Rhodope (province)

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Rhodope was a late Roman and early Byzantine province along the northern Aegean coast, in areas that are now parts of Greece and Bulgaria. It stretched along the Rhodope Mountains and was part of the Diocese of Thrace. The capital was Trajanopolis, and the province was governed by a praeses. It was created around 293 during Diocletian’s reforms and included towns such as Maroneia, Maximianopolis, Nicopolis, Kereopyrgos (location unknown), and Topeiros (modern Toxotai in Greece). The province lasted until the Slavic invasions in the 7th century, though as an ecclesiastical territory it continued at least until the 12th century. In later Byzantine times, most of the area became part of the Theme of Boleron.