Guide of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace

Shortly after the modern village of Iasmos, at the location of Buru Kale, stands the Byzantine city of Anastasioupolis, situated south of the village of Amaxades, between Xanthi and Komotini.

Kyriakides identified this city with Anastasioupolis after he had found the monogram of the Palaeologi family in the remnants of a castle named “Buru Kale”. The same name also appears in Procopius’ writings. It seems that the city was named after Anastasius I (491 – 518) who founded the city in 495 AD. He wanted the foreign tribe of Isauri to settle here so that a new station would rise on the route of Via Egnatia between Topeiros and Maximianoupolis replacing the earlier settlement known from the roman itineraries as Stabulum Diomedis.

Apparently, this name recalls the mythological stables of Diomedes; tradition places them in the wider area of Vistonida lake. Diomedes was son of Ares and Cyrene, and King of the Bistonians. He was also famous for his wild, man-eating horses. The eighth labour of Heracles was to deliver the horses alive to Eurystheus. Heracles managed to capture the mares and beat Diomedes, who was finally devoured by his own horses, according to another version of the myth.
In the course of Byzantine times, Anastasioupolis kept being an important station on the route of the Via Egnatia and an important port in the Aegean Sea. In the first half of the 6th century, under Justinian I the walled, seaside city acquired a fortified and safe harbour for defence against the barbarian attacks. The Emperor also took care of the city water supply by building or reconstructing the aqueduct that carried water from the mountains to the city. Ruins of this aqueduct are preserved outside the city, towards the side of the Rodopi mountain range.
In 562, Anastasioupolis was conquered by the Huns. Between the 7th and 12th centuries, the city was referred to as bishopric city under the administration of the Metropolis of Traianoupolis, an ecclesiastical eparchy of Rodopi. Ioannis Cantacuzenus records that Andronicus III Palaeologus partially reconstructed the city in 1341, renaming it Peritheorion.
The proximity to the sea explains why Anastasioupolis – Peritheorion had formed a vital centre in this area that included a rather important number of small towns and villages, though not fortified but protected with fortresses specially designed for this purpose. Apparently the city was an important commercial centre and for this reason it was governed by the agreements of the years 1082, 1148 and 1187 between the Byzantines and the Venetians, while, according to some sources, part of the city’s territory belonged to the Monastery of Theotokos Petritzonitissa.
In 1205/6, the city was destroyed by the Bulgarian tsar Ioannitsa. In 1260-1261, the city’s bishop and the Metropolitan of Traianoupolis was the same person. In the late 13th, early 14th centuries, the diocese reached the ecclesiastical range of Metropolis, under the rule of Andronicus II Palaeologus, despite the fact that the Metropolitan of Anastasioupolis was mentioned in 1274. In 1285, Ioannis participated in the Synod of Constantinople as Metropolitan and Head of Traianoupolis; in 1353, the Metropolitan of Traianoupolis obtained the Metropolis of Peritheorion with all the relevant rights and income. The Metropolis has been independent until the mid-16th century when, due to its small population, it was united to the patriarchal Hexarchy of Xanthi. The united Hexarchy of Xanthi and Peritheorion still operates today as the Metropolis.
In the early 14th century, a great historical battle was fought in the area of Anastasioupolis – Peritheorion. The battle’s outcome signified the break down of the Catalan Company, previously invited by Andronicus II Palaeologus to assist Byzantium in repulsing the Turks that had made their appearance in Asia Minor. Several battles were fought in the wider area of Anastasioupolis – Peritheorion, such as the siege of the city by Ioannis Cantacuzenus in 1342 and 1345. According to the sources, there was a Greek population in Peritheorion in 1433.
Impressive ruins in the area of Anastasioupolis – Peritheorion are still preserved. Almost the whole circuit of the city walls, situated next to Via Egnatia, is preserved. They have an irregular trapezoid form in plan, with the largest parallel side facing to the south. The walls also have circular and rectangular towers (four on each part of the northern and southern sides, two on the western side, and one on the eastern side). The curtain walls have collapsed and are broken to pieces, because of the alluvial ground, over which rested the construction. Monograms of the family of Palaeologi (from the period of 1341), as well as the IC-XC-ÍÉ-ÊÁ are engraved on the surface of some towers and on both sides of the southern main arched gate that led to the harbour. Other stamp-in-clay monograms from the same period are found on three towers of the fortification. Sources record the existence of a wall in the 17th century that was almost 450 metres long and extended from the city towards the mountain. The aqueduct, built in the times of Justinian I (527-565), was also an important work of public benefit. Rich finds of functional pottery from the Roman and the Byzantine periods were also uncovered in the wider area of Anastasioupolis.