a city in northwestern Turkey; situated in the valley of the Maritsa River, in Eastern Thrace. Administrative center of Edirne Vilayet. Population, 63,000 (1975).
Edirne, an important transportation junction on the border with Bulgaria and Greece, is situated on the Istanbul-Sofia rail line and is a highway junction. It is the trade center of an agricultural region producing grains and oil-yielding seed. Edirne has flour and vegetable-oil mills and a cotton-textile factory.
Edirne is thought to have been founded by the ancient Thracians, who called it Odrys. From the fourth to the mid-second century B.C. it was a colony of Macedonia and was called Orestia. The city came under Roman rule in the second half of the second century B.C. In A.D. 125 it was rebuilt by the Roman emperor Hadrian and named Hadrianopolis (Adrianople) in his honor. From the late fourth to the mid-14th centuries it was part of Byzantium, except for the period 1204–61, when it was part of the Latin Empire. In the early 1360’s it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and named Edirne. It was the capital of the Ottoman Empire until 1453.
Ancient Edirne, which had a regular layout, was situated in the southwestern part of the present-day city. To the northeast there is a medieval Muslim city, with radial streets. Architectural monuments include several notable mosques, for example, Eski Cami (1403–13), Uç Şerefeli (1437–47), and Selimiye Cami (1569–75, architect Sinan).