Rhodope (province) explained

Native Name:
Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: επαρχία Ροδόπης
Conventional Long Name:Province of Rhodope
Common Name:Rhodope
Subdivision:Province
Nation:the Roman Empire
Era:Late Antiquity
Capital:Trajanopolis
Image Map Caption:Rhodope within the Diocese of Thrace c. 400.
Life Span:c. 293 – 7th century
Year Start:c. 293
Event Start:Diocletian's provincial reforms
Year End:7th century
Event End:Slavic invasion of the Balkans
Today:Bulgaria
Greece

Rhodope (Greek, Modern (1453-);: {{lang|grc|Ῥοδόπη) was a late Roman and early Byzantine province, situated on the northern Aegean coast. A part of the Diocese of Thrace, it extended along the Rhodope Mountains range, covering parts of modern Western Thrace (in Greece) and south-western Bulgaria. The province was headed by a governor of the rank of praeses, with Trajanopolis as the provincial capital. According to the 6th-century Synecdemus, there were six further cities in the province, Maroneia, Maximianopolis, Nicopolis, Kereopyrgos (unknown location) and Topeiros (mod. Toxotai in Greece).

The province survived until the Slavic invasions of the 7th century, although as an ecclesiastic province, it continued in existence at least until the 12th century. The theme of Boleron covered most of the area in later Byzantine times.