Ptolemaida
Encyclopedia
Ptolemaida is a town and a former municipality
in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia
, Greece
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia
, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is known for its coal (lignite
) mines and its power station
s.
During the Ottoman
period, the city was named Kaylar, rendered into English as Kailar; this name was retained in Greek as Kailaria (Καϊλάρια) until 1927 Kailar refers to the Kayı tribe, the tribe of Osman I
, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. The modern name Ptolemaida was introduced by decree on January 20, 1927, honoring Ptolemy son of Lagus
, a comrade-in-arms of Alexander the Great, and his daughter Ptolemaïs. His statue stands in the central square of the city.
Archaeologists, in November 2005, discovered the remains of two farming villages dating back to the Neolithic
period. A press report notes that such farming villages were trading centres and had a "developed knowledge of metalworking".
A golden necklace dating to roughly 4500 BCE was discovered on February 16, 2006. Associated Press
reporter Costas Kantouris describes the item as a "flat, roughly ring-shaped [which] probably had religious significance and would have been worn on a necklace by a prominent member of society."
Lately in the lake Zazari near Ptolemaida there were found 16 houses that belong in the Neolithic era due to archaaeologists.
These houses were in the lake and were exposed because of the decreased water level of the lake.
That particular small settlement gives information about the society and the people in the Neolithic era.
In the area of Ptolemaida many archeological findings have occurred in the last 30 years due to mining operations.
Ceramic artifacts, dating to the 6th century BC have been found at two sites near Grevena
and Ptolemaida.
Archaeologists found the artifacts at two prehistoric farming settlements.
Two Ancient Macedonian graves have also been found in the area of Ptolemaida, dated from the 5th century BC.
, the Kingdom of Thessalonica
, the Empire of Nicaea
, and the Despotate of Epirus
. The borders among the Latin Empire, the Empire of Nicaea, the Empire of Trebizond, and the Despotate of Epirus are very uncertain.
Before 1360, large numbers of nomad
shepherds, or Yörük
s, from the district of Konya
, in Asia Minor
, had settled in Macedonia; their descendants were known as Konariotes. Further immigration from this region took place from time to time up to the middle of the 18th century. After the establishment of the feudal system
in 1397, many of the Seljuk
noble
families came over from Asia Minor
; their descendants may be recognized among the Beys or Muslim
landowners in Kayılar. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Turkish population
was quite considerable, but since that time it has continuously decreased. A low birth rate, the exhaustion of the male population by military service
, and a large mortality from epidemic
s have brought about a decline which has lately been hastened by emigration
. The Turkish rural population around Kayılar was mainly composed of Konariot shepherds. Ptolemaida was taken by Greek forces on October 15, 1912.
" . Other teams include AE Ptolemaidas. Ptolemaida has schools, lyceum
s, gymnasia
, churches, banks, a post office, a train station (Kozani
- Florina
), a police station, a water tower, and squares (plateies
). There is the potential of a university being established by the state in the near future.
as fuel. The plants are owned by the Public Power Corporation
(DEI), the major employer in the city. The plant was dedicated by the prime minister of Greece at that time, Constantine Karamanlis
. The other two are in Amyntaio
in Florina
and in Agios Dimitrios.
_mountain_-_ptolemaida,_kozani_prefecture,_greece.png)
The city, situated in the middle of the Eordaia
plain of Western Macedonia, has a continental climate. Summers can be hot with thunderstorms in unsettled spells, whereas winters are among the coldest in Greece
. It is here that the absolute low temperature record of Greece was recorded (-27.8°C on 27 January 1963).
, the population of the city was 30,017 residents. The total population of the municipality in 1991 was 32,775 residents.
, between the Askio
mountains to the southwest and the Vermio mountains to the northeast. It is located north of Kozani, east of Kastoria, south of Florina
, and south-west of Edessa
. Since the 1960s, GR-3
/E65
has bypassed it to the east. It is the seat of the province of Eordia.
from Sourmene or Sürmene
, Turkey or their descendants. These were refugees from Asia Minor
who first arrived in Macedonia during the 1920s as a result of the population exchange
according to the Treaty of Lausanne
.
Communities and Municipalities of Greece
For the new municipalities of Greece see the Kallikratis ProgrammeThe municipalities and communities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. Thirteen regions called peripheries form the largest unit of government beneath the State. ...
in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia
West Macedonia
West Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Greek Macedonia. It is divided into the regional units of Florina, Grevena, Kastoria, and Kozani.-Geography:...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia
Eordaia
Eordaia is a municipality in the Kozani peripheral unit, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Ptolemaida.-Municipality:The municipality Eordaia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:*Agia...
, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is known for its coal (lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
) mines and its power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s.
Name
- Modern GreekModern GreekModern Greek refers to the varieties of the Greek language spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic...
: Πτολεμαΐδα Ptolemaida - KatharevousaKatharevousaKatharevousa , is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Modern Greek of the time, with a vocabulary largely based on ancient forms, but a much-simplified grammar. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official...
: Πτολεμαΐς Ptolemais - TurkishTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
: Kayılar, Kaylar, Kayalar, - BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
: Кайляри, Kaylyari; several other forms exist - SlavicSlavic languagesThe Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
: Кајлари – Kajlari or Кајљар – Kajljar
During the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period, the city was named Kaylar, rendered into English as Kailar; this name was retained in Greek as Kailaria (Καϊλάρια) until 1927 Kailar refers to the Kayı tribe, the tribe of Osman I
Osman I
Osman I or Othman I or El-Gazi Sultan Osman Ghazi, or Osman Bey or I. Osman, Osman Gazi Han), nicknamed "Kara" for his courage, was the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire...
, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. The modern name Ptolemaida was introduced by decree on January 20, 1927, honoring Ptolemy son of Lagus
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
, a comrade-in-arms of Alexander the Great, and his daughter Ptolemaïs. His statue stands in the central square of the city.
Neolithic times
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period. A press report notes that such farming villages were trading centres and had a "developed knowledge of metalworking".
A golden necklace dating to roughly 4500 BCE was discovered on February 16, 2006. Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reporter Costas Kantouris describes the item as a "flat, roughly ring-shaped [which] probably had religious significance and would have been worn on a necklace by a prominent member of society."
Lately in the lake Zazari near Ptolemaida there were found 16 houses that belong in the Neolithic era due to archaaeologists.
These houses were in the lake and were exposed because of the decreased water level of the lake.
That particular small settlement gives information about the society and the people in the Neolithic era.
Ancient period
Ceramic artifacts, dating to the 6th century BC have been found at two sites near Grevena
Grevena
Grevena is a town and municipality in Greece, capital of the Grevena peripheral unit. The town's current population is 10,447 citizens; it lies about 400 km from Athens and about 180 km from Thessaloniki. The municipality's population is 30,564...
and Ptolemaida.
Archaeologists found the artifacts at two prehistoric farming settlements.
Two Ancient Macedonian graves have also been found in the area of Ptolemaida, dated from the 5th century BC.
Byzantine Period
At various times, Ptolemaida was part of the Latin EmpireLatin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
, the Kingdom of Thessalonica
Kingdom of Thessalonica
The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Byzantine lands.- Background :...
, the Empire of Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
, and the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
. The borders among the Latin Empire, the Empire of Nicaea, the Empire of Trebizond, and the Despotate of Epirus are very uncertain.
Ottoman period
During the Ottoman period, Ptolemaida was called Kayılar, and it had two parts: Aşağı Kayılar and Yukarı Kayılar. Aşağı Kayılar was Bektaşi and Yukarı Kayılar was Rufai, Hanefi.Before 1360, large numbers of nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
shepherds, or Yörük
Yörük
The Yorouks, also Yuruks or Yörüks are immigrants, ultimately of Thracian descent,some of whom are still nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia and partly Balkan peninsula...
s, from the district of Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
, in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, had settled in Macedonia; their descendants were known as Konariotes. Further immigration from this region took place from time to time up to the middle of the 18th century. After the establishment of the feudal system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
in 1397, many of the Seljuk
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...
noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
families came over from Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
; their descendants may be recognized among the Beys or Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
landowners in Kayılar. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Turkish population
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
was quite considerable, but since that time it has continuously decreased. A low birth rate, the exhaustion of the male population by military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
, and a large mortality from epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
s have brought about a decline which has lately been hastened by emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
. The Turkish rural population around Kayılar was mainly composed of Konariot shepherds. Ptolemaida was taken by Greek forces on October 15, 1912.
Culture
Ptolemaida's football club is called "EordaikosEordaikos
Eordaikos Eordaikos Eordaikos (fering from. The names were Irakli Ptolemaida and the other was PAS Ptolemaidas. Since 2003, the team is now known as Ptolemaida-Lignitirychoi and plays in the third division. The last part of the name comes from the main mining resource in the area, lignite. The...
" . Other teams include AE Ptolemaidas. Ptolemaida has schools, lyceum
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
s, gymnasia
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, churches, banks, a post office, a train station (Kozani
Kozani
Kozani is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of West Macedonia region. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley...
- Florina
Florina
Florina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina peripheral unit, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West...
), a police station, a water tower, and squares (plateies
Plateia
Plateia or platia is the Greek word for town square. Most Greek and Cypriot cities have several town squares which are a point of reference in travelling and guiding...
). There is the potential of a university being established by the state in the near future.
Economy
Ptolemaida is a highly industrialized area. The four power plants in this area produce 70% of Greece's electrical power, using the large local deposits of ligniteLignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
as fuel. The plants are owned by the Public Power Corporation
Public Power Corporation
The Public Power Corporation S.A. is the biggest electric power company in Greece. It is controlled to an extent by the government, and it produces and supplies electricity to all the country.-History:PPC was founded by the Greek government in 1950...
(DEI), the major employer in the city. The plant was dedicated by the prime minister of Greece at that time, Constantine Karamanlis
Constantine Karamanlis
Konstantínos G. Karamanlís , commonly anglicised to Constantine Karamanlis or Caramanlis, was a four-time Prime Minister, the 3rd and 5th President of the Third Hellenic Republic and a towering figure of Greek politics whose political career spanned much of the latter half of the 20th century.-...
. The other two are in Amyntaio
Amyntaio
Amyntaio is a town and municipality in the Florina peripheral unit of Macedonia, Greece. The population of Amyntaio proper is 4,407, while that of the entire municipality is 18,975...
in Florina
Florina Prefecture
Florina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Florina.-Geography:Florina borders the regional units of Pella to the east, Kozani to the south and Kastoriá to the southwest...
and in Agios Dimitrios.
Climate
Eordaia
Eordaia is a municipality in the Kozani peripheral unit, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Ptolemaida.-Municipality:The municipality Eordaia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:*Agia...
plain of Western Macedonia, has a continental climate. Summers can be hot with thunderstorms in unsettled spells, whereas winters are among the coldest in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is here that the absolute low temperature record of Greece was recorded (-27.8°C on 27 January 1963).
Demographics
The current Municipality of Ptolemaida is constituted by the city of Ptolemaida and 12 small communities which all together cover an extent of 2.179 square kilometres. At the 2001 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, the population of the city was 30,017 residents. The total population of the municipality in 1991 was 32,775 residents.
| Year | Town Population | Municipality population |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 7,719 | - |
| 1951 | 8,816 | - |
| 1961 | 12,747 | - |
| 1971 | 16,588 | - |
| 1981 | 22,109 | - |
| 1991 | 25,125 | 32,775 |
| 2001 | 30,017 | 36,393 |
Location
The city lies in the valley of EordaiaEordaia
Eordaia is a municipality in the Kozani peripheral unit, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Ptolemaida.-Municipality:The municipality Eordaia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:*Agia...
, between the Askio
Askio
Askio is a former municipality in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Voio, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 5,130 . The seat of the municipality was in Kaloneri. It was named after the Askio mountain...
mountains to the southwest and the Vermio mountains to the northeast. It is located north of Kozani, east of Kastoria, south of Florina
Florina
Florina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina peripheral unit, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West...
, and south-west of Edessa
Edessa, Greece
Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...
. Since the 1960s, GR-3
Greek National Road 3
Greek National Road 3 begins from Eleusis and heads north, passing Larissa, Florina and terminates at the border with the Republic of Macedonia in Niki, which from there links with the M3. The road is part of the E65. In the late 1980s, motorway bypasses have been constructed for the towns...
/E65
European route E65
European route E 65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chaniá, Greece. The road is about in length.-Itinerary:* Sweden** E 65: Malmö – Ystad* Baltic sea, ferry Ystad-Świnoujście* Poland...
has bypassed it to the east. It is the seat of the province of Eordia.
 |
||
Ethnic groups
A substantial proportion of Ptolemaida's residents are Pontic GreekPontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
from Sourmene or Sürmene
Sürmene
Sürmene is a town and a district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. In ancient times it was also known as Hyssus or Hyssos and Issiporto. The mayor is Fikri Usta ....
, Turkey or their descendants. These were refugees from Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
who first arrived in Macedonia during the 1920s as a result of the population exchange
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
according to the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
.