A city of south-central Bulgaria on the Maritsa River southeast of Sofia. Originally built by Thracians, it fell to Macedon in 341 B.C. and to Rome in 46. The city changed hands frequently in the Middle Ages and was controlled by Russia from 1877 to 1885. Population: 347,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
