up in the multilingual environment of Byzantine Thessaloniki. They were later sent as missionaries to Great Moravia.

Their work contributed to the development of a written liturgical language for Slavic-speaking Christians. Cyril is traditionally associated with the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet, which influenced the later Cyrillic tradition developed by followers of the brothers.

Their story reflects Thessaloniki’s position between Greek-speaking Byzantine culture and the peoples of the Balkans.

The city’s history was never isolated from its northern neighbours. Trade, migration, diplomacy, religion and warfare continually connected Thessaloniki with the wider Balkan world.

Sieges and Political Instability

Thessaloniki’s wealth made it a frequent target.

The city was attacked or besieged by several groups during the medieval period, including Slavic forces, Arabs, Bulgarians and Normans.

One of the most destructive attacks occurred in 904, when Arab raiders captured the city and carried away many inhabitants as prisoners.

In 1185, Norman forces from Sicily seized Thessaloniki after a violent siege. Contemporary accounts describe extensive destruction and suffering.

The city later passed through periods of Byzantine, Latin, Epirote and other control as the political world of the eastern Mediterranean fragmented.

Despite repeated attacks, Thessaloniki recovered because its strategic and commercial value remained too great to disappear.

The Zealot Movement

During the fourteenth century, Thessaloniki experienced one of the most unusual political episodes in its history.

A movement known as the Zealots gained control of the city during a period of Byzantine civil war. Their rule lasted for several years and was connected with social conflict between aristocratic and other urban groups.

Historians continue to debate the precise ideology and composition of the movement. It has sometimes been described as an early popular or revolutionary government, although such interpretations can oversimplify a complex medieval situation.

The episode demonstrates that Thessaloniki was not merely a passive provincial city. Its merchants, workers, landowners, religious figures and political factions actively participated in the struggles shaping the Byzantine Empire.

Venetian Control

By the early fifteenth century, the weakened Byzantine Empire struggled to defend Thessaloniki against Ottoman expansion.

In 1423, control of the city was transferred to Venice in the hope that the maritime republic could protect it.

Venetian rule lasted only seven years. The city faced insecurity, shortages and continued Ottoman pressure.

In 1430, the army of Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki.

The conquest ended the city’s long period within the Byzantine political world and began nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule.

The Ottoman Conquest of 1430

The Ottoman capture of Thessaloniki was violent.

The city’s population had already declined after decades of conflict, insecurity and economic difficulty. Following the conquest, part of the population was killed, enslaved or displaced.

The Ottomans gradually repopulated and reorganised the city. Muslim settlers arrived, while Christian communities continued to live and worship in Thessaloniki.

Several Byzantine churches were converted into mosques. New baths, religious schools, markets, fountains and administrative buildings were constructed.

Thessaloniki became known in Ottoman Turkish as Selanik and regained its role as a major port and regional centre.

Its population would become increasingly diverse.

The Arrival of Sephardic Jews

The most significant demographic transformation of Ottoman Thessaloniki came after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.

Sultan Bayezid II allowed Sephardic Jewish refugees to settle in Ottoman territories. Large numbers arrived in Thessaloniki from the Iberian Peninsula, sometimes after periods in Italy, North Africa or other Mediterranean locations.

They brought languages, commercial knowledge, craft traditions, religious institutions and printing skills.

Ladino, a language derived from medieval Spanish and shaped by Hebrew and other linguistic influences, became widely spoken.

Over time, Jews formed a large proportion—and during some periods possibly a majority—of Thessaloniki’s population. The city became one of the most important centres of Sephardic Jewish life in the world.

The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki preserves books, tombstones and objects documenting religious and secular Jewish life, local printing traditions and the Holocaust.

The “Jerusalem of the Balkans”

Thessaloniki became known as the Jerusalem of the Balkans because of the size and importance of its Jewish community.

Jewish residents worked as merchants, dockworkers, printers, craftsmen, professionals and labourers. Synagogues and communal institutions were organised partly according to the places from which different groups had arrived.

The city became a major centre for Jewish scholarship and printing. Texts produced in Thessaloniki circulated through communities across the Mediterranean and Ottoman world.

The port was strongly associated with Jewish labour. It was famously inactive on Saturdays because many dockworkers observed the Sabbath.

Thessaloniki’s Jewish history was not separate from the broader city. It was central to its economy, language, neighbourhoods and cultural identity.

Much of this world was destroyed during the twentieth century, but its influence remains fundamental to understanding the city.

Muslim Thessaloniki

The Ottoman period also transformed Thessaloniki into an important Muslim city.

Mosques, schools, baths, fountains, markets and charitable institutions appeared throughout the urban landscape. Some occupied former Byzantine buildings, while others were newly constructed.

Surviving Ottoman monuments include:

  • Bey Hamam
  • Yeni Hamam
  • Hamza Bey Mosque
  • Alaca Imaret
  • Bezesteni Market
  • The White Tower
  • The Yeni Mosque

Traditional houses and sections of the street pattern survive most clearly in Ano Poli.

The city’s Ottoman heritage was greatly reduced by fires, demolition, population change and twentieth-century redevelopment. Nevertheless, the surviving buildings reveal that Thessaloniki’s Ottoman period lasted far longer than its modern existence within the Greek state.

A Multilingual Port City

By the nineteenth century, Thessaloniki was a multilingual Ottoman port.

Ladino, Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian, French and other languages could be heard in its streets. Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities lived in neighbourhoods that were distinct in some ways but deeply connected through trade and everyday life.

European commercial interests expanded, and foreign consulates, schools and businesses appeared.

The railway connected Thessaloniki with the Balkans and Central Europe. The port was modernised, while new banks, factories, warehouses and hotels reflected the city’s growing international importance.

The Municipality of Thessaloniki describes multiculturalism as a defining part of the city’s identity and notes that before 1912 many residents spoke several languages.

Modernisation and the Removal of the Walls

During the second half of the nineteenth century, Ottoman Thessaloniki underwent major urban changes.

Much of the coastal wall and sections of the eastern fortifications were demolished. This allowed the city to expand, improved circulation and opened the centre towards the sea.

New neighbourhoods developed outside the old walls. Wealthy residents built villas east of the centre in an area later known as the Exoches or Countryside district.

The waterfront became more commercial and cosmopolitan. Steamships, railways and modern port facilities connected Thessaloniki more closely with international markets.

The removal of the walls also changed the White Tower. Once incorporated into a defensive system, it gradually became an isolated waterfront monument.

The Young Turk Movement

Thessaloniki played a central role in the political movements that challenged the late Ottoman state.

The city was an important centre of the Committee of Union and Progress, commonly associated with the Young Turks. Military officers, officials and intellectuals used Thessaloniki as a base for organising opposition to Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

In 1908, the Young Turk Revolution restored the Ottoman constitution.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who later founded the Republic of Turkey, was born in Thessaloniki in 1881. His birthplace survives within the grounds of the Turkish Consulate and is maintained as a museum.

This period shows the city’s political importance shortly before Ottoman rule ended.

Thessaloniki Becomes Part of Greece

During the First Balkan War, Greek forces entered Thessaloniki on 26 October 1912, according to the calendar then used in Greece.

The Ottoman commander surrendered the city to the Greek army shortly before Bulgarian forces arrived.

Thessaloniki was subsequently incorporated into the Greek state.

The transition was historic but complicated. The city’s population remained religiously and linguistically diverse, and the borders of the wider region continued to be contested.

In 1913, King George I of Greece was assassinated in Thessaloniki.

The Balkan Wars marked the beginning of a period of extraordinary change. Within a few decades, the city’s government, population, physical appearance and cultural balance would all be transformed.

The modern waterfront’s municipal history notes Thessaloniki’s incorporation into Greece in 1912.

Thessaloniki During the First World War

During the First World War, Thessaloniki became a major Allied military base.

Allied forces landed in 1915 and established what became known as the Salonika Front. Troops from Britain, France, Serbia, Russia, Italy and colonial territories passed through the city and surrounding region.

Military camps, hospitals, warehouses and transport infrastructure expanded rapidly.

The city also became involved in Greece’s National Schism, the conflict between supporters of King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Greece’s position in the war.

In 1916, Venizelos established a provisional government in Thessaloniki.

For several years, the city operated as both a military hub and a centre of competing political authority.

The Great Fire of 1917

On 18 August 1917, a fire began in the densely built centre of Thessaloniki.

Strong winds and shortages of water allowed it to spread rapidly. The fire continued for many hours and destroyed a vast part of the historic centre.

Homes, shops, synagogues, churches, mosques, offices and commercial buildings were lost. Tens of thousands of residents were left without shelter, with the Jewish community particularly affected because many Jewish neighbourhoods lay within the burned area.

The disaster did more than destroy individual buildings. It erased much of the physical environment of Ottoman and multicultural Thessaloniki.

The Municipality of Thessaloniki notes that the 1917 fire destroyed most of the city centre and led to a major redesign.

Ernest Hébrard and the New City Plan

After the Great Fire, the Greek government decided not simply to reconstruct the old street pattern.

A planning commission led by French architect and urban planner Ernest Hébrard designed a new vision for central Thessaloniki.

The plan introduced broader avenues, organised public spaces, monumental axes and new building regulations. Aristotelous Square became the most recognisable element of the redesigned centre.

Not every part of Hébrard’s ambitious plan was completed, but it permanently altered Thessaloniki.

The modern grid and architectural character of much of the lower centre resulted from this rebuilding process.

The redesign also weakened the possibility that displaced residents—particularly poorer Jewish families—could return to their former properties under the same conditions.

The post-fire city was therefore both more planned and less connected with parts of its earlier social landscape.

The Asia Minor Catastrophe and Refugee Arrival

A second major transformation followed the Greco-Turkish War and the compulsory population exchange agreed between Greece and Turkey in 1923.

Large numbers of Greek Orthodox refugees arrived from Asia Minor, Pontus, Eastern Thrace and other regions.

Many settled in and around Thessaloniki, creating new neighbourhoods and reshaping existing ones. Kalamaria, Toumba, Neapoli, Kalamaria’s refugee settlements and numerous western districts were deeply influenced by refugee communities.

The newcomers faced poverty, housing shortages, disease and social discrimination. Over time, however, they became central to the city’s economy and culture.

They brought musical traditions, crafts, commercial experience and recipes that helped shape modern Thessaloniki’s identity—especially its food.

Meanwhile, most of the city’s Muslim population departed as part of the population exchange.

Thessaloniki Between the Wars

During the interwar period, Thessaloniki became increasingly Greek-speaking and nationally integrated, while retaining important Jewish, Armenian and other communities.

The population grew rapidly. Refugee districts expanded, industries developed and labour movements became influential.

The city was an important centre of working-class political activity. Dockworkers, factory workers, tobacco workers and other organised labour groups participated in strikes and demonstrations.

In May 1936, a major tobacco workers’ protest was violently suppressed. The image of a mother mourning her dead son inspired the poet Yiannis Ritsos to write Epitaphios, later set to music by Mikis Theodorakis.

Interwar Thessaloniki was energetic and culturally productive, but also marked by poverty, political instability and rising nationalism.

The German Occupation

German forces entered Thessaloniki in April 1941 during the Second World War.

Occupation brought hunger, repression, executions and economic hardship.

The city’s Jewish population faced increasingly severe persecution. Jewish property was confiscated, residents were subjected to forced labour and antisemitic restrictions were imposed.

In July 1942, thousands of Jewish men were publicly humiliated and registered for forced labour in Eleftherias Square.

Later that year, the historic Jewish cemetery was destroyed. Tombstones were removed and reused in construction projects across the city.

These actions prepared the way for the deportations that followed.

The Holocaust in Thessaloniki

In 1943, the German occupation authorities forced Jewish residents into ghettos and began deporting them by train.

The majority were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Approximately 50,000 Jews from Thessaloniki were deported, and only a small proportion survived. The destruction of the community ended centuries of organised Sephardic Jewish life on a scale that is difficult to comprehend.

Homes, businesses, religious institutions and possessions were taken. After the war, many survivors encountered enormous difficulties reclaiming property.

The Holocaust did not simply reduce the city’s population. It destroyed one of the communities that had defined Thessaloniki for almost five centuries.

The Jewish Museum’s collections preserve objects documenting Thessaloniki’s religious and secular Jewish life and the Shoah.

Liberation and the Greek Civil War

Thessaloniki was liberated from German occupation in October 1944.

The end of occupation did not bring immediate peace. Greece soon entered a period of political conflict that developed into the Greek Civil War.

Thessaloniki was not one of the principal battlefields within the city centre, but it was deeply affected by political division, displacement and insecurity across Northern Greece.

The post-war period also involved the difficult return of Jewish survivors and other residents who had lost homes, relatives and property.

Much of the pre-war city could not be restored.

Thessaloniki entered the second half of the twentieth century carrying the consequences of occupation, genocide and civil conflict.

Post-War Growth and Apartment Buildings

After the war, Thessaloniki expanded rapidly.

People arrived from rural Macedonia and other parts of Northern Greece in search of employment, education and security.

The system of antiparochi, in which landowners exchanged property rights with developers for apartments in new buildings, transformed much of the city.

Older houses were demolished and replaced with multi-storey apartment blocks. Construction increased housing supply but also erased many examples of earlier architecture.

Neighbourhoods spread east and west, while the wider urban area absorbed formerly separate settlements.

This period created much of the dense Thessaloniki visible today.

The 1978 Earthquake

On 20 June 1978, a powerful earthquake struck Thessaloniki and the surrounding region.

Buildings were damaged across the city, and an apartment block in the centre collapsed, causing multiple deaths.

The disaster exposed the vulnerability of older structures and led to evacuations, inspections and changes in building safety awareness.

Many residents spent nights in parks, squares and cars because they feared aftershocks.

The earthquake also affected historic monuments, prompting restoration and conservation work.

For modern Thessalonians, the earthquake remains one of the city’s most significant collective memories of the post-war period.

Thessaloniki as a University City

The establishment and growth of Aristotle University helped transform Thessaloniki into Greece’s leading student city.

The university was founded in 1925 and expanded significantly during the twentieth century. Additional institutions and research centres strengthened Thessaloniki’s educational role.

Students from across Greece and abroad contribute to the city’s café culture, nightlife, political activity and creative industries.

The university campus also occupies historically significant land close to the centre, including part of the area once occupied by the Jewish cemetery.

Today, education is one of the major reasons Thessaloniki retains a relatively youthful and dynamic identity.

Culture, Cinema and Contemporary Identity

Modern Thessaloniki has developed a strong reputation for festivals and cultural events.

The Thessaloniki International Fair has played an important commercial and political role since the twentieth century. The Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Documentary Festival have strengthened the city’s connection with cinema.

Museums explore archaeology, Byzantine culture, contemporary art, photography, Jewish history, cinema and the city’s wider past.

Food has also become central to Thessaloniki’s public identity. Its cuisine reflects refugee traditions, Balkan influences, Ottoman legacies, Jewish history and regional products from Macedonia.

The municipality presents contemporary Thessaloniki as both creative and cosmopolitan, with multiculturalism rooted in its historical identity rather than simply modern branding.

Thessaloniki Today

Today, Thessaloniki is Greece’s second-largest urban centre and the main economic and cultural hub of Northern Greece.

Its port continues to connect the Balkans with the Aegean and wider Mediterranean. The city is also a major centre for education, trade, tourism, technology, culture and regional administration.

Modern infrastructure has changed how residents move through the city, while redevelopment projects continue to reshape former industrial and waterfront areas.

Yet the city’s historical layers remain visible.

A visitor can walk from a Roman palace to a Byzantine church, pass an Ottoman bath, enter a former Jewish commercial district and finish beside a twentieth-century square—all within a relatively small area.

This density of historical experience is one of Thessaloniki’s defining characteristics.

Where to See Thessaloniki’s History

The best places to explore the history of Thessaloniki include:

Roman Thessaloniki

Visit the Roman Forum, the Palace of Galerius, the Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda.

Byzantine Thessaloniki

Explore Agios Dimitrios, Agia Sofia, Acheiropoietos, Hosios David, Agios Nikolaos Orfanos and the walls of Ano Poli.

UNESCO’s Thessaloniki listing includes the city walls and numerous Early Christian and Byzantine churches.

Ottoman Thessaloniki

Look for Bey Hamam, Alaca Imaret, Bezesteni, Hamza Bey Mosque, the Yeni Mosque and Ottoman-era houses in Ano Poli.

Jewish Thessaloniki

Visit the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial and Eleftherias Square. The museum occupies one of the relatively rare Jewish-owned buildings to have survived the 1917 fire.

Modern Thessaloniki

Walk through Aristotelous Square, the Ladadika district, the port and the waterfront to understand how the city changed after 1912 and the Great Fire.

Why Has Thessaloniki Always Been Important?

Thessaloniki’s importance begins with geography.

The city has a protected position on the Thermaic Gulf, access to maritime trade and routes leading north through the Balkans and west and east across Macedonia.

The Romans valued it because it stood on the Via Egnatia. The Byzantines needed it as a commercial and defensive centre. The Ottomans developed it as a diverse port, while the modern Greek state made it the principal city of Northern Greece.

Empires changed, but the fundamental advantages remained.

This continuity explains why Thessaloniki repeatedly recovered from war, siege, fire and population loss.

Why Is Thessaloniki So Multicultural?

Thessaloniki’s multicultural character developed from its position as a port and crossroads.

Merchants, soldiers, refugees, religious communities and imperial officials arrived from across the Mediterranean, Balkans and wider Europe.

For centuries, Greek Orthodox Christians, Sephardic Jews, Muslims, Armenians, Slavs, Western Europeans and other groups lived within the city.

Their relationships were not always peaceful or equal. Thessaloniki experienced discrimination, political tension, violence and forced population change.

Nevertheless, its languages, architecture, music, trade and cuisine were shaped by interaction between communities.

Much of the city’s earlier diversity was destroyed during the twentieth century, especially through the population exchange and Holocaust. Its cultural influence, however, remains visible.

How Old Is Thessaloniki?

Thessaloniki was founded in 316 or 315 BC, making it more than 2,300 years old.

Unlike many ancient cities that were abandoned and later excavated, Thessaloniki has remained continuously inhabited.

This creates both fascination and difficulty. Ancient remains often lie beneath modern buildings, roads and squares.

The city cannot be understood as one preserved historical site. It is a living urban environment built repeatedly over earlier versions of itself.

That continuity is one reason Thessaloniki feels different from destinations where the ancient and modern cities are physically separate.

Frequently Asked Questions About the History of Thessaloniki

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions About the History of Thessaloniki

Quick answers to some of the most common questions about Thessaloniki’s ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman and modern past.

Who founded Thessaloniki?

Thessaloniki was founded by Cassander around 316 or 315 BC. He named the city after his wife, Thessalonike, the daughter of King Philip II of Macedonia and half-sister of Alexander the Great.

Was Thessaloniki part of ancient Greece?

Thessaloniki was founded within the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia during the Hellenistic period. It later became part of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires before joining the modern Greek state in 1912.

Why was Thessaloniki important to the Romans?

Its natural harbour and position on the Via Egnatia made Thessaloniki an important centre for trade, administration and military movement. It eventually became the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia.

Why is Thessaloniki important in Byzantine history?

Thessaloniki developed into one of the Byzantine Empire’s leading cities after Constantinople. It preserves an exceptional collection of Byzantine churches, mosaics, frescoes and sections of the historic city walls.

When did the Ottomans capture Thessaloniki?

Ottoman forces under Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki in 1430. The city remained under Ottoman rule for almost five centuries.

Why was Thessaloniki called the Jerusalem of the Balkans?

Thessaloniki became one of the world’s most important centres of Sephardic Jewish life after Jewish refugees expelled from Spain and other parts of the Iberian Peninsula settled in the city.

When did Thessaloniki become part of Greece?

Thessaloniki became part of Greece in 1912 during the First Balkan War, following the surrender of the city by the Ottoman commander.

What happened during the Great Fire of 1917?

The Great Fire destroyed a large part of Thessaloniki’s historic centre and left tens of thousands of residents without homes. The disaster led to a major redesign of the city under urban planner Ernest Hébrard.

How old is Thessaloniki?

Thessaloniki was founded around 316 or 315 BC, making it more than 2,300 years old. The city has remained continuously inhabited since its foundation.

Final Thoughts on the History of Thessaloniki

The history of Thessaloniki is not a simple progression from ancient Greece to the modern nation.

It is the story of a city repeatedly inherited, rebuilt and reinterpreted.

Cassander founded it within the Macedonian world. Rome transformed it into a provincial capital and strategic stop on the Via Egnatia. Christianity and the Byzantine Empire filled it with churches, mosaics and religious importance.

The Ottomans made Thessaloniki a major multicultural port. Sephardic Jewish refugees helped transform it into one of the Mediterranean’s most important Jewish cities.

The twentieth century brought incorporation into Greece, war, fire, refugees, occupation, genocide and rapid urbanisation.

Modern Thessaloniki carries all these histories at once. They survive in monuments, street patterns, food, neighbourhoods and memories—sometimes clearly visible and sometimes almost erased.

Understanding this past reveals why Thessaloniki is more than a collection of attractions. It is a city where the history of Macedonia, the Roman world, Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire, Sephardic Judaism, the Balkans and modern Greece meet beside the sea.

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