Thessaloniki n : a port city in northeastern Greece on an inlet of the Aegean Sea; second largest city of Greece [syn: Salonika, Salonica, Thessalonica]

Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece. Its population is 363,987 inhabitants (census of 2001) and its total population including its suburbs is almost 1,000,000 inhabitants. It is located in the region of Macedonia in north Greece. It is the capital of the Thessaloniki prefecture and it is the capital of the periphery of central Macedonia. It is the largest city in the geographical region of Macedonia.

Thessaloniki was established by King Cassander of Macedon, friend of Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. He named the city after the sister of Alexander the Great, princess Thessalonike, which in Greek means victory over Thessaly. From late antiquity to the late middle ages (330AD-1430AD) it was the second most important city of Byzantine Empire. Then Thessaloniki faced many invasions from enemies such as the Avaroi, Bulgars and others. In the year 1204, the crusaders conquered Thessaloniki and created the Kingdom of Thessalonica. Later it was liberated by Byzantines and then sold to the Republic of Venice but the year 1430, it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Thessaloniki was a part of Ottoman Empire for aproximately 500 years and in 1912 it became part of Greece when Greece acquired Macedonia following the Balkan Wars. Many famous people have lived or were born here, such as the Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero, many saints like Cyril and Methodius, who invented the Cyrillic alphabet, and Saint Demetrius, who is the patron saint of the city, and many politicians, such as the founder of modern-day Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Most of the city was completely destroyed in a large fire in 1917 and was rebuilt in the 1920s. It was occupied by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

• Placebo In Thessaloniki 2010 - Radio Egypt
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  DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/t4f882/greece_real_estate) has announced the addition of the "Greece Real Estate Report Q2 2012" report to their offering. The Greek government has overcome a number ... Read more on this news related to 'Thessaloniki'
• Ex-Thessaloniki mayor to stand trial for embezzlement - Kathimerini
  Former Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos and 17 other people are to stand trial for allegedly embezzling almost 52 million euro from the municpality’s coffers. The suspects include department directors, deputy mayors and a former general ... Read more on this news related to 'Thessaloniki'