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SALONICA, SALONIKA

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 87 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SALONICA, SALONIKA or SALOMKI (anc. Thessalonica, See also:Turkish Selanik, Slay. Solun); the See also:capital of the Turkish vilayet of Salonica, in western See also:Macedonia, and one of the See also:principal seaports of See also:south-western See also:Europe. Pop. (1905) about 130,000, including some 6o,000 Sephardic See also:Jews, whose ancestors fled hither in the 16th See also:century to See also:escape religious persecution in See also:Spain and See also:Portugal: their See also:language is a corrupt See also:form of See also:Spanish, called Ladino (i.e. Latin), and spoken to some extent by other communities in the See also:city. Salonica lies on the See also:west See also:side of the Chalcidic See also:peninsula, at the See also:head of the Gulf of Salonica (Sinus Thermaicus), on a See also:fine See also:bay whose See also:southern edge is formed by the Calamerian heights, while its See also:northern and western side is the broad alluvial See also:plain produced by the See also:discharge of the Vardar and the Bistritza, the principal See also:rivers of western Macedonia. Built partly on the See also:low ground along the edge of the bay and partly on the See also:hill to the See also:north (a compact See also:mass of See also:mica schist), the city with its See also:white houses enclosed by white walls runs up along natural ravines to the See also:castle of the Heptapyrgion, or Seven Towers, and is rendered picturesque by numerous domes and minarets and the foliage of elms, cypresses and mulberry trees. The commercial See also:quarter of the See also:town, lying to the north-west, towards the See also:great valleys by which the inland See also:traffic is conveyed, is pierced by broad and straight streets paved with See also:lava. There are electric tram-ways and a See also:good See also:water-See also:supply, but most of the older houses are fragile wooden structures coated with See also:lime or mud, and the sanitation is defective. Apart from churches, mosques and synagogues, there are a few noteworthy See also:modern buildings, such as the See also:Ottoman See also:Bank, the See also:baths, See also:quarantine station, See also:schools and hospitals; but the See also:chief architectural See also:interest of Salonica is centred in its See also:Roman and See also:Byzantine remains. Antiquities.—The Via Egnatia of the See also:Romans (mod.

Jassijol or Grande See also:

Rue de Vardar) traverses the city from See also:east to west, between the Vardar See also:Gate and the Calamerian Gate. Two Roman triumphal See also:arches used to span the Via Egnatia. The See also:arch near the Vardar Gate—a massive See also:stone structure probably erected towards the end of the 1st century A.D., was destroyed in 1867 1 Charger, a large See also:flat See also:plate (see See also:CHARGE). to furnish material for repairing the city walls; an imperfect inscription from it is preserved in the See also:British Museum. The other arch, popularly called the arch of See also:Constantine, but with greater See also:probability assigned to the reign of See also:Galerius (A.D. 305-311), is built of See also:brick and partly faced with sculptured See also:marble. A third example of Roman See also:architecture—the remains of a white marble See also:portico supposed to have formed the entrance to the See also:hippodrome—is known by the Judaeo-Spanish designation of See also:Las Incantadas, from the eight See also:Caryatides in the upper See also:part of the structure. There are also numerous fragments of Roman See also:inscriptions and statuary. The conspicuous mosques of Salonica are nearly all of an See also:early See also:Christian origin; the remarkable preservation of their mural decorations makes them very important for the See also:history of Byzantine architecture. The principal are those dedicated to St See also:Sophia, St See also:George and St See also:Demetrius. St Sophia (Aya See also:Sofia), formerly the See also:cathedral, and probably erected in the 6th century by Justinian's architect See also:Anthemius, was converted into a See also:mosque in 1589. It is cased with slabs of white marble.

The whole length of the interior is no ft. The See also:

nave, forming a See also:Greek See also:cross, is surmounted by a hemispherical See also:dome, the 600 sq. yds. of which are covered with a See also:rich See also:mosaic representing the See also:Ascension. St Demetrius, which is probably older than the See also:time of Justinian, consists of a See also:long nave and two side aisles, each terminating eastward in an See also:atrium the full height of the nave, in a See also:style not known to occur in any other See also:church. The columns of the aisles are See also:half the height of those in the nave. The See also:internal decoration is all produced by slabs of different-coloured See also:marbles. St George's, conjecturally assigned to the reign of Constantine (d. 337), is circular in See also:plan, measuring internally 8o ft. in See also:diameter. The See also:external See also:wall is 18 ft. thick, and at the angles of an inscribed octagon are chapels formed in the thickness of the wall, and roofed with See also:wagon-headed vaults visible on the exterior; the eastern See also:chapel, however, is enlarged and See also:developed into a See also:bema and See also:apse projecting beyond the circle, and the western and southern chapels constitute the two entrances of the See also:building. The dome, 72 yds. in circumference, is covered throughout its entire See also:surface of 800 sq. yds. with what is the largest See also:work in See also:ancient mosaic still extant, representing a See also:series of fourteen See also:saints See also:standing in the See also:act of See also:adoration in front of temples and colonnades. The Eski Juma, or Old Mosque, is another interesting See also:basilica, evidently later than Constantine, with side aisles and an apse without side chapels. The churches of the See also:Holy Apostles and of St See also:Elias also deserve mention. Of the See also:secular buildings, the See also:Caravanserai, usually attributed to See also:Murad II.

(1422-1451), probably See also:

dates from Byzantine times. Salonica is the see of an Orthodox Greek See also:archbishop. Each religious community has its own schools and places of See also:worship, among the most important being the Jewish high-school, the Greek and Bulgarian gymnasia, the Jesuit See also:college, a high-school founded in 186o and supported by the Jewish See also:Mission of the Established Church of See also:Scotland, a See also:German school, dating from 1887, and a college for boys and a secondary school for girls, both managed by the See also:French Mission Laique and subsidized since 1905 by the French See also:government. See also:Railways, See also:Harbour and See also:Commerce.—Salonica is the principal See also:Aegean seaport of the See also:Balkan Peninsula, the centre of the import See also:trade of all Macedonia and two-thirds of See also:Albania, and the natural See also:port of shipment for the products of an even larger See also:area. It is the See also:terminus of four railways. One See also:line goes north to See also:Nish in See also:Servia, where it meets the See also:main line (See also:Paris-See also:Vienna-See also:Constantinople) of the See also:Oriental railways; another, after following the same route as far as See also:Uskub in Macedonia, branches off to Mitrovitza in Albania; the See also:extension of this line to See also:Serajevo in Bosnia was projected in 1908 in See also:order to establish See also:direct communication between See also:Austria and Salonica. A third line, intended ultimately to reach the Adriatic, extends westward from Salonica to See also:Monastir. A See also:fourth, the Constantinople junction railway to Constantinople, is of great strategic importance; during the See also:war with See also:Greece in 1897 it facilitated the rapid concentration of Ottoman troops on the See also:borders of See also:Thessaly, and in 1908 it helped to secure the See also:triumph of the See also:Young See also:Turks by bringing the regiments favourable to their propaganda within striking distance of Constantinople. The new harbour, which was opened to See also:navigation in See also:December 1901, allows the direct transhipment of all merchandise whatever may be the direction of the See also:wind, which was previously See also:apt to render See also:shipping operations difficult. The harbour See also:works consist of a See also:breakwater 1835 ft. long, with 28 ft. See also:depth of water on its landward side for a width of 492 ft. Opposite the breakwater is a See also:quay 1475 ft. long, which was widened in 1903-1907 to a breadth of 306 ft.; at each end of the quay a See also:pier 656 ft. long projects into the See also:sea. Between the extremities of these two piers and those of the breakwater are the two entrances to the harbour.

The See also:

average number of See also:ships, including small coasters, which entered the port in each of the three years 1905-1907 was 3400, of 930,000 tons. Salonica exports See also:grain, See also:flour, See also:bran, See also:silk cocoons, chrome, See also:manganese, See also:iron, hides and skins, See also:cattle and See also:sheep, See also:wool, eggs, See also:opium, See also:tobacco and See also:fennel. The average yearly value of the imports from 1900 to 1905was {2,500,000, and that of the exports £1,200,000. The imports consist principally of textiles, iron goods, See also:sugar, tobacco, flour, See also:coffee and chemicals. The See also:volume of the export trade tended to decrease in the first See also:decade of the loth century. The making of See also:morocco See also:leather and other leather-work, such as See also:saddlery, See also:harness and boots and shoes, affords employment to a large number of persons. Other See also:industries are See also:cotton-See also:spinning, See also:brewing, tanning, iron-See also:founding, and the manufacture of bricks, tiles, See also:soap, flour, ironmongery and See also:ice. The spirit called See also:mastic or raki is largely produced. History.—Thessalonica was built on the site of the older Greek city of Therma, so called in allusion to the hot-springs of the neighbourhood. It was founded in 315 B.C. by See also:Cassander, who gave it the name of his wife, a See also:sister of See also:Alexander the Great. It was a military and commercial station on a main line of communication between See also:Rome and the East, and had reached its See also:zenith before the seat of See also:empire was transferred to Constantinople. It became famous in connexion with the early history of See also:Christianity through the two epistles addressed by St See also:Paul to the community which he founded here; and in the later See also:defence of the ancient See also:civilization against the See also:barbarian inroads it played a considerable part.

In 390 7000 citizens who had been guilty of insurrection were massacred in the hippodrome by command of See also:

Theodosius. Constantine repaired the port, and probably enriched the town with some of its buildings. During the iconoclastic reigns of terror it stood on the defensive, and succeeded in saving the See also:artistic treasures of its churches: in the 9th century See also:Joseph, one of its bishops, died in chains for his defence of See also:image-worship. In the 7th century the Macedonian Slays strove to See also:capture the city, but failed even when it was thrown into confusion by a terrible See also:earthquake. It was the See also:attempt made to See also:transfer the whole Bulgarian trade to Thessalonica that in the See also:close of the 9th century caused the invasion of the empire by See also:Simeon of See also:Bulgaria. In 904 the See also:Saracens from the See also:Cyrenaica took the See also:place by See also:storm; the public buildings were grievously injured, and the inhabitants to the number of 22,000 were carried off and sold as slaves throughout the countries of the Mediterranean. In 1185 the See also:Normans of See also:Sicily took Thessalonica after a ten days' See also:siege, and perpetrated endless barbarities, of which See also:Eustathius, then See also:bishop of the see, has See also:left an See also:account. In 1204 See also:Baldwin, conqueror of Constantinople, conferred the See also:kingdom of Thessalonica on See also:Boniface, See also:marquis of See also:Montferrat; but in 1222 See also:Theodore, See also:despot of See also:Epirus, one of the natural enemies of the new kingdom, took the city and had himself there crowned by the See also:patriarch of Macedonian Bulgaria. On the See also:death of Demetrius, who had been supported in his endeavour to recover his See also:father's See also:throne by See also:Pope See also:Honorius III., the empty See also:title of See also:king of Salonica was adopted by several claimants. In 1266 the See also:house of See also:Burgundy received a See also:grant of the titular kingdom from Baldwin II. when he was titular See also:emperor, and it was sold by Eudes IV. to See also:Philip of See also:Tarentum, titular emperor of Romania, in 1320. The Venetians to whom the city was transferred by one of the Palaeologi, were in See also:power when Murad II. appeared, and on the 1st of May 1430, in spite of the desperate resistance of the inhabitants, took the city, which had thrice previously been in the hands of the Turks. They cut to pieces the See also:body of St Demetrius, the See also:patron See also:saint of Salonica, who had been the Roman proconsul of Greece, under Maximian, and was martyred in A.D.

306. In 1876 the French and German consuls at Salonica were murdered by the Turkish populace. On the 4th of See also:

September 1890 more than 2000 houses were destroyed by See also:fire in the south-eastern quarters of the city. During the early years of the loth century Salonica was the headquarters of the See also:Committee of See also:Union and Progress, the central organization of the Young See also:Turkey Party, which carried out the constitutional revolution of 1908. Before this event the weakness of Turkey had encouraged the belief that Salonica would ultimately pass under the See also:control of Austria-See also:Hungary or one of the Balkan States, and this belief gave rise to many See also:political intrigues which helped to delay the See also:solution of the Macedonian Question. Vilayet.—The vilayet of Salonica has an area of 13,510 sq. m. and an estimated See also:population of 1,150,000. It is rich in minerals, including chrome, manganese, See also:zinc, See also:antimony, iron, argentiferous See also:lead, See also:arsenic and See also:lignite, but some of these are unworked. The chief agricultural products are grain, See also:rice, beans, cotton, opium and See also:poppy See also:seed, See also:sesame, fennel, red See also:pepper, and much of the finest tobacco grown in Europe; there is also some trade in See also:timber, live-stock, skins, furs, wool and silk cocoons. The growth of commerce has been impeded by the See also:ignorance of cultivators, the want of good roads and the unsettled political See also:condition of Turkey. Apart from the industries carried on in the capital, there are manufactures of See also:wine, See also:liqueurs, sesame oil, See also:cloth, See also:macaroni and soap. The principal towns, Seres (pop. 30,000), See also:Vodena (25,000) and Cavalla (24,000), are described in See also:separate articles; Tikvesh (21,000) is the centre of an agricultural region, Caraferia (14,000) a manufacturing town, and See also:Drama (13,000) one of the centres of tobacco cultivation.

End of Article: SALONICA, SALONIKA

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